The Weekender, May 17-19: All roads lead to Belfast this weekend

Food trucks on the Bangor Waterfront.
Gabor Degre | BDN

On Friday night in Bangor, take your pick from either alt-folk songwriter Eli Elkus at Paddy Murphy’s, Allison Bankston and Hippie Soup at Nocturnem Drafthaus, guitarist Aaron Lefebvre at 2 Feet Brewing, or comedy night at Bangor Beer Company featuring headliner Connor McGrath. On Saturday, on the Bangor Waterfront, there’s the Beats and Eats Festival, which will feature 14 food trucks, live music from Stesha Cano and Dave Keller, and beer from several Maine breweries. Admission is $5, and it’s set for 11 a.m.-5 p.m. That evening, there’s a hardcore show at the Downunder Club at Seasons featuring War Criminal, Give Way and many others, Here & Now are at the Sea Dog, and Salty Dog is at Paddy’s.

In Portland, on Friday, comedian Gilbert Gottfried is at Aura, the Maine Dead Project is at Portland House of Music, there’s a night of hip hop featuring Ceschi, Fat Chandelier, Sole and Brzkowski at the Space Gallery, Dalton and the Sheriffs are at Empire, there’s local comedy at One Longfellow Square, Dub Apocalypse and Dana Colley are at Bayside Bowl, there’s live local pro wrestling at Geno’s, and Dan Blakeslee and Driftwood Soldier are at the Apohadion. On Saturday, it’s emo night at Portland House of Music, there’s a drag show at Empire, Abertooth Lincoln, Random Ideas, As Friends and Osmia are at Geno’s, and Arc Iris and Mike O’Hehir are at the Apohadion.

A street scene from a previous All Roads Music Festival in Belfast.

To me, one of the first signs of it being the summer season — yes, I know it’s still spring, but this is Maine, after all — is the All Roads Music Festival in Belfast. This year’s event is set for this Friday night and all day Saturday, with more than 35 artists from Portland and elsewhere in Maine performing in six different venues across Belfast. A full schedule can be found online at allroadsmusicfest.org, and tickets are $25 for Saturday, or $40 for the whole weekend.

In Bar Harbor, the second annual Abbe Museum Indian Market is set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a preview party at the museum and Indigenous Film Festival at Reel Pizza set for Friday night, the actual market set for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday on the Bar Harbor Village Green, and a Native fashion show at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Criterion Theatre.

On TV this weekend, little else matters besides the fact that the series finale of “Game of Thrones” airs on HBO on Sunday. OK, that’s not entirely fair — there’s also the premiere of the “Catch-22” miniseries on Hulu, and season two of “Fleabag” on Amazon. New in movie theaters this weekend is “John Wick: Chapter Three,” heartwarming family flick “A Dog’s Journey,” and romance movie “The Sun Is Also A Star.” 

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.