Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom is ready to rock in 2022. Here's a look at hottest shows.

We’re getting close folks. The thaw is on outside, and, with that the doors are set to pop open at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. The season begins on March 26 with a sold-out Styx show. That’ll be followed by Twiddle, The Beach Boys, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge, Clutch, on and on.

Seacoastonline caught up with main man Andrew Herrick, who is the director of marketing for the Casino Ballroom, to discuss the key takeaways from last year’s reboot to hitting the ground running with a full schedule of events in 2022.

Seacoastonline: I’m not gonna lie, my favorite time of year isn’t the holiday season, it’s talking to Andy Herrick about the launch of a new season at the Casino Ballroom. You’re Andy Herrick. How are ya, buddy?

Herrick: I’m doing great! My favorite time of the year is when my inbox dings and I see that it’s the Ballroom’s patron saint Christopher Hislop! Then I know it’s close to go time!

Seacoastonline: I’m going to level with you; I’m still getting used to trying to get back to “normal.” I didn’t hit many shows at all last year. That said, you guys still got off a full slate. How’d things go?

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Herrick: I get it, and I don’t blame you; it’s a hard thing to get back to. We ended up doing 55 shows in an abbreviated year. We didn’t get started until early July, but it was a fantastic year (and I promise that once you get back you never go back … haha). The shows all had a special bit of electricity to them, sort of a “starved excitement” meets “rebellious” vibe, but it made for an extremely unique year in our storied history.

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Seacoastonline: What were your lessons learned from 2021? Or should I say, “the Roaring '20s”? What’d you learn, that, perhaps, you didn’t think you’d be learning all these years into putting on shows?

Herrick: Great question, I guess there are a couple things. First, our staff is incredible. They not only showed up in a period where we were constantly hearing about hiring woes from our peers, but they went above and beyond by dealing with a changing environment with the virus, with people’s patience levels after having been shut down for so long, and with the general week-to-week unknown. I knew we had a great core of people; I just didn’t fully understand their commitment to putting on high quality concerts no matter what the situation. It was inspiring. I was also reminded about how much people need “live” and need to be together. A night out to see your favorite band is something that resets the spirit, and that was something that seemed more important than ever in 2021. I also think being together in a large group reminds everyone that we are in fact together, and far more similar than different. Smiling and laughing became the infection, and it spread with each show.

Seacoastonline: Outside of takeaways, what were your highlights of 2021?

Herrick: Seems like the staff highlight was a toss-up between the Dirty Heads and Frank Turner. I don’t know why some shows have that extra “thing.” It’s some kind of connection between band and fan, but when it happens you can see it and it happened during those shows for sure. I’ll personally never forget watching Roots of Creation take the stage as the first act to perform at the Ballroom in 601 days. That was hair-raising. Other notables were Kip Moore, Ann Wilson, JJ Grey (who is coming back this summer), and six sold-out shows with Sebastian Maniscalco. Overall, a pretty special year.

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Seacoastonline: How’s 2022 shaping up? It seems like you all have a lot of shows on the books already, and you’re way ahead of the game in terms of announced shows on the website at this point in the game (pre-season).

Herrick: Yes, 2022 is looking great, I think “normal” has finally returned in our world and that is what we are the most excited about - a full, uninterrupted concert series! Everyone is touring and the industry in general has a buzz about it that has been missing for far too long. We have a killer spring already on sale with sold-out shows from Styx, Cole Swindell, Bonnie Raitt, Clutch, Weird Al, Sevendust, and Tesla. Our comedy series is off to a super strong start with Iliza, Steve-O, Sal Vulcano and Brian Regan. And then we have some serious talent rolling through with acts like Trombone Shorty, two nights of Joe Bonamassa, Buddy Guy, and multiple shows from Kip Moore. The best news is that it’s really early from a booking standpoint, so we have a ton of shows still to add. We add shows each week all year long so it’s important to keep checking in to see what’s new. Join our email list or follow us on socials.

Seacoastonline: I’m digging the mix of things I’m seeing here. What’s the importance of variety as it pertains to piecing together a season? Is it a strategic effort or does it just happen that way in the realm of “whatever’s coming around”?

Herrick: I would love to say that we can plan for variety, but really, we have to work around what is touring at the time. There are times we may stay away from one show because there is another show like it booked or playing some place else, but overall, we take the shows that make the most sense for our size room and hope that over the course of the year there is variety in the schedule. It isn’t typically an issue. If we were programming a smaller concert series, I think we would pay more attention to it.

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Seacoastonline: Trombone Shorty, George Porter Jr. playing the Meters(!), Clutch, The Sword, Bonnie Raitt, Weird Al, Joe Bonamassa … There’s a lot of hitters rolling through! What shows excite you? Do you ever get excited for an upcoming show the way you would as “a fan”? Or, dare I say, do any shows keep you up the night before like seven-year-old Andy on Christmas Eve hoping for that Red Rider BB gun?

Herrick: Seven-year-old Andy shows up from time to time; everyone needs a Red Rider show! I love to see shows that always deliver. For example, Bonnie Raitt is a guarantee. That show will be amazing. She is so present and so talented. Then there are shows that I think will be great or interesting that I can’t wait for. So far this year I would say Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown is the one I’m most excited for. That seems like a show nobody should miss. Anything could happen on that night and the talent on stage will be unmatched.

Seacoastonline: Sevendust is back. It’s been a bit since they’ve been in, hasn’t it? I feel like they were a staple for many years.

Herrick: Yeah, Sevendust is a Ballroom favorite for sure! Lajon, Morgan, and the boys have always been so kind to us, and we have had some incredible nights at the beach with them. They used to play for us twice a year. Scheduling and timing are the only reasons we haven’t had them in a bit, but this show went on sale and sold right out. Maybe we can convince them to come back in the fall?

Seacoastonline: Who all is playing with Jason Bonham during his “Led Zeppelin Evening” gig? Or is he just hammering out all the fills from all the hits? I’m sure as a drummer, you’d be pretty pumped about that. Heck maybe you could open and reimagine some old Assembly of Dust tunes as solo drum pieces? OK, OK, I digress…

Herrick: Yeah, Reid loves when I do solo rhythmic interpretations of his music … haha.

I actually don’t know who is in Jason’s band, but they had us at “Jason Bonham,” and the show is certainly getting amazing reviews. My friend that saw the show last year said it was the most authentic interpretation of Led Zeppelin’s music he had ever seen. Makes sense, I mean Jason grew up with the soul of that band as his father. I have had the pleasure to stand side stage and watch Jason play with so many bands at the Ballroom; Bonham, Sammy Hagar, Black Country Communion… it’s the ultimate job perk for me — free lessons, ha ha.

Seacoastonline: I always love seeing the progression of regional talent who have built themselves from the ground up in this area and now have headlining gigs at the Ballroom (hello Twiddle and Ripe). I can remember Twiddle when they were all teenagers trying to break into the Stone Church some 15 years ago.

Herrick: Yep, one of my absolute favorite things. The slow build leads to the long career. Two great examples here: Twiddle has been tearing it up from coast to coast for a while now and Ripe is on the quick rise. If you haven’t seen Ripe, you are missing out. That is one show I can’t wait for. We have had them as an opening act, but I can’t wait to see what they do as a headliner; ridiculously talented group.

Seacoastonline: Alright, the season kicks off on March 26 with a sold-out Styx show. What excites you about kicking the doors open? What can fans expect? What do they need to know (if anything)?

Herrick: We spend an entire winter planning and adjusting for this moment, so opening night is always exciting. We get to actually see people in the room! Once again, we have made a number of off-season “improvements” to the room, which perhaps some people wouldn’t notice, but some people will. Things like a larger, faster freight elevator for the bands go unnoticed, but help us immensely. Things like a brand-new front deck, where we will be offering pre-show dinners to a limited amount of people for some shows, will be amazing especially in the fringe season when most of the restaurants here aren’t open for pre-show dining.

You can also look for upgraded production with new moving lights, new video walls, and a whole lot more. As far as what fans need to know, my biggest takeaway from the pandemic is buy tickets from Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster is our only verified ticketing agent. We are under contract with them, and they handle all our ticketing needs. Every show link can be found on our website casinoballroom.com, but if you are purchasing from anywhere else, we may not be able to contact you directly with show information, show updates or, heaven forbid, refunds or exchanges. Other than that, people should know that the live performance is about letting go of all the s**t in your life and living in the moment; so, enjoy it!

Visit www.casinoballroom.com for further information.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Beach NH Casino Ballroom ready to rock for 2022 season