“All Roads” Lead to the Arts District- The Two-Day Festival Expands Southbound for Its Portland Debut
It’s possible to suffer from decision anxiety even for things we like. Do we want to see a local band and support the scene? Or do we want to catch a national touring act while it’s debuting in Portland? Do we lounge in an intimate venue like One Long Fellow Square or do we soak in the grandeur at a spot like the State Theatre?
There are certainly worse problems to have… and if you do have problems that are worse, solve those by completely ignoring them and checking out some live music instead.
Making its debut in Portland this year, the All Roads Music Festival is bringing over 40 acts across nine different venues over the course of two days. Friday, May 15, is the kick-off date, with the State Theatre, Geno’s Rock Club, and Oxbow Bottling and Brewing hosting the first night of events starting at 7 p.m. Then, on Saturday, the field opens up at 3 p.m. with other venues including One Longfellow Square, SPACE, Portland House of Music, Blue Portland Maine, and Flask.
But the secret is the panel discussions held at Mechanics’ Hall on Saturday. Supplementing the music-fueled weekend, each event features hosts and guest commentators that include both bands on the bill as well as the behind-the-scenes folks that make things happen. One panel event will discuss the music industry as a whole, while the other focuses on the local scene and the current state of music in Maine.
The Road to All Roads
All Roads Music Festival started in Belfast, back in 2015. Joshua Gass and co-founder Meg Shorette were approached by the Belfast Creative Coalition to put on a spring festival to replace the since-defunct Free Range Festival.
“We met with the founders of Free Range and discussed the footprint they had used, and decided to use a similar model but with a stronger focus on showcasing indie and local talent,” said Gass, a co-founder and chief operating officer.
The Belfast iteration, which is still active, though now takes place in October, established the festival’s core structure. Shows are sprawled out across the town, allowing concert-goers access to all the great Belfast venues over two days.
“It is a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ of music performances,” said Gass.
The move to Portland seemed like a no-brainer. After discussing with stakeholders in Portland, Gass and the team realized the festival could feed a music-centric city with another helping of quality performances under one banner.
“Because of the size of venues in Portland, it gave us an opportunity to expand the types of artists we could include,” Gass said. “It created an environment where local artists can share the stage with nationally touring artists.
The transition to a bigger city brought its challenges, according to Gass, but Shorette held a critical networking advantage as the former booker of long-time Portland venue Port City Music Hall, as well as her duties as the current booker at Portland’s newest venue, Live at Madrid’s. Shorette added Lauren Wayne to the mix to help with booking. Wayne, who books acts for the State Theatre, worked with the festival’s organizers to connect with the venues and also connected the larger touring acts to the Portland stages.
The Concierge Wearing the Tour T-Shirt
With so many acts in so many venues, it’s tough to make a decision, especially if you’re going in blind. And you can’t just pull a Meat Puppets and “Split [Your]self in Two” so you can attend multiple shows at the same time.
Of course, there are must-sees coming in from out of town. On Friday, grab a good seat at the State Theatre for Mon Rovîa. A Liberian native who grew up in the United States, he tells stories of his upbringing as a refugee adopted by American missionaries in his delicate singer-songwriter style. On Saturday, The Beaches and Bahamas bring indie rock down from their native Toronto to spread across the stages at the State Theatre and Portland House of Music, respectively.
Meanwhile, at Oxbow Live, you’ll delve into the sonic psychedelic shoegaze of Philadelphia’s They Are Gutting a Body of Water. For metal heads, the Springfield, Mass.-based Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean brings all varieties of sludge and doom to Geno’s Rock Club. And for those looking for tunes with a little (or a lot of) jazz, park yourself at Space for sets by Boston-based Savoir Fair and Richmond, Va.’s Angélica Garcia.
If you’re looking to touch up on your knowledge of Portland’s local music scene, we have a breakdown of all the Maine-based artists and where they’re playing.
Friday Night
State Theatre
* Oshima Brothers (folk pop) — 7 to 7:45 pm
* Palaver Strings ft. Vuyo Sotashe and Christ Pattishall (chamber orchestra/strings ensemble) — 8 to 8:45 pm
Saturday Night
Space
* Angelikah Fahray (R&B; soft rock) — 5:30 to 6:15 pm
* Genevieve Stokes (indie pop) — 7 to 7:45 pm
Portland House of Music
* Adele Edelewit (country) — 3:15 to 4 pm
* Ada Bonnevie (indie rock; lofi) — 4:30 to 5:15 pm
* Louisa Stancioff (folk) — 6 to 6:45 pm
One Longfellow Square
* Myles Bullen (alternative rap) — 3:15 to 4 pm
* Becca Briggs (folk) — 4:30 to 5:15 pm
Blue Portland Maine
* Glassfishis (folk rock; psychedelia; jam) — 5 to 5:45 pm
* Lolabelle (indie rock) — 7:30 to 8:15 pm
* Greasy Grass (Lofi, psychedelia, indie pop) — 8:45 to 9:30 pm
* Stay on Mars and Jacobsen (hip hop) — 10 pm to 12:30 am
Geno’s Rock Club
* theWorst (punk) — 8:30 to 9:15 pm
Oxbow Live
* Holy Filth (thrash metal; hardcore) — 4:15 to 5 pm
* Mount Washington (post-punk) — 5:30 to 6:15 pm
Flask
* Jamie O’Sullivan (underground electronic) — 9:15 to 10:15 pm
* Daze Inn x BB-808 (EDM) — 11:30 pm to 12:30 am
See the full schedule with times at the All Roads Music Festival website. Tickets are also available there!