Returning for a second engagement as featured performer, New London-based singer-songwriter Tom Pirozzoli will be in the spotlight at the Andover Community Coffeehouse at its monthly coffeehouse concert on the evening of Friday, February 17, beginning at 7 PM.
The concert will be offered in the Highland Lake Grange Hall on State Route 11 in East Andover, midway between Andover Village and Franklin. The event is open to the public at no charge; donations are accepted.
From Pirozzoli’s Web site at pirozzoli.com/music, “The joy, discoveries and challenges of music, art, and travel have guided Tom’s rich life to a quiet place beneath Mt. Sunapee in New Hampshire. His musical path has been long, a 40-year career filled with eight studio albums, numerous songwriting credits, and collaborations with other musicians such as Willy Porter and David Wilcox.” His first appearance at the Highland Lake Grange Hall was in April 2015, shortly after the Community Coffeehouse began offering monthly concerts.
Also an accomplished visual artist, Pirozzoli’s oil paintings can be viewed at pirozzoli.com, and can be seen regularly at area galleries and exhibitions. About his dual interests, he explains: “While my work as a professional musician has enriched my life, I have never stopped painting. My oils reflect the beauty and purity of all that surrounds me.”
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.
Coming up: On Friday, March 17, Boston-area singer and songwriter Alex Navarro whose two albums in the last two years have drawn wide attention across New England and beyond.
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. Concert sponsor is Tarte Cafe & Bakery, 46 Main Street, Andover, “which specializes in classic French pastries, cakes, desserts, coffee and espresso drinks, and now serving sandwiches, soups and salads.
Information about future dates and scheduled performers, and a photographic record of the performers, both headliners and open-mic participants, are shown on the Coffeehouse Web site at andovercoffeehouse.org, or 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 Web site at andover.nh.us/ by clicking on “Town Information” and then “Video Archive.”
The Coffeehouse venue, a former Grange Hall, is now the property of the Andover Congregational Church, which is located next door 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).
Directions: From Franklin, take State Route 11 West (Franklin Highway) toward Andover for about five miles. Turn left onto Chase Hill Road, immediately after the Andover Congregational Church, also on the left. The Grange Hall is across the parking lot from the church. From Andover village, take State Route 11 East (Franklin Highway) toward Franklin for about five miles. Turn right onto Chase Hill Road just before the church.