5 Things To Do This Weekend, July 10-12: Burn, baby, burn!

saturday-night-fever1. Remember when John Travolta was just a guy who danced on camera? Ahh. Those were the days. In Bangor Friday night, get your swerve on with River City Cinema’s free outdoor screening of “Saturday Night Fever,” beginning at 8:30 p.m. in Pickering Square; later that night, enjoy both songwriter Sam Chase and a duo set from Kat and Chris from rockers Chamberlain at Nocturnem Drafthaus, the always-entertaining Magnetic North at Paddy Murphy’s, and the Blake Pattengale Band at the Downunder Club. In Winterport, Maine favorites the Mallett Brothers Band rock out at 4Points BBQ & Blues. On Saturday, the Central Gallery hosts an opening for artist Dan Dawson art opening at 7 p.m., while at Nocturnem, jazz group Habanera del Norte performs, and folk trio the Otter Folk are set for the Big Easy. In Old Town, the Blast Addicts rock out at the Boomhouse, and in Winterport, Hilton Park is at 4Points. On Sunday, there’s an evening of heavy music with rockers Bellyache and Buddusky at the Central Gallery.

covered in bees2. Two great shows of heavy music in Portland Friday night, starting with grunge legends Mudhoney with local rockers Murcielago and Covered in Bees (pictured) at the Asylum, and the kickoff for local prog-metal band Five of the Eyes with guests Sunrunner and Geph at Portland H.O.M.E.. Also that night is the Out of the Box dance party at Empire, and the Tarbox Ramblers at One Longfellow Square. On Saturday, EDM duo Lazerdisk is set for Port City Music Hall, a triple bill of local indie rock with Eternals, Foam Castles and Fur is at Empire, and songwriter Don Campbell does a tribute night to Dan Fogelberg at One Longfellow Square. On Sunday, there’s an evening of experimental rock with Yonatan Gat, An Anderson and Creature From Dell Pond at the Space Gallery.

jonah tolchin3. Hancock County is a wonderful place to be this weekend, whether it’s Ellsworth, MDI or the Peninsula. On Friday night, jazz group The Eclectones plays as part of the Ellsworth Waterfront Concert Series, while in Bar Habor, Bluesboy is at the Black Friar Inn and indie rock songwriters Jonah Tolchin (pictured) and Dan Blakeslee are at the Lompoc. It’s also the big gala Bar Harbor Music Festival opera production, this time featuring Rossini’s “Cinderella” at the Criterion Theatre at 8 p.m., and in Stonington, Opera House Arts opens its production of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” at the Stonington Opera House. On Saturday, Americana group The Corn Potato String Band is set for the Lompoc. On Sunday, the Casco Bay Tummlers are at the Surry Arts Barn.

NorthAtlanticBluesFestival4. The real meat of this weekend is the ridiculous abundance of festivals. Too many to even list them all here. Let’s start with the musical ones, OK? Up in beautiful, scenic New Sweden, Arootsakoostik, the ninth annual afternoon of Maine indie rock and roots music in Thomas Park, brings such Maine luminaries as the Ghost of Paul Revere, Jacob Augustine, Theodore Treehouse, the Muddy Ruckus and many more, as well as food trucks and vendors, from 11:30 a.m. to sundown. On the opposite side of the state, in Portland, the annual Dirigimus Fest is set for all day Saturday at Bayside Bowl, featuring 26 bands of all stripes, including power pop band the English Muffins, punk rockers SS Cretins and Mouth Washington, noisemakers Great Western Plain and Video Nasties and electronic bands Contrapposto, among many more; admission is $7 which benefits Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Finally, it’s the 16th annual North Atlantic Blues Festival (pictured), featuring headliners Marcia Ball and James Cotton, and taking over downtown Rockland for Friday night through Sunday evening. Good times, all around…

5. … but that’s not all. It’s also kickoff weekend for the Maine International Film Festival, the annual celebration of film from all over the world and from right here in Maine, and lasting for ten days thereafter. In Lisbon Falls, there’s the Moxie Festival, with a parade, fireworks, Moxie chugging and Moxie cooking contests and much more family fun. The Maine Potato Blossom Festival also kicks off this weekend in Fort Fairfield. And in Portland, you can zen out at the Maine Yoga Fest, held in Portland Friday through Sunday and featuring all the yoga you can do in locations all over the city. Maine in summer. Strap in, baby.

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.