Blues veterans to kick off Arts in the Park series

LACONIA — Ready to see some live music? If so, you won’t have to wait long, because the Belknap Mill’s Arts in the Park season is kicking off this Friday night.

Performing in the gazebo at Rotary Park, starting at 6 p.m., will be a trio of musicians whose roots together stretch back more than 50 years: James Montgomery, Bob McCarthy and Billy Martin.

In 1967, Montgomery had just arrived in Boston from his native Michigan, to attend Boston University. On his first day in Beantown, he spotted McCarthy getting out of a car with a guitar case in tow. Montgomery, a harmonica player, ran across the street to introduce himself. Martin, a bass player who was also studying at BU, joined the fold shortly thereafter.

All three men went on to build their own careers in music. McCarthy followed the acoustic blues path, while Montgomery, who now lives in Rhode Island, found success with electrified blues. Martin, who lives in Vermont, diversified himself by studying orchestral music.

Whatever path they took, they found themselves in the doldrums once the pandemic hit last year. Aside from the occasional outdoors performance or the odd Zoom concert, they were unable to do the thing that had been their thing for a half century: perform live music.

Although Friday night’s show will be outdoors, and with some COVID precautions still in place, McCarthy said it is starting to feel like the old times again.

“I’m just glad to be doing it, actually. It’s hard on all musicians, no matter how famous you are or how famous you aren’t,” McCarthy said, “Everyone is in the same situation. Whether you’re Mick Jagger, or Bob McCarthy in Laconia, you haven’t worked.”

Montgomery has done one performance with his band since they have all been vaccinated. For McCarthy and Martin, this will be the first live performance of the year. McCarthy said the set list is a chance to follow the three college buddies down memory lane.

“We’re going to do what we started out doing in Boston – an acoustic set,” McCarthy said. Some of the songs would have been among those standards that they first used to get to know one another as musicians: Atlanta Blues, Lay Me a Pallet on your Floor, San Francisco Blues.

“Then we converted some of (Montgomery’s) electric stuff into acoustic, so that should be interesting,” McCarthy said.

Though all three followed their own path, those paths often criss-crossed or parallelled each other, meaning they have spent many, many hours performing together over the decades. There’s a value to that kind of familiarity, McCarthy said.

“There’s a camaraderie when you meet someone when you’re 18 years old, and now you’re in your 70s, and still playing music. That’s pretty special,” McCarthy said. “You don’t have that with too many people.”

The Arts in the Park series is one of the favorites at the Belknap Mill, said Tara Shore, operations manager for the nonprofit organization.

“To bring live music back to the park for the whole public to enjoy, all summer long, it just brings so much joy to the whole community,” Shore said. “We are beyond excited.”

Shore said there will be some measures in place this summer in a nod to the lingering threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Squares will be set out on the grass to promote social distancing between groups of audience members, performers will be asked to maintain a 10-foot distance between them and the audience, and people who are entering the Mill to use the restrooms will be asked to wear face masks.

“We will have a few guidelines in place to keep everyone in the community comfortable,” Shore said.

The Belknap Mill folks get excited about building each year’s schedule, then they get excited again when an old favorite or a new name agrees to come perform in the scenic riverside Rotary Park. For Shore, though, the best part of the Arts in the Park series is when she can look through the audience and see them connect through music.

“Just a lot of smiles. You look around the park, someone’s smiling, someone’s tapping their foot, someone has jumped up and started dancing,” Shore said. “To be outside on a beautiful summer evening and listening to live music, what could be better?”