CONTRIBUTED

The Rooster's Wife continues to bring words and music to the Sandhills with a pair of special offerings this week in the gallery room of Poplar Knight Spot, located at 114 Knight St., in downtown Aberdeen.

On Friday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m., Stephen Smith reads from most his recent book, "A Short Report on the Fire at Woolworths." The reading will be followed by a potluck supper with beverages supplied by PineStraw magazine.

On Sunday, Nov. 14, jazz returns to the Spot with Ameranouche. Doors open at 6 p.m, with music starting at 6:45 p.m. Admission is $10 in advance and $12 on the day of the show.

The trio Ameranouche features two French acoustic Gypsy jazz guitars and upright bass, and is a winner of Best of New Hampshire awards as well as being veterans of the famed Newport Jazz Festival. The group tours nationally, year-round, and has released two albums, largely of original music inspired by legendary Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. National Lampoon director Kevin Wheatley calls Ameranouche "the new sound of America."

The fire and sparks come from Richard Sheppard, whose fingers move with blinding speed across the fret board of his guitar, producing perfectly pitched, rapid-fire licks and melodic runs up and down the neck. The riffs and melodies coming off Sheppard's guitar entertain the ear, through their brightness and joy, and his hands entertain the eye and the mind.

Ryan Flaherty is a great example of a rhythm guitarist. Sheppard creates his amazing lead parts by riffing off the expertly maintained rhythms and changes in tempo that Flaherty lays down like a machine. But Flaherty is a machine with a soul that is filled with romance and high spirits.

Xar Adelberg is a young woman with a double bass who stands in the background between these two firebrand guitarists, out of the limelight. The primary role that the lead and rhythm guitar parts play in this music leads one to assume that a supporting instrumentalist such as a bassist would be merely trying to keep up. This is not the role that Adelberg has taken in this trio. Her lyrical bass lines appear assertively in the mix, and stitch the lead and rhythm guitar parts together into the whole cloth.

The Rooster's Wife presents words and music this fall, with an interesting array of genres, from singer songwriters to poetry readings, to full-on jazz , and all things ukulele, to fulfill the mission of creating and maintaining community through the arts.

Tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.theroosterswife.org with credit or debit cards, or at the door with cash or checks.