SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday
For starters, it’s First Friday in WRJ. Revolution is hosting a 'Meet Your Makers' Indy Pop Up from 5-8 pm, Long River Gallery and Rue + Ren are open for browsing and stuff to sip or chew on, David Fairbanks Ford is performing turkey songs at the Main Street Museum, and there’s plenty more at the link.
Including Here in the Valley’s “For the Love of Dolly” at the Briggs—it’s sold out, but there’s a waiting list that you’re welcome to join. 7:30 pm.
And at River Roost Brewery, in addition to Dan Weintraub and Corey Unger strumming Grateful Dead songs, Barre’s Pearl Street Pizza will be set up slinging pies and, possibly, some new "SAUCED" Hops & Honey Hot Sauce made with River Roost’s Más Verde. 5 to 7:30 pm.
And at Gates Street Gallery, an opening reception for Ria Blaas’s show, “Go Figure.” The exhibition brings together sculptures and oil paintings selected from the well-known Upper Valley artist’s “mature body of work.” Exhibition runs through the end of January, reception from 5-7 pm.
Flannel Fest at Whaleback. It’s a fundraiser for the nonprofit mountain, with live music, food and drink, a silent auction, and more. Doors open at 5 pm.
Hop Film screens Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Jane Schoenbrun’s 2026 film about slasher films stars Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder, and plays “with the memory of horror fans,” Brian Tallerico writes for RoberEbert.com in “a heady, wildly ambitious commentary on identity and obsession.” 7 pm in the Loew.
The Halcyon Chorale in St. J with “Golden Hour.” The Northeast Kingdom group performs an evening of choral music from around the world—and in particular, by Iranian composer Harmid Mardkhanjari. 7 pm at St. Andrews Church.
Architecture of Intimacy: A Symposium on Love opens at the Billings Farm Theater. This community production is a “series of interwoven scenes, dialogues, music, and encounters that examine love from multiple perspectives,” its producers write, with characters known simply as “Woman. Man. Therapist. Client. Adult Child. Voice One and Voice Two, God.” 7 pm Friday and Saturday.
Trumbull Hall Troupe’s Once Upon a One More Time opens at Lebanon Opera House. “When a fairy godmother goes rogue and plops copies of The Feminine Mystique in the laps of classic heroines, the damsels embark on a quest to rewrite their stories and redefine ‘happily ever after,’” they write. With 23 Britney Spears hits. 7 pm Friday and Saturday, 3 pm Sunday.
BarnArts launches Once Upon a Mattress. As they write, “This isn't your great-great grandmother’s fairy tale, but it might be your Mother or Grandmother’s! Once Upon a Mattress is full of puns, laughs, and heart, and famously kicked Carol Burnett into the high-comedy spotlight.” Directed by Linda Treash with a large cast of locals. In Barnard Town Hall this weekend and next: 7:30 pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays, and at 7:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 12.
The Cherry Orchard opens at the Hop. The Dartmouth Theater Department’s production of Chekhov’s 1903 masterpiece is a new adaptation by Benedict Andrews, directed by Carol Dunne. It is, the Hop writes, “remarkable for how contemporary and timeless The Cherry Orchard feels right now.” In the Daryl Roth Studio Theater Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 3 and 7:30, then next Thursday-Saturday. Most shows may be sold out, but if advance tickets aren’t available, standby tix will be available at showtime.
Saturday
HopStop instrument petting zoo and performance. “Have you ever played a sarangi? How about an autoharp or banjo?” Folk instruments come to life in a performance by Sugar and the Pan, which includes students and alumni members of Vermont Folklife's touring group, followed by a chance to check them out yourself. Recommended for ages 6 and up. 11 am at the Top of the Hop.
Haverhill’s Wentworth Brown House reopens. After nearly eight years of renovations on New Hampshire’s second-longest connected building, with guided tours, a look at future projects, live music, baked goods from Molly Sharp, and more. 11 am to 4 pm at 16 School Street.
World Famous Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum grand opening. Your chance to see some extremely creative salt and pepper shakers (slices of white and pumpernickel bread, say, in a mini toaster). Sir Babygirl, DJ Cartier, Liza of Planet Parlor, french fries by The Filling Station, hot dogs by Bob… Noon to 4 at KIS Thrift in Wilder.
“Shell: scenes from a new dance” at Artistree in S. Pomfret. Choreographer Ellen Smith Ahern and collaborators Kate Elias and Jessie Owens offer an interactive sneak peek at their new work, Shell, which “follows dancers through a shifting landscape of quilts.” 3 pm in the Grange Theatre.
“Home for the Harmonies”: The Barbershop Harmony Society of Hanover’s a cappella showcase. With Summer Street, the Dartmouth Aires, and a full lineup of local groups: the North Country Chordsmen, VoxStars, Treble in the Valley, Girls Night Out, Blue Streak, 91 North, and Frozen Assets. 4 pm at Hanover High School.
Family concert with Bill Harley at the United Church of Strafford. Twice winner of the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children, the singer and storyteller will give a free concert (though donations are welcome) starting at 6:30 pm.
Tanasi at Roots & Wings at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Upper Valley in Norwich. The “worldgrass trio” from Asheville, NC blends global folk traditions with “the drive, textures, and close harmonies of an Appalachian string band.” With dobro player Billy Cardine, bassist and banjo player Mary Lucey, and guitarist and singer Anya Hinkle. 7 pm.
Star Radio Hour’s “Over the Moon” at Seven Stars Arts in Sharon. Jim Rooney emcees, with the mixed a cappella group The VTones starting things off at 7 pm, and then the radio show beginning at 8, with the house band Play It Forward with Chris Rua, Bruce Sklar, Ted Mortimer, Glendon Ingalls, and Thal Aylward; songs from The Sharon Sisters & Anne Mapplebeck; and stories from Robyn and Richard Noble.
14th Annual Green Mountain Showdown in Woodstock. Mountain Bike Vermont’s part film festival/part variety show with locally produced video shorts, slideshows, and spoken word performances celebrating mountain biking. 7 pm at the Woodstock Town Hall Theatre.
Randy Miller plays the Enfield Shaker Museum. The contra dance musician and regional Irish session host plays fiddle, piano, and accordion, and his repertoire spans traditional folk tunes from Ireland, Scotland, and NH, including Shaker melodies. 7 pm in the Chosen Vale Performance Center.
A rare Saturday-night Anonymous Coffeehouse. Things get going at 7:30 pm with southern Appalachian banjo player and songwriter Carolyn Shapiro. At 8 pm, it’s blues picker and singer Arthur Terembula and his trio. And at 9, the Hot Skillet Club and its American Songbook jazz, Americana, and western swing. In the First Congregational Church of Lebanon, with a groaning table of baked goods at intermissions.
The Coast Jazz Orchestra at the Hop. Guest director Zack O’Farrill leads the orchestra through music by Ellington, Basie, Gillespie, Monk, Mingus, Coltrane, and O'Farrill's own arrangement of Antônio Carlos Jobim's “One Note Samba.” 7:30 pm in Spaulding.
Fez Silk East Coast sendoff, EP release, and songwriter showcase at The Underground listening room in Randolph. The singer-songwriter and poet is relocating to LA, but before that happens, Silk is gathering folk-music friends Mark Stepakoff, Eric George, and Nate Mott for “an intimate evening of songs, stories, and new music.” 7:30 pm.
Thunderbeard: A Tribute to ZZ Top at the Claremont Opera House. “La Grange”, “Tush”, “Sharp Dressed Man” and so much more from the legendary band’s half-century history. 7:30 pm.
Sunday
Stitchin’ Hats for the Haven at rePlay Arts. A gathering of people who knit, crochet, and sew, organized by Sonja Hakala, to make warm winter hats for the Haven to hand out. Bring your yarn, fleece, tools, talent, “and a spirit of creative community.” Cookies and drinks on hand to share. There’s also yarn and fleece at rePlay. 11 am to 4 pm.
Upper Valley Music Center presents a Balfolk workshop and dance. With a quartet of masters—Jeremiah McLane, Tim Cummings, McKinley James, and Mary Wesley—teaching teaching social folk dance form that’s popular in northern and western Europe and gaining steam here. Music workshop and dance workshop both at 3 pm, dance starts up at 5:45 pm, all at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
Lyle Brewer at Artistree. The Boston-based guitar virtuoso blends jazz, classical, folk, and blues influences. 3:30 pm.
William Ghezzi at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. The classical guitarist performs a concert of works by JS Bach, Schenck, Telemann, Joaquín Nin-Culmell, and others. 4 pm, 40 College St. in Hanover, free admission.
Hop Film screens The Return. In Uberto Pasolini’s 2024 film, “Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) and Penelope (Juliette Binoche) reunite on an Ithaca devoid of the usual fantasy or epic. Sweeping visuals are traded for intimate closeups, and the raw, human emotion of Odysseus' return takes center stage rather than its marvel or grandeur.” 4 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
The Poor Cousins play a tribute to Leonard Cohen in Perkinsville. Saturday is the 10th anniversary of the great songwriter and singer’s death, so on Sunday, Emmet McGowan and Naomi Morse will give a small concert of a dozen or so of his songs. 4 pm, free admission, in the Perkinsville Community Church.
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