Celebrating 25 Years Of Performances At Concord’s Hermanos Cocina Mexicana: Watch

CONCORD, NH — As any musician knows, gigs can sometimes be hard to come by. Especially in a recession. Entertainment is often one of the first things cut by restaurants.

But whether the Concord economy has been up or down, Hermanos Cocina Mexicana is one establishment that has consistently hosted music, including one band that has been performing monthly for a quarter of a century.

State Street Combo recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, performing monthly on Hermanos. The band currently plays once a month on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The band’s lineup features Mary Fagan on vocals and guitar, Jock Irvine on bass, BJ Steinberg on guitar, Tim Wildman on piano and trumpet, and Ed Raczka on drums. In August, Jim Wildman sat in on the trombone and Raczka could not perform due to being out of town.

The band originally started in Portsmouth in the early 1990s as the State Street Rhythm & Blues Band, playing all over the region. In September 1997, the band landed its first gig at Hermanos.

Irvine said the band has evolved over the years, with musicians joining and playing when they can. Steinberg and Raczka have been playing with the band since the beginning. Fagan is the latest addition. Irvine and Fagan went to Concord High School together. She joined in 2017 after they lined up some gigs, got to talking about the combo, and he asked her to sit in with them. Irvine did not think she would want to play, but they clicked when she did. He also performs with her, too.

Fagan has been playing across the country for many years but performing with the combo is a laidback and enjoyable experience.

“It’s fun,” Fagan said. “It’s nice, we’re local, we come down and hang out, play some tunes, and have some dinner. It’s a really relaxed setting.”

During the pandemic, Tim Wildman organized concerts on Columbus Avenue during the stay-at-home order and performed 100 consecutive concerts. He has been playing with Irvine for close to 14 years. His brother Jim, who just turned 80, comes up from Brooklyn, New York, to play.

Jane Valliere, the owner of Hermanos, founded the restaurant in the 1980s and said one of her missions was to bring more folk and jazz music to establishments north of Boston. She aimed for “quality acts,” like the State Street Combo and many others that are in the stable of artists that play upstairs on Hills Avenue, that would not only entertain clientele but would perform good music, too.

Many of the musicians who perform at Hermanos also teach at the Concord Community Music School or work in Boston or have other day jobs, she said. If she could, Valliere would have more bands and music. But the eatery, like many dealing with short staffing, has cut back on the days and nights the restaurant is open for business.

“We just can’t staff the restaurant,” she said. “We are like everybody else in Concord now, and unfortunately, this has been going on for years.”

Valliere called her team “incredibly talented,” but she was also “not a magician.”

“I cannot hire people no matter what we pay,” she said. “We give bonuses, free meals on a shift, discounts, and I can’t do any more than what I’ve been doing. We are all feeling the pain.”

But it is all worth it and especially being one of the only places around that regularly hosts musicians consistently, for many decades, as eateries and fads change all around Concord.

“There are a lot of really good bands,” Valliere said. “And that is what makes it so special.”

Hermanos is closed Sunday and Monday; hours on Tuesday through Thursday run from 3 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, hours are from noon to 9 p.m. The musicians perform from 6:30 to 9 p.m. upstairs.

Irvine, too, said Valliere really needed to be praised for committing to music at her restaurant. The length of time the combo has been able to play “is a testament to Hermanos and to Jane … they made the commitment that this was going to be a music room,” Irving said.

It has also been a testament, too, of the commitment the band has to the audience and eatery — whether there are a few people in the room or a packed house.

State Street Combo play Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 at Hermanos.

For more information about the band, visit the State Street Music website, linked here. To find out more about Hermanos, visit its website, linked here.

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