Maine touring shows roundup, through December: What a year, what a year

lake-street-dive-facebookState Theatre, Portland

The crown jewel of Portland music venues closes out October with three days of wildly different shows. Metal gods Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak are set for Tuesday, Oct. 28, Sam Green and Yo La Tengo present their performance piece “The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller” on Oct. 29, and electronic band the Glitch Mob plays with the M Machine on Oct. 30. After that, the String Cheese Incident are set for Nov. 13 and 14, Lake Street Dive (pictured) will play on Nov. 22, O.A.R. takes the stage Nov. 25 and the Black Veil Brides, Falling In Reverse and Set It Off are slated for Nov. 26. And don’t forget Spencer Albee’s Beatles Night, with two shows set for Nov. 29 and 30. In December, check out Flogging Molly on Dec. 1, the Dark Star Orchestra on Dec. 4, the Head and the Heart on Dec. 6, the Trey Anastasio Band on Dec. 7, Matisyahu on his Festival of Lights tour on Dec. 17, and a killer New Year’s Eve show with Soulive and Rustic Overtones on Dec. 31.

the-wild-feathers-2013-john-peets-675-675x449Port City Music Hall, Portland

As usual, there’s an abundance of riches at Port City. October wraps up with Eric Hutchinson and Tristan Prettyman on Oct. 28, and on Oct. 30, there’s Dean Ford’s “Purple Brainz” Prince tribute, while on Halloween itself there’s a Clash of the Titans bash, pitting dance rock against dance pop. In November, the Jubilee Riots — formerly known as Enter the Haggis — are set for Nov. 1, rapper Huey Mack takes the stage Nov. 2, Keller Williams plays on Nov. 4, comic Juston McKinney is set for Nov. 7, and indie rockers Stars play on Nov. 8. The next week, Americana band Wild Feathers (pictured) takes the stage on Nov 14, the Revivalists and Red Wanting Blue are set for Nov. 15, Carbon Leaf and Tall Heights will play on Nov. 20, funk band Model Airplane set for Nov. 26 and Phish tribute band Pardon Me Doug are slated for Nov. 28.

kenyaThen, suddenly, it’s December, and the month starts off with a reggae night featuring John Brown’s Body, Mighty Mystic and Roots of Creation on Dec. 4. Comedian W. Kamau Bell is set for Dec. 5, followed the next night of Ryan Montbleau and Jesse Dee on Dec. 6. Rockers Pop Evil are joined by a host host of others on Dec. 9, while songwriter Chuck Ragan is set for Dec. 10, funk bands Turkuaz and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong take the stage Dec. 12, and Stop Making Sense, the Talking Heads tribute band, is set for Dec. 13. 2014 closes down with 80s cover band the Awesome on Dec. 26, a Stevie Wonder tribute with the Kenya Hall Band (pictured) on Dec. 27, rockers Moon Hooch on Dec. 30, and a local New Year’s Eve show featuring the Ghost of Paul Revere and Spencer Albee.

nelsSpace Gallery, Portland

The Space Gallery in Portland has stepped up their live music game. On Halloween the annual party features local bands Phantom Buffalo as the Zombies, Jeff Beam as early Pink Floyd, and the Blood Capsules as Roky Erickson. There’s an evening of contemporary chamber music on Nov. 5, there’s the baroque indie pop of San Fermin on Nov. 15, there’s Middle Eastern music featuring Okbari and Aleric Nez at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22, and at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 guitar heroes Nels Cline and Julian Lage take the stage. Quinton and Miss Pussycat bring the electro dance party on Nov. 23, and on Dec. 20, Maine’s own Brazilian ensemble Choro Louco will take the stage.

northofnashvill;eAsylum, Portland

Celtic rockers Black 47 make a rare Maine appearance on Oct. 23 at the Asylum, which kicks off three full days of shows including electro band Phutureprimitive with Kaminada on Oct. 24 and a country show featuring Jon Pardi and Joey Hyde on Oct. 25. On Halloween, there’s some New England bluegrass featuring the Tricky Britches and Hot Day at the Zoo, and the following week, enjoy rockers the Pretty Reckless with Adelitas Way and Crash Midnight on Nov. 6. Everclear frontman Art Alexakis plays a solo show on Dec. 5, and on New Year’s Eve, there’s North of Nashville (pictured), Sly Chi and Joe Gallant and the Transit.

ani difrancoStone Mountain Arts Center, Brownfield

Out in the western woods, enjoy some wonderful music, starting this weekend with the legendary Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys on Oct. 24. The following week, bluelady Shemekia Copeland is set for Nov. 7, and on both Nov. 10 and 11 folk hero Ani DiFranco (pictured) is set to perform. New England folkies Darlingside, the Ballroom Thieves and the Ghost of Paul Revere are set for Nov. 21, on Nov. 22, songwriter Paula Cole will take the stage, and Chris Smither and the Motivators are set for Nov. 29.

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.