music

The COVID-19 crisis continues to wreak havoc on the performing arts throughout Maine. We’ll learn how artists and venues have found creative ways to continue to reach audiences, and hear about plans for 2021. We’ll also discuss what long-term effects the pandemic will have on arts and culture in Maine.

Noel “Paul” Stookey of the iconic folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary has produced an album showcasing musicians who focus on social change, the mission of a nonprofit that Stookey founded, called Music to Life. We hear from Stookey, who lives in Maine, about his work in promoting social activism through music. Two Maine-based activist-artists join him,and we’ll hear some examples of their music.

This show is part of our ongoing coverage of topics relating to Maine's bicentennial.

A Maine music historian joins us to look back at the remarkable music that’s been made in Maine over the past 200 years. This includes music from: the Wabanaki and Passamaquoddy tribes; a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Walter Piston of Rockland; the country’s first superstar teen idol, Rudy Vallee; country music stars Donald Doane, Sr., and the Katahdin Mountaineers; folk music pioneers such as Mellie Dunham; Hermann Kotzschmar and the Merrill Auditorium organ named in honor of him; and many more.

Guest: Aaron Robinson, award–winning American composer, conductor, musicologist and best-selling author

From the start of the pandemic, with people staying home, those who work in the performing arts have lost their audiences and, most often, their sources of income. From musicians to actors to dancers to theater staff, it has been a particularly trying time for this creative segment in Maine. We discuss how they are faring, and what ways some have found to pivot.

 This is a rebroadcast of an earlier show (original air date August 30, 2019); no calls will be taken. 

Before rock 'n' roll, jazz dominated the music scene in America.

In the decades since Elvis and the Beatles changed the face of music, jazz has remained a steady, if somewhat diminished, uniquely American art form.

A panel of jazz lovers, including Maine Public’s own Rich Tozier, join us to talk about their love of jazz and the Maine jazz scene. We’ll also hear some live jazz during the show.

Leading into Veterans Day, we speak with longtime NPR war correspondents Neal Conan and Anne Garrels, who are in Maine as part of the East Coast tour of “Between War & Here.” The performance combines music, poetry and memoir to explore the themes of honor, courage, loss and hope. The journalists have teamed up with the chamber group Ensemble Galilei for this project, and will share their stories from their reporting careers as well as their involvement with this artistic collaboration. Ensemble Galilei’s founder Carolyn Surrick joins the discussion as well.

A new documentary by Ken Burns explores “the history of a uniquely American art form: country music. From its deep and tangled roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed in small settings, to its worldwide popularity, learn how country music evolved over the course of the 20th century, as it eventually emerged to become America’s music.” Join us for a conversation about country music.

Before rock 'n' roll, jazz dominated the music scene in America.

In the decades since Elvis and the Beatles changed the face of music, jazz has remained a steady, if somewhat diminished, uniquely American art form.

A panel of jazz lovers, including Maine Public’s own Rich Tozier, join us to talk about their love of jazz and the Maine jazz scene. We’ll also hear some live jazz during the show.

Which are the five albums you’d choose if you could only listen to 5? Which 5 records or artists had the greatest impact on you musically? Get ready for the great debate of the albums that matter most.

Maine’s own "holler folk" band, Ghost of Paul Revere, joins us to discuss their new album, life on the road, and making it onto the national music scene.  They made their national debut in January on "Conan."

First there were cassettes, then CDs, then MP3s — each supposed to be the death of vinyl records. Yet they remain popular, and more and more bands are releasing their music on vinyl. Last year 14 percent of all albums sold were vinyl records — the 12th straight year of vinyl sales growth. We’ll hear from collectors and aficionados about why this “old” format continues to remain popular.

Our own Sara Willis joins us to share some of her favorite music discoveries of the year.  We’ll also hear from Rich Tozier about some of his favorite jazz ‘re-discoveries’ of the year. 

Guest:  Sara Willis is the host of Maine Public’s “In Tune.”

Rich Tozier is the host of Maine Public's "Jazz Tonight."

We survey the pop & rock music scene in Maine and get a preview of some upcoming festivals/concerts.

Guests: Spencer Albee, Portland based and nationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and producer. Since 1995, he has toured internationally, signed multiple record and publishing deals and worked with artists ranging from David Bowie to De La Soul.  Rolling Stone Magazine recently called Spencer a "21st Century master in the lost art of Beatlesque hooks."