5 Things To Do This Weekend, May 19-21: All roads lead to… Belfast?

BDN File Photo

1. Sorry for the absence last week, guys! I was — gasp! — on vacation! I’m back, however, and well-rested and ready to bring to you some fantastic weekend shenaniganery options. In the Bangor area on Friday night, the monthly Bangor contradance is set for 8 p.m. at the UU Church, the funk band Juicebox plays at Paddy Murphy’s, Allison Bankston and Hippie Soup play at Nocturnem Drafthaus. On Saturday, the Junkyard Cats are at Paddy’s, the Strangely Possibles play at Nocturnem, rockers the Tune Squad play at the Downunder Club at Seasons, it’s EDM night at the Sea Dog, and the Skyliners Big Band plays its monthly show at the Next Generation Theatre in Brewer.

2. Enjoy some lovely late spring weather in Portland town this weekend. Friday night, take your pick from either The Wind and the Wave, Justin Kawika Young and the Native Sibling at Port City Music Hall, the Suicide Girls Blackheart Burlesque tour at the State Theatre, songwriter Jay Bragg and the Welterweights at Empire, a double bill of local roots music with the Ghosts of Johnson City and King Memphis at Bayside Bowl, or songwriter Mary Fahl of October Project at One Longfellow Square. On Saturday, Model Airplane plays at Portland House of Music and Events, and Micromasse play at Bayside Bowl, and on Sunday, beloved local indie band Old Etc plays a reunion show at Portland House of Music, with Weakened Friends, Wait and Badfellows.

Coke Weed playing at the All Roads Music Festival in Belfast in May 2015. Photo by Tim Sullivan.

3. The place to be this weekend has got to be Belfast, as the annual All Roads Music Festival takes over town all day Saturday, with more than 20 great Maine bands playing in five different venues throughout the moonbat city. My picks? I really can’t pick. I’ll definitely be making some hard decisions about what to see, like sets from Bangor natives like When Particles Collide, Bad Island, the Very Reverend, Wait and They Called Me Legion, fantastic Portland rockers like Weakened Friends and Midwestern Medicine, Forget Forget and Jeff Beam, super popular Maine acts like Spose, the Mallett Brothers Band, Chris Ross and the North and Spencer Albee, and tons of others. Tickets are still available online at allroadsmusicfest.org, or at the box office on the day of the festival. Enjoy!

4. It’s going to be a beautiful weekend, so I recommend taking time to enjoy yourself in one of Maine’s beautiful spots that often get overrun by tourists beginning next weekend. MDI is always a good bet — climb some mountains, stick your toes in some still-chilly waters, eat some ice cream, poke around cool shops and check out the Island Arts Association Craft Fair on the Village Green in Bar Harbor, and have a beer and hear some cool music, like indie rockers Pillers & Tongues at the Lompoc Cafe. Alternately, head south to the Boothbay and Bath area, where once again, everything’s open — but the crowds aren’t there. Lobster rolls? Coastal Maine Botanical Garden? Boat cruises? Go for it. Be a tourist in your own state.

5. Finally, seeing as it’s the weekend before Memorial Day weekend (wtf?) we’re in a little holding period between spring and early summer. In looking for events this weekend, and happened to notice that this Friday is National Bike to Work Day. Further investigation lead to the discovery that Friday is also National Pizza Party day, so bike to work and then eat the pizza that your employer is legally obligated to buy for you. That sounds correct, right? As it turns out, Saturday is both Pick Strawberries Day, which is not going to happen in Maine since they won’t be ready for at least three more weeks, and it’s also National Be a Millionaire Day, which is not going to happen because hahahahahahahaha.

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.