Music of Maine
Encyclopedia
Maine
is a state of the United States
, located in a region called New England
. Its musical tradition possibly extends back thousands of years to the music of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy
, and other indigenous peoples. Modern musicians from Maine include the bluegrass brothers Roland
and Clarence White
and the contemporary ragtime
performer Glenn Jenks, singer/songwriter Bruce Thulin.
In the colonial era, the talented composer, singer, and compiler of tune books and Maine resident Supply Belcher
(1751–1836) was known in his time as "the Handel of Maine." Belcher organized the first choir
in Maine.
The state is home to several prominent country music
organizations, including Maine Country Music Association Hall of Fame, Down East Country Musica Association and the Maine Academy of Country Music (www.macmhome.org). Musical institutions include the Maine State Music Theater in Brunswick
, which has been in operation since 1959 and is one of Three professional music theaters in the state; the others are Northport Music Theater in Northport which opened in 2007 and Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunguit which opened in 1933.
The oldest continually operated symphony
orchestra
in the country is the Bangor Symphony Orchestra
. The only other professional orchestra is the Portland Symphony Orchestra
; Portland is also home to the Portland Choral Arts Society and the Portland String Quartet. The DaPonte String Quartet is the only other professional string quartet in Maine. The Portland Opera Repertory Theatre and OperaMaine are the main outlets for opera
in the state.
Portland is also home to One Longfellow Square, which promotes music and other aspects of expression, utilizing a small downtown space to present a wide variety of artists in an intimate setting.
Outside of Portland, there are pockets of people who keep the traditional musical styles of their ancestors, including the Swedish music
of Stockholm
and New Sweden
, the French-Maine community across the state, especially in Upper St. John Valley, home to the Acadian Festival, and the ethnic Russian music
of the Kennebec River
community in Richmond, Maine
.
Maine's musical heritage also include the long-standing men's a cappella group, the Meddiebempsters, at Bowdoin College
, and Bates College
's all-male Manic Optimists. Bowdoin is also home to the Bowdoin International Music Festival
and the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music. Other Maine festivals which focus on Western classical music are the Atlantic Music Festival
, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Salt Bay Chamberfest in Damariscotta, www.saltbaychamberfest.org, and the Sebago-Long Lake Festival Players.
Original compositions about Maine and by Maine composers are stored in the Maine Collection at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library
in Blue Hill. With over 225,000 separate titles, this library houses the largest publicly available sheet music collection in North America.
and fiddling tradition celebrated at the Eastern Maine Music Festival; there is also a Bluegrass Music Association of Maine. Maine's contributions to bluegrass include Clarence
and Roland White
of the Kentucky Colonels
and Jimmy Cox
.
Many prominent singer-songwriter
s grew up in Maine, Patty Griffin
, Ellis Paul
, Slaid Cleaves
, and Rod Picott
. Slaid Cleaves
and Rod Picott
were childhood friends in South Berkwick. Randy Browning of the Late Bloomer
moved to South Berwick.
The Freewill Folk Society at Bates College
also continues the folk tradition. There are also more traditional folk acts like Schooner Fare
, Maine's best-known folk trio-turned-duo following the death of Tom Rowe
in 2004, and the Dave Rowe Trio founded by the late Tom's son. Newer, Progressive folk artists in Maine have been emerging since the 1990s, including artists such as Heather Caston and Nancy Cartonio
.
Maine's religious music includes the well-known church choirs of St. Luke's Episcopal Cathedral and two Bangor-area churches both named after St. John (one Catholic and one Episcopal).
One Longfellow Square in Portland, Maine
is a popular folk music venue.
, and the Boothbay Harbor Jazz Festival. Johnny Smith
, a famous jazz guitarist grew up in Maine.
, metal
and more. Bands and artists like Howie Day
, Ray Lamontagne
, Rustic Overtones
, Spose
, Sparks The Rescue
, Jeremiah Freed
, and Corey Beaulieu, the lead guitarist of Trivium
, have found a large amount of success outside the state. Hardcore punk
band A Global Threat
originally hail from Maine.
The Underground In Bangor
and The Kave in Bucksport are two of the more popular midcoast venues. Geno's Rock Club, The Big Easy, The Asylum, The Freeport Square Gallery and L.L. Bean's Discovery Park and in Freeport, and The Station in Portland
are other popular venues. Portland is home to independent record label Death Grip Records, while Lisbon Falls
is home to liveMainejams.com, an online web 2.0 resource for local musicians and their fans.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
is a state of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located in a region called New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Its musical tradition possibly extends back thousands of years to the music of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy
Passamaquoddy
The Passamaquoddy are the First Nations people who live in northeastern North America, primarily in Maine and New Brunswick....
, and other indigenous peoples. Modern musicians from Maine include the bluegrass brothers Roland
Roland White
Roland White is an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin.-Biography:At an early age, White formed himself, his two brothers and his sister into a bluegrass band which performed locally...
and Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
and the contemporary ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
performer Glenn Jenks, singer/songwriter Bruce Thulin.
In the colonial era, the talented composer, singer, and compiler of tune books and Maine resident Supply Belcher
Supply Belcher
Supply Belcher was an American composer, singer, and compiler of tune books. He was one of the members of the so-called First New England School, a group of mostly self-taught composers who created sacred vocal music for local choirs. He was active first in Lexington, Massachusetts, then...
(1751–1836) was known in his time as "the Handel of Maine." Belcher organized the first choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
in Maine.
Music venues and institutions
Major music venues in Maine include Portland's Merrill Auditorium and The State Theater.The state is home to several prominent country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
organizations, including Maine Country Music Association Hall of Fame, Down East Country Musica Association and the Maine Academy of Country Music (www.macmhome.org). Musical institutions include the Maine State Music Theater in Brunswick
Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
, which has been in operation since 1959 and is one of Three professional music theaters in the state; the others are Northport Music Theater in Northport which opened in 2007 and Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunguit which opened in 1933.
The oldest continually operated symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
in the country is the Bangor Symphony Orchestra
Bangor Symphony Orchestra
The Bangor Symphony Orchestra is the oldest continually-operating community orchestra in the United States. It was founded in 1896 by Abbie N. Garland and Horace M. Pullen, its first director, and has not missed a season since....
. The only other professional orchestra is the Portland Symphony Orchestra
Portland Symphony Orchestra
The Portland Symphony Orchestra, established in 1923 in Portland, Maine, is a fully professional symphony that is recognized as being one of the top orchestras of its size in the country. The orchestra performs a wide variety of concerts, frequently featuring guest artists, at the Merrill...
; Portland is also home to the Portland Choral Arts Society and the Portland String Quartet. The DaPonte String Quartet is the only other professional string quartet in Maine. The Portland Opera Repertory Theatre and OperaMaine are the main outlets for opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in the state.
Portland is also home to One Longfellow Square, which promotes music and other aspects of expression, utilizing a small downtown space to present a wide variety of artists in an intimate setting.
Outside of Portland, there are pockets of people who keep the traditional musical styles of their ancestors, including the Swedish music
Music of Sweden
Sweden shares the tradition of Nordic folk dance music with its neighboring countries including polka, schottische, waltz, polska and mazurka. The accordion, clarinet, fiddle and nyckelharpa are among the most common Swedish folk instruments. This instrumental genre is the biggest one in Swedish...
of Stockholm
Stockholm, Maine
Stockholm is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 253 at the 2010 census.-History:Starting in 1870, a Swedish-immigrant colony was established by the State of Maine in Aroostook County. The State of Maine had appointed William W...
and New Sweden
New Sweden, Maine
New Sweden is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 621 at the 2000 census.-History:Starting in 1870, a Swedish-immigrant colony was established by the State of Maine in Aroostook County. The State of Maine had appointed William W...
, the French-Maine community across the state, especially in Upper St. John Valley, home to the Acadian Festival, and the ethnic Russian music
Ethnic Russian music
Ethnic Russian music specifically deals with the folk music traditions of the ethnic Russian people. It does not include the various forms of art music, which in Russia often contains folk melodies and folk elements or music of aother ethnic groups living in Russia.-History:The roots of Russian...
of the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...
community in Richmond, Maine
Richmond, Maine
Richmond is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,298 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....
.
Maine's musical heritage also include the long-standing men's a cappella group, the Meddiebempsters, at Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
, and Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
's all-male Manic Optimists. Bowdoin is also home to the Bowdoin International Music Festival
Bowdoin International Music Festival
The Bowdoin International Music Festival is an annual summer music school and concert series that takes place in Brunswick, Maine. Founded in 1964 by Robert Beckwith and Lewis Kaplan as a program of Bowdoin College, it has operated as an independent nonprofit organization since 1997...
and the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music. Other Maine festivals which focus on Western classical music are the Atlantic Music Festival
Atlantic Music Festival
The Atlantic Music Festival is a classical music festival held every summer in Waterville, Maine, USA. During the month-long event, the festival presents internationally renowned artists as well as performances by resident orchestra and its members. In 2012, Colby College will again be hosting the...
, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Salt Bay Chamberfest in Damariscotta, www.saltbaychamberfest.org, and the Sebago-Long Lake Festival Players.
Original compositions about Maine and by Maine composers are stored in the Maine Collection at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library
Bagaduce Music Lending Library
-History:Established in 1983 in a garage, the library outgrew its original home on Penobscot Bay near the Bagaduce River. It is now a resource for lending sheet music that is used by musicians in all 50 U.S. states and 23 foreign countries...
in Blue Hill. With over 225,000 separate titles, this library houses the largest publicly available sheet music collection in North America.
Folk music
Maine has had a long folk fiddling tradition, which has helped inspire many modern bluegrass musicians. Maine's bluegrassBluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and fiddling tradition celebrated at the Eastern Maine Music Festival; there is also a Bluegrass Music Association of Maine. Maine's contributions to bluegrass include Clarence
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
and Roland White
Roland White
Roland White is an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin.-Biography:At an early age, White formed himself, his two brothers and his sister into a bluegrass band which performed locally...
of the Kentucky Colonels
Kentucky Colonels (band)
The Kentucky Colonels was a popular bluegrass band in the 1960s. They included Clarence White, later with The Byrds.-History:The White brothers started out as the Country Boys in 1954, with their brother Eric. With the addition of Latham, Mack and Sloane, and Roger Bush replacing Eric, they changed...
and Jimmy Cox
Jimmy Cox
Jimmy Cox was an American songwriter famous for his Depression-era hit "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"....
.
Many prominent singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
s grew up in Maine, Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
, Ellis Paul
Ellis Paul
Ellis Paul is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s...
, Slaid Cleaves
Slaid Cleaves
Slaid Cleaves is a singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Austin, Texas....
, and Rod Picott
Rod Picott
Rod Picott is a singer-songwriter whose music incorporates elements of Americana, alt-country, and folk. He grew up in New Hampshire, but relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 1994. After several years of playing local clubs and supporting such acts as Alison Krauss, he released his first album in...
. Slaid Cleaves
Slaid Cleaves
Slaid Cleaves is a singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Austin, Texas....
and Rod Picott
Rod Picott
Rod Picott is a singer-songwriter whose music incorporates elements of Americana, alt-country, and folk. He grew up in New Hampshire, but relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 1994. After several years of playing local clubs and supporting such acts as Alison Krauss, he released his first album in...
were childhood friends in South Berkwick. Randy Browning of the Late Bloomer
Late Bloomer
Late Bloomer is a 2004 Japanese film by Go Shibata, about a handicapped serial killer named Sumida.Sumida is disabled with cerebral palsy, but all he wants is to hang out with his friends and enjoy beer, rock and roll, and women. When his best friend steals his secret love, he embarks upon a...
moved to South Berwick.
The Freewill Folk Society at Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
also continues the folk tradition. There are also more traditional folk acts like Schooner Fare
Schooner Fare
Schooner Fare is a local Maine folk band, consisting of the late Tom Rowe , Steve Romanoff , and Chuck Romanoff . Schooner Fare plays primarily original maritime, socially conscious, and traditional folk music...
, Maine's best-known folk trio-turned-duo following the death of Tom Rowe
Tom Rowe
Thomas J. "Tom" Rowe was the bass player and a singer in the folk trios Schooner Fare and Turkey Hollow. He was noted for playing a five-string bass instead of the usual four-string. Born to Charles "Bud" Rowe, and his wife, Thoma, he had two brothers named Russ and Chuck and a sister named Shirley...
in 2004, and the Dave Rowe Trio founded by the late Tom's son. Newer, Progressive folk artists in Maine have been emerging since the 1990s, including artists such as Heather Caston and Nancy Cartonio
Nancy Cartonio
Nancy Cartonio is a folk musician, songwriter, and music producer living in Portland, Maine.-History:...
.
Maine's religious music includes the well-known church choirs of St. Luke's Episcopal Cathedral and two Bangor-area churches both named after St. John (one Catholic and one Episcopal).
One Longfellow Square in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
is a popular folk music venue.
Jazz
The mid-coast region of Maine is said to be the center for jazz; it is home to the Mid-Coast Jazz Society, the Maine Festival in BrunswickBrunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
, and the Boothbay Harbor Jazz Festival. Johnny Smith
Johnny Smith
Johnny Smith is an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist.-Early years:...
, a famous jazz guitarist grew up in Maine.
Popular music
Although not prominent for its rock music, Maine is still home to numerous venues and bands that play a diverse range of rock, punkPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and more. Bands and artists like Howie Day
Howie Day
Howard Kern "Howie" Day is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals in order to accompany himself...
, Ray Lamontagne
Ray LaMontagne
Raymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after...
, Rustic Overtones
Rustic Overtones
Rustic Overtones is a rock/jazz/funk band from Maine active from 1993–2002 and 2007–present. They were the first group to perform live on XM Satellite Radio, and their 2007 album Light At The End was the fastest-selling local disc ever in the state of Maine....
, Spose
Spose
Ryan Michael Peters , better known by his stage name Spose, is an American rapper from Wells, Maine.-Music career:Spose began rhyming while he was in eighth grade with friend and rapper Cam Groves, and started to pursue his rapping career in 2004...
, Sparks The Rescue
Sparks The Rescue
Sparks the Rescue is a five-member American rock band from Maine. They formed when members of three high school bands Pozer, Short of April and Two Girls Later converged. Their debut EP Stumbling Skyward was released independently in 2005 with McAllister and O'Connell sharing main vocal duties. The...
, Jeremiah Freed
Jeremiah Freed
Jeremiah Freed was a rock band from York, Maine. The band's style combines elements of the alternative and southern rock genres.-Band:Jeremiah Freed is: singer Joseph Smith, drummer Kerry Ryan, guitarist Nick Goodale, guitarist Jake Roche, and bassist Matt Cosby. The band formed during their...
, and Corey Beaulieu, the lead guitarist of Trivium
Trivium (band)
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has released five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos...
, have found a large amount of success outside the state. Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band A Global Threat
A Global Threat
A Global Threat was an American street punk band, formed in Bangor, ME in 1997. They released four full-length LPs as well as many 7" EPs and have toured extensively throughout the United States.- History 1997–2000 :...
originally hail from Maine.
The Underground In Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
and The Kave in Bucksport are two of the more popular midcoast venues. Geno's Rock Club, The Big Easy, The Asylum, The Freeport Square Gallery and L.L. Bean's Discovery Park and in Freeport, and The Station in Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
are other popular venues. Portland is home to independent record label Death Grip Records, while Lisbon Falls
Lisbon Falls, Maine
Lisbon Falls is a census-designated place in the town of Lisbon, located in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population of Lisbon Falls was 4,420 at the 2000 census...
is home to liveMainejams.com, an online web 2.0 resource for local musicians and their fans.