Liza Rey Butler’s living room in her cozy old Southwest Harbor home is dominated by a big, comfy sofa, a wood stove, a piano and four harps – two full-size and two small ones. One of the big ones is black, the other a tawny brown, and they stand like ship’s masts in the middle of the room.

When she plays, Butler’s elegant, dexterous fingers pluck the many green, black, red and clear strings on the beautiful instruments, while she manipulates the foot pedals that alter the tones from sharp to flat. Watching someone play harp is like watching someone pat their head and rub their belly at the same time. Playing harp is not an easy thing to do.

“Harp gets a lot of bad press,” said Butler, who is in her late 50s. “People think it’s only used in classical music, and it’s so flowery and ethereal. They just think ‘Greensleeves.’ But the harp is such a cool instrument; it’s very visual, and it’s just so unusual.”

Butler for many years was one of the few harpists in the world to play outside of the classical and traditional folk realms. In fact, her long, colorful career in music spans multiple genres: from her early youth, performing on her family’s television show “The King Family” in the 1960s, to her years spent as a studio musician at Universal, to her current incarnation as a singer and songwriter based in Maine.

Butler will play at 7:30 tonight at Shangri-La in Ellsworth, as well as at the DADGAD Coffeehouse at 7 p.m. Friday, June 6, at the Keith Anderson Community Center in Orono, showcasing the eclectic, intelligent songs from her album “Can’t Go Back,” which she recorded in her living room in 2006.

“I made the album right in the house. I got Pro Tools, and set the drums up in the kitchen, the harp by the wood stove, and the engineer in the living room,” she said. “We had a sea of wires running throughout the house.”

Butler recorded “Can’t Go Back” with fellow Southwest Harbor resident Mike Bennett, a master percussionist who spends half his year in the West African nation of Gambia, studying the polyrhythmic drum traditions of the Worlorf tribe.

“He’s the best drummer I’ve ever worked with,” said Butler. “He plays a piece of cardboard; he plays a tool belt with shakers on it. It’s wonderful and playful and funny.”

Butler plays live with Bennett, along with bassist Phil Kell of Ellsworth. She has collaborated with Bennett ever since she started performing locally, which she initially was hesitant to do, after moving to Maine from Houston, Texas, with her husband, Ned, and after living in Hollywood during her youth. Considering her background, she didn’t think there’d be much for her here.

“I came here not knowing what to do with myself. I figured I’d put music on the back burner, since I didn’t think there was much of anything here,” she said. “I was wrong, though; you just have to find the right people. There’s a community.”

Butler has worked in the music business her whole life. She’s the daughter of famous jazz guitarist and big band leader Alvino Rey, and in her teen years she played, sang and danced on “The King Family” with her mother, a member of sister singing act the King Sisters. After finishing her master’s degree in music performance, she played with the CBS Orchestra for a number of years, and also sang backup for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and Johnny Mathis. She played harp on recordings by Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett and Sarah Vaughn. And that barely scratches the surface. To say she’s a music industry veteran is an understatement.

Upon marrying Ned, a geologist, she took a breather from showbiz to raise a family in Houston. But music was never far from her. She continued to absorb different styles, and time spent in South America and Spain brought elements of Brazilian and Moroccan music and Latin jazz into her harp playing. Butler also played for Houston-area audiences with her two sons, Win and Will.

Those years spent playing together as a family must have had quite an impact on Win and Will, because they grew up to form one of the biggest, most critically acclaimed rock bands of recent years – the Arcade Fire.

“I used to think that I didn’t want my kids to get into showbiz,” said Butler. “But they’re so level-headed and straight, and they’re just so talented. They have an innate sense of how it works, and a great business sense. They get that from their Dad, who’s a real Mainer. I’m just so proud of them.”

It’s strange and exciting to watch your children become rock stars. It’s doubly strange for Butler, with her decades in the industry. But that prepared her for Win’s and Will’s hectic touring schedule and media attention.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating to not get to talk to them for a few days,” she said. “But I watch them every night on the Internet. I get to see them in Germany and Paris, on YouTube. I still save their press clippings, which is something only a mother would do.”

The Arcade Fire, with their passionate, exciting brand of indie rock, which utilizes such diverse instruments as accordion, hurdy-gurdy and an array of strings and horns, has exposed Butler to many new artists, including Radiohead, Bjork, and fellow harpist Joanna Newsom. Butler shares a special affinity for Newsom, due to her nontraditional approach to harp-playing, and how she has raised the profile of the instrument.

“People, I think, are more open to unorthodox music now. It’s not just guitar-bass-drums anymore. I’ve been doing this since the ’70s, and for a long time I was the only person I knew who played like this,” said Butler. “It’s rewarding to see my instrument get more recognition now.”

To that end, Butler’s album “Can’t Go Back” is a truly unique musical experience, if only for the sheer eclecticism of her playing. It’s at once jazzy, folky and funky, and always rhythmically dense. And let’s not forget Butler is also a gifted vocalist, with a supple, warm alto that suits her lyrics, many of which deal with her current home of Maine. Butler wrote the songs on “Can’t Go Back” while surrounded by the natural beauty and easygoing community vibe of Mount Desert Island.

“I would sit in my car, by the sea wall, and look at the trees and birds and ocean, and I’d think and sing and write,” said Butler. “I know why artists come here – it’s so conducive to creativity. It almost feels like a utopia situation. Lobstermen hang out with millionaires. I love going to the post office.”

Liza Rey Butler will perform tonight at 7:30 at Shangri-La on Main Street in Ellsworth; tickets are $12 and are available by calling 667-2200. She will also play at the DADGAD Coffeehouse at 7 p.m. Friday, June 6, at the Keith Anderson Community Center on Bennoch Road in Orono; admission is $10. “Can’t Go Back” will be available at both shows.

eburnham@bangordailynews.net

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