Peterborough’s free “Lunch and Listen” noontime concerts are back for another season starting Thursday, June 4. The series will kick off with “Side Effects,” an acoustic vocal band featuring Debbie Thompson and Bob Wright.
“Lunch and Listen” concerts take place Thursdays at noon at the outdoor amphitheater in Depot Square, behind Toadstool Books. All concerts are free, open to the public and accessible. In case of inclement weather, Lunch and Listen will take place at the Mariposa Museum at 26 Main St. in Peterborough.
Organizer Pelagia Vincent of the Depot Square Association says the lunchtime shows have become a staple in downtown Peterborough.
“It’s such a pleasure to watch the audiences at these shows and just see joy this moment gives to people. It allows them to take a break from the business day, or they bring the kids or and a bag lunch, or they just sit and enjoy the music and beauty of the surroundings,” Vincent said. “It’s lovely — you see moms with their kids on a blanket, you see kids running around, you see people of all different ages, and it creates this beautiful energy. That was my vision all along.”
This summer’s concert series will feature local favorites such as Eve Pierce, Folk Soul Duo, Volkert Volkertz, and Eyes of Age, as well as newer acts such as the Lion Sisters.
“We just love bringing in new talent, and with the Lion Sisters, they are young people just starting out, which is so exciting,” Vincent said. “Then we have artists like Fred Simmons and Leslie Vogel of ‘Folk Souk Duo,’ who have been with us since day one, and it is just so wonderful to still have them with us after seven years.”
Vincent says the concert series has “something for everyone.”
“We’ve got classical, jazz, rock and roll, we’ll have some really beautiful music with a harp and storytelling, we’ll have New Orleans Jazz, we’ll have folk music — there really is something for everybody. We don’t have just one type of music. Every week is different,” she said.
Free parking for “Lunch and Listen” concerts is available at all downtown Peterborough lots.
Vincent says she created the “Lunch and Listen” summer concert series seven years ago as a way to feature and support local musicians, and then realized it was also a way to bring people into Depot Square during the work week and help local businesses, especially restaurants.
“We have such incredible musicians in this area. They love the area as much as we all do, and they are part of what makes this region so wonderful and so special,” Vincent said.
Vincent says that as the series has become more popular, several groups have started attending regularly.
“Rivermead comes with their folks, and we put a little tent up for them, and we have a couple of schools who bring their students,” Vincent said.
Vincent says some people who live in Depot Square have told her they are “able to hear the music from their porch.”
“They tell me they just love it, which was such a nice thing to hear,” Vincent said. “Some people go get lunch from restaurants, but other people are able to hear it right from home.”
The line-up for July and August includes Grove Street Band, Eyes of Age, Off the Cuff, Maple TreeO, Decatur Creek, and Walden Whitman.
On July 23, Monadnock Music will present string quartet Eunae Koh, Nathan Meltzer, Tanner Menees, and Rafael Popper-Keizer, as a preview of their concerts the following weekend. For more information, go to monadnockmusic.org/classical-music-concert-event-schedule.html#july23.
“I’m forever grateful to the musicians. I love bringing these wonderful artists to the area. They are so happy to do it, and they give so much of themselves, I never have to worry about filling those Thursdays,” Vincent said. “It’s become a really special thing.”
Lunch and Listen is sponsored by Catlin Architecture and the Mariposa Museum. For more information about the concert series, go to facebook.com/DepotSquare.
