David Albert McLaughlin died peacefully of natural causes at home this month. He was 73.

He loved New Hampshire, Boston, and Maine, and thought they offered the best of everything. His life’s passion was bringing music to northern New England; he took tremendous pride in promoting local artists along with national acts. He and his now-ex-wife Carol raised daughters Elizabeth and Lydia in Derry, New Hampshire. Every day until the end of his life he did yoga and went for long walks.

Dave was born in 1950 in Nashua, New Hampshire, the youngest son of Dorothy Francoeur and John McLaughlin. His eldest brother Jack currently lives in Nice, France. His brother Robert passed away in 2016, creating an empty space in Dave’s life that was impossible to fill.

Of his childhood in Nashua, he shared fond memories of running around outside and spending time in the boardinghouse owned by his grandparents. At his Catholic primary school, he largely but not always successfully tried to avoid the wrath of the nuns. In high school, he was a class clown who could reliably distract the teachers from their lectures, derailing class for the day. He believed that the Nashua High class of ’68 was the best class the school ever graduated. Through his childhood and teenage years, summers spent on Hampton Beach were the best times. His career in the music industry began at the beach; he would wait by the Casino Ballroom and help bands load in their gear. He did a stint at UMass Boston and always recalled this period as invigorating. Around then he was also spending a lot of time in Ogunquit, Maine, and he managed to get class credit at UMass for an independent study project in which he built a cabin in the woods with his friends.

Starting in teenage years and throughout his life, music was everything for Dave. His home and car were always filled with folk or Americana or Celtic music or jazz or blues or bluegrass or reggae or “world music.” While Top 40 and adult contemporary were decidedly banned, the Saturday morning WUNH Polka Party was, to the chagrin of others who shared the home, always welcome.

Dave built a career out of his love of music: his production company HepTunes. Anyone who had a chance to attend a HepTunes show experienced something beautiful and special. Bringing high-quality music to northern New England was a privilege Dave never stopped appreciating. He had a specific dedication to helping artists from diverse backgrounds establish a presence in New England. Through the years these included Rolly Gray, Tiger Okoshi, and, recently, Senie Hunt. In fact, as Dave himself would say, he worked with too many great artists to name. He worked with so many New England acts, especially in the Americana and Celtic scenes, including but certainly not limited to: Harvey Reid and Joyce Anderson, EJ Ouellette, Audrey Ryan, Matt and Shannon Heaton, Hanneke Cassel, Lissa Schneckenburger, Laura Cortese, Crooked Still and Rushad Eggleston, and Cat and the Moon. The brilliant national acts he worked with included Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Hot Tuna, Toots and the Maytals, Leo Kottke, Tom Rush, Jonathan Edwards, Natalie McMaster, Bela Fleck, Bruce Cockburn, and David Grisman. Towards the end of his career, Dave was able to pursue projects he found especially meaningful, such as the Bellevue Roots music series in Newburyport, shows in the loft at the Joy Nest in Newburyport, parties with the Dis N Dat Band on Plum Island, and Brian O’Donovan’s Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourns.

HepTunes was a feat. On show days it was staffed by a dedicated rotating group of New England music lovers, but otherwise it was a one-man operation. He’d complain about the distance he had to drive and the industry people he had to deal with, but he would never have had it any other way. For decades he promoted his shows primarily with posters, a number of which were designed by Carol. He hung them in music stores and on community billboards and in shop windows. He always knew the most visible shop windows in town; sometimes hanging posters in them was a subversive act that he did while ignoring the protests of staff who apparently didn’t appreciate art. He walked and walked around Boston, Portland, Portsmouth, Manchester, and elsewhere, hanging up posters. He used the internet to advertise when it became available; prior to that, he also spent a lot of time cajoling WGBH, WXRV, and others to promote his shows.

As for family life, Dave raised his daughters to love the beach, the woods, and Boston. He left the New Yorker lying around the house so they could be exposed to interesting ideas even when they were little. He encouraged his daughters to think critically and prioritize getting educated. Among the McLaughlins, he had nieces and nephews from a young age (Sara and Neal), and, later, Katie, Will, and Adam. His role as an uncle was very important to him. When his mother Dorothy developed Alzheimer’s it was one of the tragedies of his life, and he did all he could to get her the best care. Dave’s extended family grew as his life went on, and he loved getting to know McLaughlins and others whom he hadn’t met when younger. He had dogs through the years, though in his 40s he had to stop because it broke his heart too badly when they died.

It's rare and lucky to meet a unique person. Dave was one. He always had so much to tell people, because he observed everything in an effort to know everything. His hyperlocal Merrimack Valley accent could never be imitated, even by his own family members. On the phone he was always saying “consequently”; another greatest hit was “be that as it may.” He liked current events though they pained him because he wanted the world to be fair and just. He was a lifelong Democrat and there must be an afterlife so he and Robert can gripe about the Democratic Party there instead of here on earth. Quietly, he was a passionate Boston sports fan. He loved seeing the Celtics play, and loved seeing them win more, and he walked into Fenway Park with no ticket for Game 7 of the 2013 World Series (the Sox won). He could – and would – tell you anything you needed to know about where to get organic produce, the right dried apricots, and whole grain brown rice at the cheapest prices.

Dave never wanted a conversation to end. He never wanted any good time to end. It is a quieter world without him. 

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