Citizen Cope, Juliana Hatfield Three & More Headline Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival This Weekend

The Music Hall has just announced that Citizen Cope, William Fitzsimmons, Juliana Hatfield Three and Buffalo Tom will be headlining the fourth annual Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival slated for today, April 16 - Saturday April 18, 2015 in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

According to Patricia Lynch, Executive Director of The Music Hall and PSSF Executive Producer: "We are thrilled with the extraordinary line up with terrific Boston-based stars, Juliana Hatfield and Buffalo Tom. We've had Citizen Cope on our wish list and can't wait to have him on our stage. We want to thank the fans who support this festival year after year making it a great addition to Restaurant Week here in Portsmouth."

Thérèse LaGamma, Deputy Director of Programming and Producer of the PSSF adds, "Indie-rockers The Juliana Hatfield Three and Buffalo Tom kick off the festivities on our historic stage. Discover the beautiful sonic landscapes of William Fitzsimmons and experience the infectious rhythms of Citizen Cope as each makes their Portsmouth debut. We look forward to a special evening of Songwriters in The Round curated by Guy Capecelatro III. Music fans will get a chance to hear from young, aspiring songwriters in a Youth and Teen Round Robin featuring Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC) students. Hope to see you there!"

The Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival arrives during Portsmouth's esteemed Restaurant Week. Participating restaurants offer special three course prix fixe menus at two unbelievable prices: $16.95 for lunch or $29.95 for dinner. The chance to experience all aspects of Portsmouth's arts, culinary, and cultural scenes is here. For more information, visit www.restaurantweekportsmouth.com.

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2015 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

6:30pm: Youth and Teen Round Robin with Portsmouth Music and Arts Center
the Loft - $5
Students from our Explore + Learn Partner, Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC) will showcase their songwriting craft in Round Robin format. Hosted by PMAC instructor Nick Phaneuf.

FRIDAY APRIL 17

8:00 pm The Juliana Hatfield Three & Buffalo Tom
Historic Theater - $32; $26

8:00pm The Juliana Hatfield Three
2015 may just be the year of the alt-rock reunion. Touring behind a new album, Whatever, My Love (release date: Feb 17, 2015), The Juliana Hatfield Three follow-up on their influential 1993 LP, Become What You Are. Hatfield, a staple of the Boston music scene since the mid-80's, is back with her ionic sound

9:30pm Buffalo Tom
Buffalo Tom, whose pummeling rock and aching ballads master depth and sensitivity with their sharp and poignant songwriting. This indie trio continues to distill potent observations about life and disguise any sentimentality by backing up the observations with guitars and drums.

SATURDAY APRIL 18

5pm Songwriters in the Round
the Loft - $10
Join us for a Round Robin with four talented songwriters, curated by Guy Capecelatro III, and featuring Mary Lou Lord, Mark Schwaber, and Drew O'Doherty all performing together. The evening will have you clapping your hands and stomping your feet.

Citizen Cope and William Fitzsimmons

Historic Theater - $48; $38
8pm William Fitzsimmons
Fitzsimmons' easy voice, which falls somewhere between the breathy earnestness of Sufjan Stevens and the steady, deep water thrum of Iron and Wine's Sam Beam, has a knack for crafting incredibly measured, deeply personal, largely finger-picked folk confections that flirt with adult-oriented pop without losing any of their artisan luster. His newest album, Lions, produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, is meticulously crafted, high-quality, daydream fuel.

9:30pm Citizen Cope, solo/acoustic
Citizen Cope's sounds are southern rural, big sky lonely, concrete urban, and painfully romantic. From the get-go he introduced his audiences to a world of musical worry with his breakout song, "Sideways," covered by Carlos Santana. From touring tirelessly, his motivation to make his music in front of people has won him a vast audience in America and abroad.

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The Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival will take place Thursday - Saturday April 16-18, 2015. Tickets go on sale to members Wed., 2/11. Tickets go on sale to public noon Sat., 2/21. Contact The Music Hall box office at 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by phone at 603-436-2400, or online at www.themusichall.org.

To become a member today and enjoy early ticket purchasing, call our Membership Manager, Lorianne, at 603-766-2176 or go online www.themusichall.org/support_us/memberships.

Social Media: #PSSF15, Twitter: @musichall, Facebook: /musichall, Instagram: /musichallnh.

About The Music Hall - The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus - one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures Program, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner, recently named "best performing arts venue" by Yankee Magazine and the recipient of the NH AIA award for design excellence.

With acclaimed signature series like Writers on a New England Stage -- a partnership between The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio -- and the Intimately Yours music series, we bring top authors and artists to both stages. Also, HD broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera and the National Theatre of London as well as extraordinary cinema fill both screens almost every night of the year.

This dynamic arts center urges patrons to Explore + Learn via master classes, post film panel discussions, and matinees for children. An anchor cultural organization in this historic working seaport, The Music Hall is one of downtown Portsmouth's biggest employers and largest contributors to the regional economy: The Music Hall and its patrons contribute $7 million annually to the local economy through show and visitor related spending.

Innovative in its outlook, the organization is community oriented and committed to making the Seacoast flourish. The Music Hall is a 501(c)3 nonprofit managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a volunteer board. Though global in the scope of its artists and programs, The Music Hall operates independently with the support of 3,000 members, 300 corporate partners and 58 community partners. Welcoming more than 100,000 patrons (including 20,000 children) each year from the tri-state area and beyond, The Music Hall is the region's center for the performing arts, literature and education...easy to get to, impossible to forget.