JULY 2 AT YORK BEACH

Knock on Wood, my folk-rock duo, is now in its 12th year. We kick off the prime-time summer season with a show on Thursday, July 2, at one of our favorite venues, the York Beach gazebo. You get a beautiful view of the beach, a nice sea breeze and live music from 6:30-8:30 p.m. And it’s free.​

 

Bring a picnic and a blanket or some folding chairs and hang out with us. We’ll be playing some great Classic Rock, along with some of my originals.

 

Hope to see you there.

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FOOD PANTRY BENEFIT IS AUG. 2

This year’s Pantry of Hope benefit will take place on Sunday, Aug. 2, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Melrose, 561 Main St. This is the sixth annual community fundraiser.

 

All proceeds will be donated to the Pantry of Hope, a charity run by the church that provides food for needy families in the greater Melrose area. We have raised thousands of dollars for this great cause over the years.

 

The concert is rain or shine. If it rains, we’ll hold the show inside the church. A couple of years ago, we had both rain and shine. It started out as a beautiful evening and, with about 15 minutes left in the concert, the sky opened up and it poured.

 

Luckily we had a couple of meteorologists in the crowd, my daughter Jen and her husband Tim. And some tarps to cover the equipment. We were able to get done early and avoid any serious damage.

 

If you would like to support this event, advance donations are always welcome. That way, you don’t have to feel guilty about not showing up.

 

Only kidding. For more information about the show or to make a donation (or both), visit www.howienewman.com/poh  

 

CD SALES

OK, CD sales are down this year because hardly anyone has a CD player anymore. I get it. In addition, cars are being manufactured without CD players and, unfortunately, most folks stream their music. Even in their cars.

 

When you do that, however, you’re just borrowing the songs from someone else’s music library. You don’t own it. There’s no artwork, musician credits or liner notes. And independent musicians make almost nothing when their songs are streamed. It’s literally fractions of a penny.

 

Feeling guilty yet?

 

Not my intention. I just wanted to let you know that people in the audience are still buying CDs. Not as many as before but it’s always a great feeling when someone actually shells out some of their hard-earned cash (or a Venmo payment) for my music. It’s a way to show support for local music.

 

I sell CDs at all my gigs. You can also order them from my website at www.howienewman.com/buy-cd

 

You can also order an mp3 download and have full ownership of the music. The download also includes some album art. So check it out,

 

WHO WANTS A FREE T-SHIRT?

Sports fans fall all over each other when T-shirts are fired into the crowd. It’s totally understandable. You’re not only getting something for free but utilizing your athletic ability at the same time.

 

Utilizing this highly successful marketing concept (sort of), I’m giving away free Trust Me, You’ll Like It T-shirts to anyone who buys the Trust Me, You’ll Like It CD. I sold a bunch last summer and only have two left (a medium and a small) so you need to act quickly before they run out.

 

The T-shirts are only available at live concerts. For $12, you can get a great piece of summerwear (is that a word?) and a terrific album. What’s not to like?

 

105 AND COUNTING

For baseball fans only: On June 14, I took in a Hudson Valley Renegades game at Heritage Financial Stadium in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. That’s 105 major and minor league parks I’ve visited. If you’re interested, here’s the list.

 

Have a great summer. Stay cool.

 

UPCOMING 

Click here for the concert calendar and scheduling updates.​​