 As the curtain closes on our Concert Cast journey through Season One, we experience Maine’s concert culture through two very different and wonderful places; Downeast and Aroostook County. While one conjures visions of lobsters and the other potatoes, they are a perfect pairing; just add butter and live music! As I write this post, I am reminded of two feelings that cannot be described, only felt. Leaving home and returning home... As we close out our adventure together, it's fitting we begin with a stop in my hometown of Sullivan, Maine.
If you LOVE THE CREATIVE PROCESS then listen to: Episode 9 & 10 Southwest Harbor & Sullivan In Episode 9 we meet up with award winning film composer and Jazz Musician Ryan Blotnick who scored the fame documentary, "Knock Down the House". He talks about moving back to Southwest Harbor from NYC and how his love of jazz is rooted in nature. Episode 10 - we head across the bay to Sullivan, my hometown! A town that is very quiet but loudly inspiring. In Episode 10 I catch up with Craig Grossi, a military veteran who completed his memoir about rescuing a street dog from Afghanistan at my rental property called, The Lucky Stone Retreat. The second half of the Sullivan episode is a volume turner. It features a phone interview and lots of music with my friend, Audrey Ryan who resides in North Sullivan (grittier part of town) for the summer season. This woman is a creative force. Not only does she perform indie rock, loop all sorts of wild instruments, but she is a psychologist, a DIY venue owner and to cap it off, a fiction writer.In this episode we talk about playing on islands in Maine, tour stories, and how lyrics to one of her folk songs, about Maine’s most popular alcohol, was crowdsourced by parents & fans. Insider Tip: When traveling to Maine, get yourself a gallon of Allen’s Coffee Brandy. Mix with milk and pour over ice - crank some local music while sipping in the stunning vistas If Covid has you CRAVING A ROAD TRIP then listen to: Episode 8: Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is on the east side on Mount Desert Island which is home to wildly beloved Acadia National Park. The coastal town is roughly 3 hours north of Portland and the road trip is well worth it, especially if you take the long way via Historic Route 1. In true road-tripping form, you might add an extra day to visit a nationally recognized art museum, eat at an iconic pit stop and treat yourself to handmade Maine craft. Once you arrive on Mount Desert Island, the island itself provides an open invitation to get comfortably lost (only one way on and one way off). Scout the island to check out several communities,, each offering their own distinctive personality. After exploring the national park, you’ll want to head into the heart of Bar Harbor. Skip the tourist traps and head to Rodick Street AKA “Music Row” where you’ll find an off the beaten path selection of restaurants with live music and local talent of many sorts! The anchor here is Lompoc Cafe which was started by Doug Mafucci in the early 80’s who later went on to start Atlantic Brewery, Maine’s first craft beer company. “What’s really interesting is that we kinda needed to connect the dots along the coast of Maine. Portland has a big music scene, so does Rockland, and we were the northern most part of that trip. By having a good venue here it actually encouraged venues to pop up a lot the way. You had this sort of road trip where you could go on vacation and see music along the coast of Maine every stop along the way. " In this episode we’ll hear more from Doug and what it was like opening a radical venue in a little tourist town and also from Jenna Young, the co-owner of Side Street Cafe and The Annex who talks about her process of creating a vibe as well as the allure of Rodick Street. If you LOVE DISCOVERING NEW MUSIC then listen to: Episode 12: Birding Head to the biggest venue in Maine - the woods! Birding is a big thing here... walking in the woods, listening to the crunch of leaves under your feet and birds singing from their stage in the trees makes for nature's best concert experience. And here in Maine, we have so many birds, due in part because we have so many bugs! In Episode 12 I catch up with my friend Chris Riley who is an avid birder to talk about chirp notes and popular birds in Maine. After listening to this episode, you’ll surely find yourself paying a little closer attention to nature’s concert culture! If you LOVE VENUES & HISTORY then listen to: Episode 14: Eureka Hall Driving to Maine’s most remote music venue in Stockholm, Maine was like venturing to an entirely different state. Coastlines morphed into potato fields, and soon miles of nothingness. I drove up to see Ben Cosgrove perform at Eureka Hall, a venue I had been wanting to visit for quite sometime now. They always have terrific shows lined up and also have a cutting edge food menu. Going to Eureka embodied the entire concert experience for me: Traveling for Live Music. While waiting for Ben to take the stage at Eureka, I struck up a convo with Ezra, the bartender. "Eureka has gone through 1000 iterations. So this is the second building it used to be four stories tall.Then it burnt down. It used to be the town office. It used to be the nursing home. It used to be an arcade. Used to be the town hall. Used to be you name it. That's where they used to take care of kids, old people. And then they converted into a restaurant back in the 80s. And now it's technically this is the 21st birthday of Eureka as a restaurant. So it's worth celebrating." This two-part episode is chock-full of delightful conversations and offers great perspective on a piece of Maine that oftentimes gets overlooked.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
RSS Feed