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Visitors to Belfast may typically associate the midcoast city with quaint afternoons spent strolling by the water, getting a bite or maybe stopping by a local art gallery or shop.
But come this weekend, the city’s usual ambience will transform as crowds arrive for the 10th annual All Roads Music Festival, which features Maine musicians of many genres playing across multiple local venues on Friday and Saturday.
During its decade of life, the festival has helped many independent musicians get exposure outside the state’s customary arts hubs of Portland and Bangor. It has also contributed to Belfast’s growing reputation as one of the more distinctive communities along the Maine coast.
“All Roads is a music festival that celebrates, really, Maine artists. … It’s really hyperlocal,” said festival co-organizer Meg Shorette. “And it’s all genres, so anything from punk to metal, singer-songwriters, or DJs or hip hop, it’s really a little bit of everything.”
When the festival first started in 2015, All Roads hosted 10 bands, lasted one day and took up a single venue, drawing a crowd of 1,000.
This year, All Roads will feature 36 bands and another 120 solo performers, in venues that include a local church, a video rental shop, an American Legion Hall, a theater and a bar. Organizers expect some 1,600 attendees.
Shorette credits the growth of Maine’s music scene and the development of Belfast with contributing to the event’s increased popularity. And some of the musicians who have played the event have gone onto bigger things in the music industry.
One of the most prolific, Grammy-award winner Dave Gutter, was a founding member of the Rustic Overtones who has attended almost every All Roads and performed there as part of several different collaborations. This year, he’ll be playing as part of a duo called OystahGutt.
“It’s cool to have this melting pot of different artists that are doing things in Maine,” Gutter said. “For me, it’s a great celebration of artists in the scene that have been doing it for a long time, and the ones that are brand-new. It rejuvenates my interest in the music scene every year. It’s always a really fresh line up, so I’m looking forward to it.”
This year, most of the performers will be newcomers, but several have played it before, according to Shorette, who has appreciated watching artists across diverse genres connect at the event and go on to form distinct collaborations.
“If you’re a folk band, it’s pretty rare that you’re going to be at a venue on a bill with a metal band, or vice versa, or a hip hop artist,” said Shorette.
Portland-based contemporary rock band Rigometrics is another of the returning acts this year. The band, which formed in 2021, is comprised of keyboardist and singer Keenan Hendricks, guitarist Josef Berger and drummer Derek Haney.
Hendricks praised the festival for helping newer groups to join a community of other artists.
“It’s a really weird and challenging thing to pursue, and it’s hard to make a living,” Hendricks said. “I think it’s important to feel that you have a support group, and it’s sometimes nice to catch up with other artists to see how they’re doing.”
And it’s not solely music, either. The festival will also feature music-focused discussion panels such as the Maine Songwriter’s Circle, a staple since the festival’s first year, and a discussion featuring musicians younger than 18.
Falmouth-based music studio director Sam Monaco will lead another panel focused on musicians looking to market themselves, titled “Have You Googled Yourself?” Three artists working and collaborating with Monaco will also perform in this year’s festival, and Monaco said the event has provided a good opportunity for musicians based in the musical hubbub of southern Maine to play in a different part of the state.
“For us, being in the Portland area, it’s nice to switch it up and go up the coast to the beautiful little town of Belfast. It’s just really cool that they basically let the festival take over the entire town up there,” Monaco said. “It’s a great vibe and it’s amazing what Meg has built over the past 10 years with lots of help from the community.”
Musical performances will start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday, and conclude with a Saturday night afterparty at Marshall Wharf Brewing Co.
Passes are $75 for the full weekend, with day passes for Friday at $35 or $45 for Saturday. All events will be held indoors at the American Legion Hall, Marshall Wharf, Opera House Video, First Church in Belfast, Belfast Maskers Theater and the Belfast Free Library.