Rustic Overtones return for hometown show

The first words off Rustic Overtones’ newest album, “Viva Nueva,” beckon listeners to “C’mon” with them.

Maine fans will have their chance when the Portland-bred band returns home for one of their last performances of the summer Aug. 24 at the Union Fair.

And if Rustic’s keyboardist Spencer Albee is right, the Union show will be another legendary rock show.

“We’ll go out there and play as hard as we can, and the Maine crowd will give us back 110 percent and make it easy,” Albee said in a recent phone interview as his bandmates tuned their instruments and practiced in the background.

“I’m banking on it being one of the most memorable of the summer,” he said.

In June, the six-member band released their major-label debut with Tommy Boy Records, “Viva Nueva.”

For the group, the album signified a new life for the band, as the title implies.

In 1998, the group signed with Arista but their album was in limbo during management changes. When the band was released from the deal in January, they signed with Tommy Boy.

“We felt revitalized after we got out of the sticky deal with Arista and then we got our comfortable new home at Tommy Boy-it’s like ahhh, this is fun again,” Albee said.

And even though Rustic fans had to wait, Albee said they hung on regardless.

“They understood we were in a [expletive] situation and they were patient,” he said. “When we finally did release the record they were happy for us.”

The band is returning to their hometown fans after a stint down south. Albee said with every show, the crowd that turned out grew exponentially.

“It was cool and we had a lot of good times – you can’t expect every show to be a winner and of course there are some struggles but for every show that is a struggle, there are five shows that are awesome,” Albee said.

For ticket information, contact Union Fair organizers at 785-3281.