“Local Color” will be the theme of the coming December, January, and February “Third Friday” concerts at the Andover Community Coffeehouse.

The concerts will begin at 7 PM in the Highland Lake Grange Hall on State Route 11 in East Andover, midway between Andover Village and Franklin.  The events are open to the public at no charge; donations are gratefully accepted.

The Friday, December 20, concert will feature Hillsborough’s own Steve Schuch, billed as a  “classically-trained-violinist-turned-singer/songwriter-guitarist-author-storyteller”on his website. His  latest book, “A Symphony of Whales,” has received a Parents’ Choice Award and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year Award.  Learn much more at nightheron.com.

Sponsor is Byron’s Septic Service, headquartered in Andover, whose logo is “Flush With Pride.”  Sponsors and audience contributions help the Coffeehouse to cover room-rental fees, headliner compensation, advertising, equipment purchases, and other expenses.

On Friday, Jan.uary 17, the headliners will be Boston-based Kat and Brad (Kat Parks and Brad Bensko).  According to their website, at katbradband.com, “Drawing from 50s and 60s pop, American Songbook standards, and much more, this happy duo channels and fuses these influences through two voices, a guitar, mandolin, and violin to bring you a mixture of original songs and dusted-off covers from the past.”

Sponsor is local photographer Jay Fitzpatrick, who operates a photography business called F8 Photography.  His work is shown at Facebook.com/f8photographynh.

Both concerts will also feature appearances by up to a dozen open-microphone performers. Doors to the Grange Hall open at 6 PM for simple supper food and beverage purchases, and for open mic sign-ups on a first-come, first-served basis.

Coming up, on Friday, February 21, also hailing from Boston, “local jazz and blues legend Louise Grasmere, who has hit her stride with a breakout album that will force fans of ‘Boston’s best-kept vocal secret’ to share their beloved blond powerhouse with a much wider audience.” Learn more at louisegrasmere.com.

About the Andover Community Coffeehouse:

Now in its sixth year of offering free concerts to the public, the Coffeehouse is managed and staffed entirely by volunteers. New volunteers are always needed to help with duties such as talent bookings, community outreach, audiovisual support, venue arrangements, and the like.  Those interested in joining in the fun should contact andovercommunity03216@nullgmail.com.

A photographic record of past Coffeehouse performers, both headliners and open-mic participants, is shown on the Coffeehouse website at andovercoffeehouse.org, and on the Facebook page “Andover Community Coffeehouse.” The website also lists future bookings through the end of 2020.. 

Video recordings of concerts are shown on a number of community-access channels across the state, and are available for viewing anytime on Andover’s town website at andover-nh.gov and then “community videos”. 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 Hub.