page_title: Culture of New England
section_title: Social activities and music
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of New England / Social activities and music
caption_attribution_description: English: Vergennes City Hall/Vergennes Opera House Suomi: Vergennesin kaupungintalo, oopperatalo ja poliisiasema. Español: Vergennes ayuntamiento y la ópera. Nederlands: Vergennes het stadhuis en de opera Français&#160;: Hôtel de ville de Vergennes et Maison d'opéra
context_page_description: The culture of New England comprises a shared heritage and culture primarily shaped by its indigenous peoples, early English colonists, and waves of immigration from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. In contrast to other American regions, most of New England's earliest Puritan settlers came from eastern England, contributing to New England's distinctive accents, foods, customs, and social structures.
context_section_description: In much of rural northern New England, particularly Maine, Acadian and Québécois culture are included in music and dance. Contra dancing and country square dancing are popular throughout New England, usually backed by live Irish, Acadian, or other folk music.
  Traditional knitting, quilting and rug hooking circles in rural New England have become less common; church, sports, and town government are more typical social activities. These traditional gatherings are often hosted in individual homes or civic centers; larger groups regularly assemble at special-purpose ice cream parlors that dot the countryside. New England leads the U.S. in ice cream consumption per capita.
  In the U.S., candlepin bowling is essentially confined to New England, where it was invented in the 19th century.   Basketball was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts, and volleyball was invented in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
  New England was for some time an important center of American classical music. The Yankee tunesmiths or First New England school were active 1770-1820, giving birth to "America's First National Anthem", and Second New England School was instrumental in reinvigorating classical music about a century later. Prominent modernist composers also come from the region, including Charles Ives and John Adams. Boston is the site of the New England Conservatory and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The Yale School of Music in New Haven, CT is another renowned institution.
  In rock music, the region has produced bands as different as Aerosmith, Phish, the Pixies, and Boston. Dick Dale, a Quincy, Massachusetts native, helped popularize surf rock. The region has also become a hotbed for Hardcore Punk and Heavy Metal music (especially with regards to Metalcore and Deathcore).
caption: Opera houses and theaters, like the Vergennes Opera House in Vergennes, Vermont, are popular in New England towns.
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