Paula Cole books Groton Hill’s Concert Hall for Feb. 12

Cole is spending this season marking 30 years of ‘This Fire,’ and her February stop puts her in a 1,000-seat hall a short drive from Nashua.

Some records stay with you for three decades. Paula Cole has spent this fall and winter on the road with one of hers, and a February Friday brings that run within easy driving distance of Manchester and Nashua.

Paula Cole plays the Concert Hall at Groton Hill Music Center in Groton, Mass., on Friday, Feb. 12, 2027, at 8 p.m. The date was announced Oct. 26. Tickets are sold through Groton Hill, and the JamBase listing has the details. The hall holds 1,000.

The context is a big anniversary. Cole has been touring under the banner THIS FIRE: 30, which celebrates 30 years of her album This Fire. Venue pages for the tour, including Union Stage in Washington, D.C. and the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, describe a show in which she plays the album from start to finish. This fall the run went through Scottsdale, Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall and Charlottesville. It's also headed overseas, with a date at Glasgow's Cottiers Theatre on Feb. 26, two weeks after Groton.

An album played straight through is a particular kind of night. The surprises don't come from the running order. They come from hearing songs in the sequence they were written for, played by the person who wrote them, 30 years on. For listeners who grew up with the record, that's the draw. For anyone who knows it only from the radio, it's a chance to hear the whole thing.

Cole has kept making new music alongside the anniversary. Her 11th studio album, Lo, was covered by CBS News New York, and her publicist, Shore Fire Media, described it as a deeply personal record. An artist this far into a career who is still releasing albums alongside a retrospective tour is looking back and forward at the same time. It's worth noticing how the old songs sit next to the new ones.

The surprises come from hearing the songs in the sequence they were written for.

The room suits the material. JamBase lists Cole under rock, folk and pop, and her songs depend on a voice and a piano being heard clearly. A 1,000-seat concert hall built for listening is a better fit than a loud club or a cavernous arena, and it's a format Groton Hill does well. If you live in southern New Hampshire, it's the kind of night that justifies the drive down.

Practical notes: it's a Friday in mid-February, so leave time for weather on the way down. Buy through Groton Hill's own site to make sure your tickets are legitimate. If you want the full album experience, get there in time for the start of the set. With a record played in order, the first song matters.

Thirty years is a long time for a record to keep finding new listeners. On Feb. 12, a room full of them will hear it from start to finish.

Sources: Paula Cole THIS FIRE: 30 (Union Stage) (unionstagepresents.com); Paula Cole THIS FIRE: 30 (Jefferson Theater) (jeffersontheater.com); Paula Cole (Ruth Eckerd Hall) (rutheckerdhall.com); Paula Cole THIS FIRE: 30 (Scottsdale Arts) (scottsdalearts.org); Paula Cole at Cottiers Theatre (Ticket Tailor) (tickettailor.com); Paula Cole on 'Lo,' her 11th studio album (CBS News New York) (cbsnews.com); Paula Cole releases deeply personal new album Lo (Shore Fire Media) (shorefire.com); Paula Cole at Groton Hill Music Center (JamBase) (jambase.com); Groton Hill Music Center (grotonhill.org)