LYNN — Zainoland is a wonderful, magical, musical place. It’s a place where John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” coexists with Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings,” where comedy and popular song intermingle, where the unexpected is to be expected.
And you’re invited every Sunday this month at 3 p.m., when Nick and Melissa Zaino perform a Facebook Live concert from the living room of their Lynn home. If you’re lucky, their two dachshunds and cats might even wander in and pop up on your computer screen.
It will be screened live on the Nick A Zaino III Facebook page and on Melissa’s Instagram account @zainoland. The shows are free but the couple hopes viewers will make a donation to favorite charities World Central Kitchen and the Thrive Cares Foundation.
Since the coronavirus pandemic necessitated the cancelation of live shows, many musicians, including North Shore friends Don White and Corey and Sarah Jackson, are performing regularly on Zoom and Facebook Live.
Nick, a freelance writer who covers comedy for the Boston Globe, has released CDs of his original Americana-like songs and has an EP in the works. Melissa, who has a degree in music therapy and hosted singer-songwriter nights at the Burren in Somerville for several years, is an “HR lady now,” in charge of benefits for a pediatric home-care firm.
Nick and the former Melissa Morris met in the backroom at the Burren, married in 2004 and moved to Lynn in 2006. “We liked Lynn right away, the openness of the people, its affordability. The artistic community is very welcoming and supportive. The Walnut Street Cafe has become my home base here; they’ve been very good to me,” said Nick.
Nick will also present a virtual solo show on Monday at 3 p.m. as part of the ArtWeekAtHome celebration. He said virtual concerts are a different animal. “You live for the feedback from the audience, and you miss that. It’s even tougher for comics, where timing and waiting for laugh breaks are crucial.”
He also records a podcast, The Artist Check-in, that chronicles the lives of artists and performers since their gigs vanished due to the COVID-19 quarantine. “There’s a need to chronicle the creative community’s experience and how they are responding, how they are navigating until we return to the normal world,” said Nick. “Independent authors, for an example, bought boxes of books to sign during book tours that were, of course, canceled. The live experience is how you attract people to your work, how you make a connection that will pay off in the long term.”
