Rocking out of Bangor with more crunch than your average breakfast cereal, the Arcolytes have set their sights on conquering the world, one show at a time. And given the Bangor-based band’s chops and dedication to create rock bliss for listeners, they just might have us all some… Read More
Noel Walsh firmly believes there is a lot of great music coming out of the Bangor area these days. Unfortunately, the twentysomething musician says, not enough people are hearing it. His solution? Throw a concert, of course. With support from a few local sponsors, Walsh… Read More
“Metalcore” is a term not often heard in these parts when talking about popular music. Aside from the odd college radio show, you’re not likely to hear this crunching, fist-pumping hybrid of punk and heavy metal over the airwaves in this area. If you have… Read More
It’s a fine thing when musicians unite under the banner of a worthy social cause. I know, as the proud owner of a Betamax copy of “We Are the World.” OK, perhaps not the best (or coolest) of examples, but the project’s mission of ending famine in struggling… Read More
If rock ‘n’ roll could have its own nativity scene, the tableau would certainly consist of three, maybe four, guys in a garage wailing to their hearts’ content. It’s the place where many noble rock dreams get their start, and it’s the same inspirational scene I came across… Read More
Armed with a guitar and heartfelt lyrics, Boston-based Syd is squarely placed in the ever-swelling ranks of fresh-faced male singer-songwriters. It’s a place, he says, that’s a blessing or a curse, depending on the day. “Once you get a review that tears you apart as… Read More
Pick any weekend night, walk into a bar or club that features live music and chances are, just about nine times out of 10, you’ll find somebody playing the blues. Sure, the blues dominates bar and club circuits across the continent, and especially in Down East Maine, but… Read More
Make no mistake: The funk is still on. That’s right, The Funkizon is still holding it down and keeping it jazz-funky Thursday nights at the Waterfront Bar & Grill in Bangor, but guitarist Anthony Drouin, bassist Roderick Pinkney and drummer Caleb Wheeler have found time and inspiration enough… Read More
Angst and bad breakups have fueled many a hit rock song. But Mitch Alden was just plain tired of writing songs about those subjects by the time he migrated to Maine four years ago. So it is, then, that the music Alden creates with his… Read More
After a little more than three decades in the music business, most artists might think it’s time to kick back a bit and rest awhile on their laurels. But veteran reggae performer Burning Spear still manages to keep the fire alive, releasing new albums nearly every year and… Read More
When it comes to the local music scene, chances are you’ll come across the name Mike Billings sooner rather than later. For years, the 29-year-old guitar player and Bangor resident has been doing gigs around the area, both as a solo performer and as a member of various… Read More
A fiddle and some chains. Sounds like a dangerous, if not disastrous, combination. But thankfully, the fiddle will be safely in the able hands of musician Kate Wegner and the chains will be part of magician and escape artist Dr. Wilson’s Houdini-esque grand finale at tonight’s “Fiddle and… Read More
From Memorial Day through October, Bar Harbor and the rest of Mount Desert Island become a mecca for tourists. Sure, there are drawbacks – traffic congestion, long lines for ice cream cones, and men with black socks and too-short shorts – but the upshot is that this influx… Read More
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, as the old saying goes. But in the case of Bangor area rock band The Dogs, that’s a pretty good thing. For more than 30 years, the band has played off and on together, bringing its riff-and-lick,… Read More
Coming out of coastal Maine, Pushing Zero is an earnest rock outfit with a surprisingly polished original sound that is sure to please fans of radio rock in the vein of bands like Creed and Soundgarden. Formed less than a year a ago, the band… Read More
Mat Young has a serious record fixation. The waxy black discs crowd his basement in piles. He logs hours on the weekends mining dusty boxes for gems at thrift stores, yard sales and any other place he can find them. The twentysomething isn’t just an average audiophile or… Read More
A musical celebration, time-honored tradition and, usually, a hacky sack bonanza. That’s right, Bumstock is here again. Now in its 33rd year, the weekend music festival hosted by the University of Maine will take place this year on Saturday, April 24. Gates open at 12:30 p.m. and the… Read More
Times are tough for local rock acts. Too few venues inside the city limits can make gigs close to home a little scarce and the high demand for covers by familiar artists over original material can be frustrating for some. Nevertheless, bands like Spilled Milk are still out… Read More
It goes without saying that, beyond hearing the odd Eminem or 50 Cent track played on the local pop-radio station, Maine doesn’t usually offer much in the way of hip-hop music. Especially here in the Bangor area. And especially live. But casual and devoted hip-hop… Read More
Now that winter has finally started to relent and, car-munching potholes aside, the roads are safer for some longer journeys out, now’s the time to put the headphones up for an evening (or two), pile in the car with friends and loved ones (or at least those who’ll… Read More
Sometimes you just get lucky. You know, those times when you happen across a disc (both the shiny digital and waxy black analog kinds), strap on the earphones, press play and – ah – sustained aural bliss. No, it’s not just one catchy track, but a full album… Read More
Singer, songwriter and guitarist Derrick Semler isn’t exactly an up-and-comer. But the veteran musician from Blue Hill still manages to rock steady – and steadily release albums documenting his continuing synthesis of blues, rock, R&B and funk. His forthcoming album, “Father and Son From Hell,”… Read More
St. Patrick’s Day will once again soon be upon us, and if you’re looking for music to get you in the spirit – and maybe chase away those mid-March Erin Go Blahs – than look no further than The Napper Tandies. Taking its name from… Read More
For more than nine years, Dugen has aspired to rock. Hard. Formed during the mid-1990s explosion of local alterna-bands, Dugen began playing out at Heavy’s, a dingy, smoky all-ages club in Old Town which served as a sort of mecca for ear-splitting teenage rock kicks… Read More
The open mike night: the time and place where young and old, the talented and the not-so-talented can come together and try their hands at entertaining an audience. It’s kind of like a slot machine for music fans; sometimes all cherries line up in a… Read More
Fusing the furious whir-and-bleep machine pulse of electronic music with live instrumentation and topping it off with one sultry, soulful voice, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based quintet Moonraker creates music that is as innovative as it is listenable. The band will bring its self-described “livetronica” sound to… Read More
They’re everywhere. It seems as though you just can’t turn the radio dial these days without bumping into a tune by a young, acoustic guitar-toting singer-songwriter. But, like ’em or lump ’em, music by such current phenoms as John Mayer, Jason Mraz and the locally grown Howie Day… Read More
It seems unlikely that a band based out of Providence, R.I., could so earnestly echo the sunny ska-pop-punk sound of such quintessential Southern California bands as Sublime and No Doubt. It also would seem unlikely that said band could improve upon the already successful template, folding in an… Read More
It must be the weather. As winter wears on ever more cold and bleak, I find myself a sucker for live funk. Indeed, for sonically warming the half-frozen backside, there’s nothing like it. I don’t think I’m alone in this opinion either, as when the Motor Booty Affair… Read More
They are the defenders of funk, champion movers of backsides, spreaders of the love, and fearless wearers of polyester, bug-eye sunglasses and gold chains. Behold Motor Booty Affair, disco avatars reportedly from the planet Funktar. Claiming to be members of an alien race, each holding… Read More
Whether on record or on stage at the local watering hole, Green & Bosse play American roots music that rawks. With Eric Green on slide guitar, pedal steel and vocals and Paul J. Bosse on drums, the duo pounds out a scorching combination of gut-wrenching, blues-influenced originals and… Read More
Usually, the mere mention of jam rock is enough to make me cover my ears in terror. And if I can’t leave the venue or change the radio dial, by the end of the wandering seven-minute guitar solo I might be in tears. Perhaps it’s an unfair prejudice… Read More
Editor’s Note: Starting today, in a new, occasional column, George Bragdon will check out up-and-coming Maine musicians and venues for hearing live music in eastern Maine. Like most things, folk music is best when it’s stripped down to the basics, usually little more than a… Read More