The forefathers of “crunchy western” music Jim McHugh, Morris Manning, Steve McBrian, and Jacob Stern deliver a homegrown, crunchy cookin’ performance with mandolin, bass, fiddle, guitar, dobro, banjo, and vocals. Their unique, smooth sounds are sure to tame the wildest beast or maybe even awaken the spirit within! Performances include original, crunchy, bluegrass, folk, and americana tunes.

This place is amazing.

If you don’t stop to witness the impressive displays that mother nature has to offer, then you miss out on far too much. Tonight I was in Portsmouth, sitting out on the docks of the river as an awesome thunderstorm rolled by. Before it actually rained, I watched lightning bolts that spread across the entirety of the sky, blanketing the darkened heavens in a spiderweb of natural electricity.

Then it poured.

I watched buckets upon buckets of water pelt the river from the cover of a nearby building. The rain made it difficult to see the Maine shoreline..

Then it stopped.

It even cleared up for a bit over Portsmouth. I could still hear thunder and see the lightning flash, but the sky was clear enough overhead to let the stars shine through.

This place is amazing.

B-Dandy Clothing of Portsmouth is giving us 2 free shirts a month this summer for prizes. Congrats to July winners Bette Smith of Hudson and Sheldon Tyrell of Franklin (who also each won 2 Summer Showcase tickets). We want to thank B-Dandy for the shirts…By the way… they give 20% of their profits to charity. Check out the designs at http://www.b-dandy.com/latest/shop.html

2 Winners Each Get 2 Tickets + A Shirt!

For a chance to win just sign up for our weekly email by midnight Sunday. We will select 2 winners who will each get 2 of our Summer Showcase tickets plus a t-shirt from B-Dandy clothing. Besides, our newsletter will continue to bring you the best in NH band news and contests… you probably will want to subscribe anyways.

Under new state law, teachers are able to once again beat unruly students. Under RSA 982:09, teachers may utilize their hands and body for disciplinary actions. The use of rulers, pointers, etc. is strictly prohibited, due to the excess damage that could be done.

Well, I made that up. But there are new laws about bullying.. Now, a single act can be defined as bullying. They also address cyber bullying and bullying outside of the school zone.

I have mixed feelings about this. While I feel terrible for everybody who gets bullied, it’s a part of growing up. I got bullied. A lot of my friends got bullied. In my opinion, it taught me how to deal with rude, obnoxious, and annoying people in the long run. That’s a good talent.

But then again, I do read the stories where bullying gets too extreme. Kids stay home from school, kids are emotionally and physically hurt, and some other, more extreme cases..

I just hope this doesn’t get out of hand. There needs to be a balance of discipline and freedom. Too much of either can make for a bad situation.

So, I was on the South Shore down in Mass for the 4th, and the weather really wasn’t that bad. I drove back up the night of the 5th and got home about 10pm. It was much hotter and more humid when I left my air conditioned car when I got home… What the hell. Today at work, I just about died. I went loopy around the middle of the day until I jumped in the lake with all my clothes on. With WMUR predicting 95 tomorrow, my core temp might bubble up and break my sanity.

Enjoy the day!