Peterborough has always been known as a music town. In retrospect, the opening of the Folkway in the 1970s and its popularity was an early sign that it would one day be a flourishing spot to hear live music.
Over the years, there have been performances at churches, public buildings, pubs and outdoor spaces, becoming go to locations to hear the likes of Monadnock Music, Peterborough Folk Music, the Electric Earth Concert Series and a wide range of talented local musicians.
But over the last year, the Peterborough Concert Series at the Town House has quickly made a name for itself as a place to hear both established musicians and up and coming arts. Organizer Mike Chadinha has been involved in the music scene in Peterborough for many years and just felt the community could support yet another option for live concerts. The turnouts and support at the monthly series has shown Chadinha that his hunch was correct – and this weekend will be the series’ biggest endeavor yet.
“Peterborough is such an arts and music driven town, so I felt there was room to do this,” Chadinha said.
It was months ago that they booked the David Bromberg Quintet for its November show. According to Chadinha, Bromberg is a “legend in the folk and blues world,” so the quintet is highly sought after and in conjunction with Peterborough Folk Music, they were able to find a spot in the band’s schedule to make a stop in Peterborough on Saturday.
“When we decided to do the series, we immediately had a meeting with Deb from Peterborough Folk Music,” Chadinha said.
As the date grew closer, the potential to land the Eric Gales Band for Friday night was an opportunity that Chadinha couldn’t pass up – even if it meant putting on back-to-back shows. So with Gales set to hit the Town House stage on Friday and Bromberg’s quintet on Saturday, both at 8 p.m., Chadinha and his partners with the Peterborough Concert Series, as well as those at Peterborough Folk Music are in for a busy 24-plus hours.
“We wanted to add another blues show, widen out the program,” Chadinha said. “This is our first go of a big weekend, so we’ll see. It will be a lot of work, but it’s well worth it.”
Gales has been dubbed as “One of the best, if not the best guitarists in the world” and will bring his talents to Peterborough for the first time. Chadinha, through his work with M.E. Productions, has watched Gales explode on the scene and thought he’d be a great addition to the concert series lineup. His use of a right-handed guitar, but playing left-handed, has been compared to Jimi Hendrix, Chadinha said. And 15-year-old blues phenom Veronica Lewis will open the show.
Bromberg is a master multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with the likes of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Willie Nelson, and Jerry Garcia, playing acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin and violin. Bromberg, who Chadinha called the godfather of Americana, began actively recording in the 1970s and has released 18 albums, with his latest The Blues, the Whole Blues, and Nothing But the Blues, coming out in 2016. Peterborough Folk Music Society favorite Mark Erelli will open the show.
Chadinha isn’t quite sure what to expect this weekend with shows on consecutive nights, but “there’s enough difference between the two acts so there won’t be a lot of overlap,” he said.
Tickets for Eric Gales Band range from $24-$34, while remaining tickets for the David Bromberg Quintet cost $39-$49. For more information and tickets, visit peterboroughcon cert.eventbrite.com.