July 9- The PuppeTree, Inc.
July 16- The King of Silly, Todd Wellington
July 23- Magician BJ Hickman
July 30- Linda Peck – Physical Theatre
August 6- Wayne From Maine
August 13- Sammie Haynes

July 10- Martin England

July 17-Eli Autry

July 24- Dan Walker

July 31- The North RiverTrio

August 7- Andrea Szirbik

August 14- Meg Josalen

Friday Night Headliner Series (with Opening Acts) – Fridays, 6:00pm to 9:00pm – Rotary Arts Pavilion at Henry Law Park – 7/12, 7/19, 7/26, 8/2, 8/9, 8/16

Shark in the Park Classic Rock Series – Thursdays, 12:00pm to 2:00pm – Rotary Arts Pavilion at Henry Law Park – 7/11, 7/18, 7/25, 8/1, 8/8, 8/15

Farmers’ Market Acoustic Stage – Wednesdays, 3:30pm to 5:00pm – Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, 550 Central Avenue – 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 7/31, 8/7, 8/14

Tuesday Morning Children’s Series – Tuesdays, 10:30am to 11:30am – Rotary Arts Pavilion at Henry Law Park – 7/9, 7/16, 7/23, 7/30, 8/6, 8/13

The Cochecho Arts Festival Committee is hard at work planning the 2013 Festival.  For the 27th year in a row, the Festival will be filling downtown Dover with the sound of music.  Back again will be the Friday Night Headliner Series, the Shark in the Park Classic Rock Luncheon Series, the Farmers’ Market Acoustic Stage, Tuesday Morning Children’s Shows and a Movie Night.

New to the Festival in 2013 is Arts Rock!  A collection of musical instruments decorated by local artists and displayed in storefronts throughout downtown Dover.  More on this to come and special thanks to EarCraft Music for helping us make this happen!

Officially, the Festival lineup will be released at a press conference in early June, but stay tuned to www.cochechoartsfestival.org and www.facebook.com/cochechoartsfestival for some sneak peeks at the performer lineup.

In the mean time, let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Michael Mengers

Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce Community Events Mangers, michael@dovernh.org, (603) 742-2218

Hank Decken was featured on lead guitarist for Rosie.  Decken put on a heck of a show, playing multiple different guitars, including spending some time on his slide guitar.  Decken also sang vocals for the group, belting out many different classic rock songs perfectly, making it seem like he wrote all of the music himself.  With Decken’s stage presence and charisma he could have easily done a whole show himself!

The backbone of Rosie was drummer, Al Silva. Silva and Decken have been playing together for over 30 years now, having been in many bands together.  From the bass drum to the snare drum and back and forth between toms, Silva gave his kit a full workout during the performance, clearly displaying that he is an expert drum player. Not only did he display his solid chops, but he also wowed the audience, doing many drummer tricks throughout the show, giving Rosie their true fun-loving style and feel.

Last, but by far not the least, was Gary Boisse, bass guitarist and vocalist.  Boisse continually served up bass lines on many songs that Decken could easily solo over, bringing the melody and beat for Rosie.

All of the members of Rosie showed their musical talents at the Shark in the Park.  These guys really rock and have been playing as a trio band for over five years now.  All three melded together perfectly, bringing the audience back to the classic rock era.

Thanks again to Rosie for coming out and playing the last Shark in the Park show of the year! Also a special thanks to The Shark 105.3 for their 10 year commitment to the Cochecho Arts Festival.  See you all again in 2013!

Warming up the stage for Entrain was Anthony Vito Fiandaca, who did an amazing acoustic set for the audience.  Bringing out his specific style of playing kept the audience entertained throughout his entire performance as Fiandaca was not phased playing in front of the large crowd.  Having to extend his set list by a song or two, Fiandaca was able to improvise perfectly to create a great opening performance prior to Entrain taking the stage.

Around 7:15pm Entrain took to the stage with an incredible amount of energy.  Tom Major, drummer and original founder of Entrain, seriously amazed everyone in the crowd with his enthusiasm, humor and of course, musical skill.  His beats, timing and energy fueled the entire band throughout the course of the night.  Major was continuously doing jaw-dropping drum solos that kept everyone’s eyes glued on him.  He had some serious skills and would have done perfectly as a headliner show all by himself!

Sam Holmstock was the trombonist and conga player of the group.  Holmstock truly showed his style off complimenting Major throughout the show and giving the crowd that extra beat to dance to.  Holmstock, also an original Entrain member, brought the groups style and feel with his music.

Lead singer and guitarist of the group, Brian Alex, could not have performed a better show.  Playing his unique guitar riffs set the mood to the night.  Alex also interacted with the crowd throughout the night, displaying a good sense of humor and even inviting a concert-goer on stage for an impromptu duet.

Last but certainly not least was Phillip Young, who was featured on the saxophone, but like everyone in the band, also played percussion throughout the night.  Young’s soulful playing created a jazzy feel for the group.

The Entrain performance marked  the last Friday Night Headliner Show of the 2012 season, but this doesn’t stop the Cochecho Arts Festival from continuing for a tad bit longer. Farmer’s Market Wednesday’s will still be starting at 2:00pm with live performances beging at 4:00pm. Also, Shark In The Park continues Thursday, starting at noon.  This week we invite The Smokin’ Loafers to the stage.  See you there!

-Christopher Chagnon, Greater Dover Chamber Intern

As always, Truffle was led by Dave Gerard, who played the electric and resonator guitar, but also sang lead vocals for the group. Gerard showed off his robust musical knowledge with his amazing solos and addicting guitar riffs.

“We played a Headliner Series event here a few weeks ago and it was just great” Gerard said. “The crowd was smaller today, naturally, not being a Friday night, but everyone seemed to have fun.”

All of the songs Truffle played were their originals, a break from other Shark in the Park shows, which generally feature Classic Rock cover bands.  Gerard’s songwriting skill is impeccable and a welcome addition to the Thursday afternoon concert series.  Gerard has incredible experience as he and Ned Chase originally formed the Truffle group way back in 1986.

The aforementioned Chase played lead guitar, mandolin, and also sang vocals alongside Gerard. Both Gerard and Chase often played improvisational solos, working off one another, truly enjoying themselves on stage, but also pleasing the crowd.  Chase was most impressive when he was not only soloing on his guitar, but also on his mandolin.

David Bailey spent the afternoon slapping the bass for Truffle. Bailey brought out Truffle’s funky side when the music got rolling.  He continually set up Gerard and Chase with room to solo by continually laying solid riffs that the guitarists could easily solo over.

Last but certainly not least was Mike Gendron, who played the drums.  Gendron laid out a beat that lead the band through their musical journey on the stage. Joining the band in 1996, he was the completion of Truffle. Bringing out the true greatness of the band, he just like everyone else did not disappoint the crowd at Shark in the Park.

Thanks again to Truffle for coming out to the Rotary Arts Pavilion on Thursday and also The Shark 105.3FM for yet another amazing show.  Join us tomorrow for the final show of our headliner series, Entrain with opening act Anthony Vito Fiandaca. Thanks to everyone who joined us outside today, and we hope to see you at the next Shark in the Park next Thursday starting at noon!

-Christopher Chagnon, Greater Dover Chamber Intern