Portland Lights Festival to bring Guster, Dr. Dog, more to Eastern Promenade in August

portland lights

Organizers today announced the Portland Lights Music Festival, a day-long celebration set for Saturday, Aug. 8, on the Eastern Promenade. Bands and artists officially announced for the inaugural festival include New England band Guster, Dr. Dog, Augustana, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, In The Valley Below and Portland’s own Dominic and the Lucid. General admission tickets are $24 and VIP passes are $60, and will go on sale via EventBrite this Friday, May 8 at 10 a.m.

Portland Lights, organized by media company TownSquare Media, will mark the first concert on the Eastern Promenade since 2012, when Mumford & Sons brought their Gentlemen of the Road tour to the public space, drawing more than 15,000 people. TownSquare applied for a permit to hold the event in Oct. 2014, which they at the time surmised would draw between 6 and 7,000 people. The festival and artists were announced Wednesday morning on Portland radio station WCYY-FM.

Headliner Guster is no stranger to Maine — lead singer Adam Gardner is a Portland resident, and the band just played a sold-out show at the State Theatre last week. Guster has had several alternative rock hit radio singles, including “Fa Fa” and “Amsterdam,” and just this year released its seventh studio album, “Evermotion.” Similarly, psychedelic indie rock band Dr. Dog are no strangers to Maine, either, having played in the state numerous times including at the State Theatre and at the now-defunct KahBang Festival in Bangor.

The Portland Lights Festival joins other outdoor concerts in Portland this summer, including nearly 20 shows at the Maine State Pier and several concerts at the new Thompson’s Point venue.

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.