Tonight, Thursday, November 5, two Hampton Beach stages are booked at once. Clutch headlines the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on its US Fall Tour, with Slomosa and Blood Vulture opening. At Wally's, it's Bumpin Uglies.
It won't stay that way, and the shutdown doesn't happen in one weekend. The beach closes in a set order, each venue on its own date, across about three weeks. This year the first of those dates carries extra weight. The Ballroom's next season will be its 100th, and it is also the last one confirmed before redevelopment of the Casino complex is expected to begin.
The Last Nights of the Ballroom's 99th Season
The Ballroom's fall schedule started its final stretch on Wednesday with Corrosion of Conformity and The Sword. Five shows remain after that, and two are already sold out.
| Date | Act | Ticket status on the Ballroom's schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 4 | Corrosion of Conformity & The Sword, with Hippie Death Cult | Already played |
| Thu., Nov. 5 | Clutch, with Slomosa & Blood Vulture | On sale |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | BEAT: Belew, Vai, Levin and Bozzio performing the music of King Crimson | On sale |
| Sun., Nov. 8 | John Mulaney, Mister Whatever | Sold out |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Greensky Bluegrass, Fall 2026 Tour | On sale |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Mitchell Tenpenny, Speed of Light Tour | Sold out |
The next date on the Casino Ballroom's own schedule is Saturday, June 5, 2027, when Our Last Night opens a two-night run on its Covers Only Tour Part 2. That first night is already sold out. After Mitchell Tenpenny walks off on November 21, the room sits dark for about six and a half months.
The Portsmouth Herald, writing in September, said acts including W.A.S.P., Lee Brice, John Mulaney and Kathleen Madigan would close out the Ballroom's 2026 season and set up its 100th season next year.
Why the 100th Season Is the One to Plan Around
Most years the Ballroom's closing night is just the end of another season. This year it's the last close before what may be the venue's final full season as it stands now.
In February, NHPR republished a Portsmouth Herald report saying the redevelopment of the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom complex is now expected to begin after the 2027 summer season, which lets the concert venue reach its 100th season. The Portsmouth Herald's original story reported the same timing. The project itself was approved by Hampton in November 2025, according to NHPR's earlier coverage linked in that report.
The Ballroom team has been upbeat about it. In the same NHPR piece, marketing director Andrew Herrick put it this way: "We've got 99 seasons, but this ain't the last one." The venue's press release added that it "will definitely be here for 2027, our 100th anniversary year and beyond."
So right now, 2027 is confirmed and the years after it are a promise. If you've been meaning to see a show in that room, the next few weeks are your 2026 chance. Watch for the 2027 lineup announcements over the winter.
Bernie's Is Done. Sea Ketch Holds On Until November 29.
The oceanfront restaurants have their own order. Bernie's Beach Bar has already posted "Closed for the season" and wrapped up its 2026 run.
Sea Ketch stays open about a week past the Ballroom. Its website currently lists September, October and November as open months and November 29 as the last day of the season. This year November 29 is the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so that listed date would carry Sea Ketch through the holiday weekend.
The restaurant has been on the beach since 1973. It has multi-level oceanfront decks, two outdoor bars, and an indoor bar it describes as suited to "year-round comfort." By late November, the indoor bar is the one that gets used. The ocean view comes with you whichever bar you pick, and in November you'll be sharing it with a much thinner crowd than in July.
For anyone hosting out-of-town family over Thanksgiving, a lunch at Sea Ketch on Friday, November 27, or Saturday, November 28, is one of the last chances this year to eat at Hampton Beach with the water in view.
Wally's Keeps the Strip's Calendar Running Into December
Wally's has no posted end date. Its schedule runs right past both the Ballroom's finale and Sea Ketch's last day:
- Thursday, Nov. 5: Bumpin Uglies
- Friday, Nov. 6: The Warped Tour Band
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Tropidelic
- Thursday, Nov. 12: Chili Cookoff
- Thursday, Nov. 19: Eddie & The Getaway
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Emo Night
- Thursday, Dec. 10: Chayce Beckham
- Saturday, Dec. 19: Metalcore Toy Drive
Look at how this lines up with the Ballroom. On November 20 and 21, the Ballroom has its last two nights and Wally's has nothing listed. Once the Ballroom goes dark, Wally's picks up the beach's live music with Emo Night on Thanksgiving weekend and more shows into mid-December. Its current calendar is the one to check after the 21st.
The Off-Season Moves a Few Miles Inland
When the beach empties out, the winter plans move to North Hampton. On October 2, Skog & Stone Sauna Company opened two wood-fired Finnish-style saunas, with cold plunges, at Throwback Brewery.
Owner Prince Boateng explained the reasoning in a Portsmouth Herald story on the opening. "There's just a limited amount of activities that you can do in New England in the winter if you're not doing snow sports," he said. He told the paper he first came across Scandinavian sauna culture on Navy Reserve trips to the region.
Here's what the Herald reported about how it works:
- Booking. Sessions are reserved through Skog & Stone's website and can be booked any time the brewery is open.
- The heat. The two units run between 165 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Guests start with 5 to 15 minutes inside.
- The plunge. Then comes a cold plunge of 1 to 4 minutes at 40 to 50 degrees, followed by time outside to cool down. Most guests do 2 or 3 rounds in an hour.
- The price. A private one-hour session holds up to eight people and costs $80 for two guests, plus $30 for each extra person. Community sessions run 90 minutes on Fridays and Saturdays at $30 per person.
Throwback has made it part of a night out. The brewery brewed a beer to drink after a session, and co-owner Annette Lee described the appeal as "sweating it out on a farm, under the sky, and then coming inside to warm up with your friends." Saturday, November 21 works as a full evening: an early community session in North Hampton, then a drive down to the beach for the Ballroom's last night of the season, if you already have tickets.
After Thanksgiving, Lafayette Road Takes Over
Once Sea Ketch closes on November 29, Hampton's next big public date is downtown. The town's 16th annual Holiday Parade is Saturday, December 5, stepping off at 1 p.m.
Lafayette Road also has a newcomer to watch. In September, the Portsmouth Herald reported that the team behind Ronaldo's Ristorante is launching Ronaldo's European Market, a market and deli selling the restaurant's favorites along with specialty European products. State liquor commission records list it at 830 Lafayette Road, Suite B. Call ahead for hours before you make a special trip.
For more on the towns around the beach, the Rockingham County neighborhood page is a good place to start.
If you live near the beach and your own plans for next year include a move, a sale, or just a clearer picture of what your home is worth before the Ballroom's 100th summer, I'd be glad to talk it through. Jeanette Bandouveres knows the Seacoast in every season, including the quiet ones. Let's Connect.
