Tupelo Music Hall — Attraction in Derry

Tupelo, Tupelo, Tupelo!!! I cannot sing the praises of this music venue loud enough or long enough. One of the best music hall venues I have visited. I once had the honor of knowing a woman who single, handedly revived the Connecticut repertory theaters. Her philosophy was that the show begins in the parking lot. Arriving at Tupelo was easy, not a difficult place to find. Parking lot was easy to negotiate providing ample, convenient parking space for all concert goers. The doors open 90 minutes before the show and the staff was punctual and friendly. The Concert Hall is incredibly clean, background music playing and check in easy. The main arrival area includes a large accommodating bar for a pre show drink.  A kitchen is available to cook up some small snacks, burgers, pizza and some wraps. The menu although limited included a satisfying selection; All the food leaving the kitchen looked delicious. If I had not eaten before my arrival I certainly would have ordered something from the menu. Small, tall, pub tables pepper the large arrival area providing an easy place to rest, eat and drink before the show.  All this and I have not even sat down in my assigned seat. My seat was great and I could hear and see everything on stage; I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house.  By most standards, it was an ample size room that felt comfortable and cozy. The type of venue that gives the feeling of the perfect intimacy needed for just such a show. I lived in NYC for a while been to Broadway, off-Broadway, village pubs, mid town clubs, piano bars yada, yada, yada…love Tupelo!

Todd Rundgren was the headliner and he and his uber-talented band did not disappoint. The show was called, “Unpredictable”. In addition, it lived up to its name, it was just that, an eclectic collection of songs taken from many different sources and periods in time. We sang, we laughed and we were entertained. I have but one small critique, and this is not just a criticism of this performer but all entertainers. Keep your political views out of the show. I paid to be entertained. I just want to be emotionally, transported to a happy place. I paid for a moment to escape the daily grind. The last thing I wanted was to listen to another talking head, talking politics. I do not want my dentist, car mechanic, tailor or fish monger to discuss their politics. I certainly do not want my singer/songwriters schooling me on their politics…just not interested. If I was, I would have gone to a political fund raiser.

Just sing to me, like I am the only one in the house….(sigh). I am coming...

I’m not a fan of giving poor reviews but I’m also not a fan of getting ripped off. We have been going to Tupelo well before they open their new facility. In 2019 we bought a bunch of tickets for shows in 2020 that we were not able to use because of the pandemic. We saw a video clip of Scott Hayward crying on TV because the venue wasn’t going to make it. He begged us the people to please please consider waiting for the show to be rescheduled or to take a credit from the venue instead of a refund. Of course we didn’t want our favorite venue to close so we opted to wait for the shows to be rescheduled. Mind you we bought these tickets in 2019. Two weeks ago we saw that Yngwie Malmsteen was doing a show November 26. So we bought two tickets. Again no policy changes that were brought to our attention. We then see throughout social media and through an email that Tupelo is now requiring proof of vaccination or proof of a Covid testing 72 hours before the show and they highly recommend we wear a mask while we’re there. Absolutely not! We wanted a refund because these policies were changed after we bought our initial tickets. We were told that we absolutely would not receive a refund. You can’t Can’t change the policy to shows previously purchased. You can’t tell concert goers so sad too bad you don’t believe in our policy you’re not getting your money back. It’s underhanded, slimy and in my opinion theft. For months you held onto our money interest free because we didn’t ask for a refund and now you’re basically giving us the middle finger. They blocked me on all social media when I brought this to their attention. Haven’t returned any of my calls or emails. They received a good sized government grant so I don’t see why they can’t refund people their money. It’s funny how greed...

We saw a show at this venue a few weeks ago and loved it. Last night we went to see Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew of The Talking Heads and were HIGHLY disappointed! For starters, they offered a Meet & Greet that started at 5pm, however, the food and beverage area didn’t open until 6:30pm. It was 95 degrees out and we couldn’t even buy a water. In addition, the Meet & Greet was an open discussion type forum. They had the artists sit in chairs in the lobby and those of us who paid $130 each for this experience had to stand around. No chairs, no water. It’s one thing if it’s a traditional Meet & Greet where everyone is standing in line for their turn to meet the artist and get a picture taken then it makes sense to have everyone stand, but this was not that. This was a Q&A session. The worst was yet to come… I understand that seating arrangements can be changed in these types of venues to accommodate more guests and I’m all for that, however, they used the chairs they use for dining so they’re tiny. They had us so crammed in there that you couldn’t even dance. It’s a concert and you can’t dance. The band kept asking everyone to join them in dancing and we literally couldn’t. My partner was so crammed up against the wall that he had a hard time standing. Part of what makes for a good concert experience is dancing. Plus it was The Talking heads, it’s all dancing. What an incredible disservice to the musicians that you hosted. Will definitely think twice before coming to see a show here again. If you are someone who likes to sit throughout concerts, this venue is perfect for you. If you like to dance at concerts, I absolutely do not...