The state of Maine is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Its musical traditions extend back thousands of years to the music of the first peoples of Maine, the Penobscot[1]Passamaquoddy,[2]Wabanaki[3] and other related Indigenous[4] cultures.
In the colonial era, the talented composer, singer and compiler of tune books, Supply Belcher (1751–1836), a Maine resident, was known in his time as "the Handel of Maine". Belcher organized the first choir in Maine.[citation needed]
Neoclassical composer Walter Piston (1894–1976) was born and raised in Rockland before moving to Boston at the age of ten.[5]
Rudy Vallée grew up in Westbrook. His career started as a saxophone player and singer, later becoming a band leader. He also helped Alice Faye and Frances Langford start their careers and appeared on Broadway for a time. Vallée was a graduate of the University of Maine.
Born in Fort Fairfield, country music legend Dick Curless[6] was a singer, songwriter and guitarist. His biggest hit, "A Tombstone Every Mile", was a song about a stretch of road in Northern Maine. He was an inaugural member of the Maine Country Music Hall Of Fame,[7] located in Mechanic Falls. The Dick Curless Memorial Scholarship Fund[6] has been established to support young Maine musicians.
Donald Doane Sr.[8] is another member of the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame, born in Kennebunk in 1907. His band, the Kahtadin Mountaineers, was formed in the early 1950s and still performs regularly today at county fairs, fiddle contests and for many charities. The Windham Community Church was built from charity proceeds. The group has also played with singer Kate Smith, best known for her rendition of "God Bless America" (written by Irving Berlin).
Major music venues in Maine include the University of Southern Maine, Corthell Hall, Gorham, Maine, Portland's Merrill Auditorium, State Theatre, One Longfellow Square, Port City Music Hall, Portland House of Music and Events, Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield, North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, The Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath, Bar Harbor Music Festival, American Folk Festival in Bangor, Bay Chambers Summer Music Festival in Rockport, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Portland Chamber Music Festival, Salt Bay Chamberfest in Damariscotta, Sebago – Long Lake Music Festival in Harrison, Saltwater Celtic Music Festival, Ossipee Valley Music Festival in South Hiram, East Benton Fiddlers Festival and Contest, Sweet Chariot Music Festival on Swan's Island, Saddleback Mountain Bluegrass Festival, Frantasia at the University of Maine at Farmington, Treat Memorial Library in Livermore Falls, American Folk Festival in Bangor, Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival in Brunswick, the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music in Bowdin and the Sebago – Long Lake Festival Players.
Maine is home to several prominent professional organizations, including the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the Maine Country Music Association Hall of Fame, the Down East Country Musical Association and the Maine Academy of Country Music. The Maine State Music Theater in Brunswick has operated since 1959 and is one of three professional music theaters in the state; the others are Northport Music Theater in Northport, which opened in 2007, and Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunguit, which opened in 1933.
Portland is also home to the Portland Choral Arts Society and the Portland String Quartet. The DaPonte String Quartet is the only other professional string quartet in Maine. The Portland Opera Repertory Theatre and Opera Maine are the main outlets for opera in the state.
Outside of Portland, there are pockets of people who preserve the traditional musical styles of their ancestors, including the Swedish music of Stockholm and New Sweden, the French-Maine community (especially in Upper St. John Valley, home to the Acadian Festival) and the ethnic Russian music of the Kennebec River community in Richmond.
Original compositions about Maine and by Maine composers are stored in the Maine Collection at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library in Blue Hill. With over 225,000 separate titles, this library houses the largest publicly available sheet-music collection in North America.
Folk, country, and bluegrass music
Maine has a long folk fiddling tradition, including Mellie Dunham, which has helped inspire many modern bluegrass musicians. Maine's bluegrass and fiddling tradition is celebrated at the Eastern Maine Music Festival. There is also a Bluegrass Music Association of Maine. Maine's contributions to bluegrass include Clarence and Roland White of the Kentucky Colonels and Jimmy Cox.
Many prominent singer-songwriters grew up in Maine, including Patty Griffin, Ellis Paul, Slaid Cleaves, David Mallett and Rod Picott. Cleaves and Picott were childhood friends in South Berwick. Randy Browning of the Late Bloomer moved to South Berwick.
The Freewill Folk Society at Bates College also continues the folk tradition. There are also more traditional folk acts such as Schooner Fare, Maine's best-known folk trio-turned-duo following the death of Tom Rowe in 2004, and the Dave Rowe Trio, founded by the late Tom Rowe's son. The Maritime- and Celtic-inspired folk duo Castlebay continues these traditions by researching archives for songs and ballads sung in Maine and performing them. In addition, members Julia Lane and Fred Gosbee write and perform songs about Maine's people and history. Newer Maine-based progressive folk artists have been emerging since the 1990s, including Heather Caston and Nancy Cartonio.
Maine's religious music includes the well-known church choirs of St. Luke's Episcopal Cathedral and two Bangor-area churches both named after St. John (one Catholic and one Episcopal).
One Longfellow Square in Portland is a popular folk-music venue.
Contra dances abound throughout the state of Maine keeping a tradition vital. Live bands often include fiddle, guitar, piano, banjo, mandolin, bass, and more.[11]
Maine's folk tradition is celebrated and kept alive in summer camps such as Maine Fiddle Camp in Montville. The Acadia School of Traditional Music and Arts (the Acadia Trad School) operates a week-long festival in June that attracts serious music and dance students of all ages from all across the US, Canada and beyond.
Maine's musicians play a variety of different styles of folk music. Irish, Scottish, Quebecois, and even southern styles were influential on Maine's folk tradition. French-Canadian music is popular in Northern Maine on the border of Canada. The traditional fiddle tunes extended into Maine and became very prominent in all of New England.
The only music museum east of Nashville is located in Mechanic Falls. The Maine Country Music Hall of Fame was founded in 1978 and in 2008 they opened a museum.[12]
The southern coastal region both in and near Portland, Maine is home to many jazz instrumentalists, composers, singers, songwriters and arrangers. The University of Southern Maine at Gorham[13] campus offers many jazz concerts throughout the academic year.
Lenny Breau, born in Auburn in 1941, is often considered to have been the most gifted jazz guitarist of all time.[14][15] He was also a very well versed classical guitar player, known for his distinctive fingerstyle technique and ability to incorporate two-note comping, harmonics, quartal harmony and three-against-two rhythms. He was also known for blending jazz, flamenco, classical and country styles. During his lifetime, Breau recorded albums such as The Hallmark Sessions, Swingin' on a Seven String and Guitar Sounds. Some of his most memorable tunes are "Bouree", "The Claw" and "Emily", performed in Brunswick on August 2, 1980. Breau died in Los Angeles in 1984.
Don Doane, a jazz trombonist and music teacher within the Maine school system, has played with Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson.[16]
Dave Bowler, a professional jazz drummer born in 1957 in Portland, helped found the jazz/rock band the Franklin Street Arterial and recorded an album called Blue Hills. He has played with other well-known musicians such as Willie Nelson, Willie Dixon and Kilimandjaro.[17][18] He also became a member of the Ahmad Jamal Trio.[19][18]
The DIY venue, the Squashed Warehouse, is revered among punk musicians and commonly hosts hardcore, pop punk, folk punk, and noise rock shows, having been played by national and local acts including folk punk legends Days N' Daze, underground ska-core act Grey Matter, and many of the groups mentioned above. Another DIY Venue, Project Freewill, in New Portland Maine, celebrates underground musicians in Maine.
The band Oak, signed to Mercury/PolyGram, had four songs that made the Billboard Hot 100 chart; the most successful was "King of the Hill", which reached No. 36 in May 1980. Oak originally consisted of Rick Pinette (vocals, piano, guitar), Dave Stone (keyboard), Danny Caron (drums), George Borden (bass) and Scott Grover Weatherspoon (guitar). John Foster replaced Borden on bass for the band's second album. Carl Crosen (guitar) and Bruce Noell (bass) played in the band during the time in which demos for the record label were recorded. Oak went on national college concert tours and played all over the Northeast and Eastern Canada. The band was known for great theatrics, high energy and excellent vocals and musicianship.
William Smith Monroe was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, and created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass".
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it largely developed out of old-time string music, though in contrast, it is traditionally played exclusively on acoustic instruments and also has roots in traditional English, Scottish and Irish ballads and dance tunes, as well as in blues and jazz. It was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Monroe characterized the genre as "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's a part of Methodist, Holiness and Baptist traditions. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various world music genres. He is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Fleck has won 17 Grammy Awards and been nominated 39 times.
Throughout the history of the British Isles, the land that is now the United Kingdom has been a major music producer, drawing inspiration from church music and traditional folk music, using instruments from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Each of the four countries of the United Kingdom has its own diverse and distinctive folk music forms, which flourished until the era of industrialisation when they began to be replaced by new forms of popular music, including music hall and brass bands. Many British musicians have influenced modern music on a global scale, and the UK has one of the world's largest music industries. English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh folk music as well as other British styles of music heavily influenced American music such as American folk music, American march music, old-time, ragtime, blues, country, and bluegrass. The UK has birthed many popular music genres such as beat music, psychedelic music, progressive rock/pop, heavy metal, new wave, and industrial music.
The music of Finland can be roughly divided into folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.
Washington, D.C., has been home to many prominent musicians and is particularly known for the musical genres of Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, bluegrass, punk rock and its locally-developed descendants hardcore and emo, and a local funk genre called go-go. The first major musical figure from District of Columbia was John Philip Sousa, a military brass band composer. Later figures include jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Rouse, Buck Hill, Ron Holloway, Davey Yarborough, Michael A. Thomas, Butch Warren, and DeAndrey Howard; soul musicians, including Billy Stewart, The Unifics, The Moments, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Van McCoy, The Presidents, The Choice Four, Vernon Burch, guitarist Charles Pitts, and Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul.
For many decades, Kansas has had a vibrant country and bluegrass scene. The Country Stampede Music Festival – one of the largest music festivals in the country – and the bluegrass/acoustic Walnut Valley Festival are testament to the continued popularity of these music genres in the state. Among current leading country artists, Martina McBride and Chely Wright are natives of Kansas.
The U.S. state of New Jersey is located in the Northeastern United States and is part of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Virginia's musical contribution to American culture has been diverse, and includes Piedmont blues, jazz, folk, brass, hip-hop, and rock and roll bands, as well as the founding origins of country music in the Bristol sessions by Appalachian Virginians.
The story of Tennessee's contribution to American music is essentially the story of three cities: Nashville, Memphis, and Bristol. While Nashville is most famous for its status as the long-time capital of country music, Bristol is recognized as the "Birthplace of Country Music". Memphis musicians have had an enormous influence on blues, early rock and roll, R&B, and soul music, as well as an increasing presence in rap.
The music of Oregon reflects the diverse array of styles present in the music of the United States, from Native American music to the contemporary genres of rock and roll, country, rhythm and blues, jazz, pop, electronic music, and hip hop. However, throughout most of its history, the state has been relatively isolated from the cultural forces shaping American music. Much of modern popular music traces its roots to the emergence in the late 19th century of African American blues and the growth of gospel music in the 1920s. African American musicians borrowed elements of European and Indigenous musics to create new American forms. As Oregon's population was more homogeneous and more white than the United States as a whole, the state did not play a significant role in this history.
The music of the Philippines includes the musical performance arts in the Philippines and the music of Filipinos composed in various local and international genres and styles. Philippine musical compositions are often a mixture of Indigenous styles, and various Asian styles, as well as Spanish/Latin American and (US) American influences through foreign rule from those countries.
The Macedonian music refers to all forms of music associated with ethnic Macedonians. It shares similarities with the music of neighbouring Balkan countries, yet it remains overall distinctive in its rhythm and sound.
The Music of Kentucky is heavily centered on Appalachian folk music and its descendants, especially in eastern Kentucky. Bluegrass music is of particular regional importance; Bill Monroe, "the father of bluegrass music", was born in the Ohio County community of Rosine, and he named his band, the Blue Grass Boys, after the bluegrass state, i.e., Kentucky. Travis picking, the influential guitar style, is named after Merle Travis, born and raised in Muhlenberg County. Kentucky is home to the Country Music Highway, which extends from Portsmouth, Ohio, to the Virginia border in Pike County.
Alabama has played a central role in the development of both blues and country music. Appalachian folk music, fiddle music, gospel, spirituals, and polka have had local scenes in parts of Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute's School of Music, especially the Tuskegee Choir, is an internationally renowned institution. There are three major modern orchestras, the Mobile Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra; the last is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in the state, giving its first performance in 1955.
The American state of Colorado has many music scenes and venues, especially in the larger cities like Denver and Colorado Springs.
Raymond LeRoy Clark known professionally as Yodelin' Slim Clark was an American musician known for his yodeling.
This is a list of lists of musicians.
Al Hawkes was an American musician, founder of Event Records, and pioneer of the American bluegrass movement. He received state and national accolades, including being recognized as a member of the first generation of bluegrass musicians by the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Kentucky.
Donald DePoy is an American bluegrass musician, music educator, and music event organizer. He is a fifth-generation bluegrass musician from the Shenandoah Valley and a multi-instrumentalist. He and his wife Martha Hills have performed as the duo Me & Martha since 2005. He is founder of the Shenandoah Music Trail and the first "bluegrass church". He won first place in dulcimer at the 2017 Old Fiddlers' Convention in Galax, Virginia.
↑ McGarrigle, Dale (November 7, 2003). "A new Day dawns; Brewer native Howie Day headlines first national tour in support of major label album". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine.
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