As the next featured performer at the Andover Community Coffeehouse, singer-songwriter Rupert Wates will bring “an eclectic mix of acoustic, melodic art/folk, with flavors of jazz, vaudeville and cabaret” to the stage of the Highland Lake Grange Hall in East Andover, beginning at 7 PM on Friday, November 17. The concert is free and open to the public,athough voluntary generosity is encouraged.

Born and educated in England, Wates is now based in New York City and Colorado, although he’s on the road much of the time. According to his Web site at www.rupertwatesmusic.com:

“Wates averages 120 live shows every year, in acoustic venues in every state in America, in Canada and in Europe. He performs sometimes alone, sometimes with his trio or his quartet. He prefers smaller listening rooms where the audience is up close and the emphasis is on the music. He was voted an Artist Of The Year in both 2013 and 2016 by the international house concert network Concerts In Your Home (CIYH). He is the only artist on the entire CIYH database to have been honored with this title twice.”

Also appearing onstage will be up to a dozen open-microphone performers, whose contributions in previous months have ranged from the spoken word to show-business, jazz, folk, bluegrass, and country-and-western tunes.

Sponsor for the evening is The Andover Hub, the old town hall whose new name signifies its new purpose: a community center supporting a wide variety of activities for all ages – physical fitness and wellness, social and business gatherings, entertainment, education, and more.

Looking ahead: The Friday, December 15, “third-Friday” concert will feature Wendy Keith and her Alleged Band, another south-of-the-border combo (from Somerville, Mass.) “who play acoustic, Americana, gospel, blues and original music with 15 instruments including lap steel, dobro, mando, flute, clarinet, sax, penny whistle, celtic harp, bass and multi-layered harmonies.”

Doors to the Grange Hall will open at 6 PM for food purchases offered by the Andover Congregational Church and for open-mic sign-ins on a first-come, first-serve basis.

A photographic record of past Coffeehouse performers, both headliners and open-mic participants, is shown on the Coffeehouse Web site at andovercoffeehouse.org, and on the Facebook page “Andover Community Coffeehouse.”

Video recordings of past programs are shown on a number of community-access channels across the state and are available for viewing anytime on Andover’s town Website at www.andover.nh.us/ by clicking on “Town Information” and then “Video Archive.” The videos are produced by volunteers at Andover Community Cable.

The coffeehouse is located at the intersection of Route 11 and Chase Hill Road in East Andover. The Andover Community Coffeehouse operates under the umbrella of the Andover Community Association (ACA).