New England Celtic Arts will present Nova Scotia’s Old Man Luedecke as part of its Western Maine Music Week at Bethel Celtic Concerts with the Bethel United Methodist Church on Wednesday, Sept. 9; at North Church Concerts with the Farmington Historical Society on Thursday, Sept. 10; at Phillips Community Center on Friday, Sept. 11 with special guests T’ Acadie; and at One Longfellow Square in Portland on Saturday, Sept. 12. Curtain in Bethel, Farmington and Phillips is 7 p.m. and in Portland at 7:30 p.m.
Western Maine Music Week, in it’s third year, will take place in six locations over a three-day period from Sept. 9-11 in the mountains of Western Maine. The popular mini-festival features the small halls and venues that are the trade mark of NECA programming. A sense of community it at the heart of the festival and top quality sound is added to make the experience the best that it can be. The events will officially end on Friday night in Phillips with one of Maine’s premier contradance bands T’ Acadie and caller Bill Olson finishing up the evening. Old Man Luedecke will then continue on to Southern Maine for one engagement at One Longfellow Square in Portland
Maritime banjo wielder Chris Luedecke is set to return to Maine as Old Man Luedecke with his sixth studio album “Domestic Eccentric.”
Luedecke hails from Chester, Novia Scotia, and although he has become a renowned, Juno-winning troubadour traveling the country with his tunes, the songwriter pays homage to home on the new record. The album was even recorded in his self-built backwoods cabin, along with producer and roots’y multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien.
“Tim is my favorite musician,” Luedecke said in a statement. “And working with him in a duet environment in a cabin at home was a waking dream.”
As for the subject matter of the new material, it explores the idea of domesticity and hears Luedecke waxing poetic on the experiences of himself as a young man who’s been in love with the same woman for more than a decade, and the process of watching their babies grow into children. It’s especially pertinent on opener and lead single “Yodelady” which has been in his live set since 2004. The was inspired by a woman he met in Dawson City, who has since become his wife, the mother of his children and his muse.
T’ Acadie, (Pam Weeks, Bill Olson, and Jim Joseph), is a dance band and folk trio from Maine, part of the region including the Canadian Maritime provinces known as Acadia, (T’ Acadie is slang for “a little Acadia”). This versatile group is equally at home playing for concerts, contra-dances, or Cajun dances. They will be performing in Phillips only.
The Bethel Celtic Concerts is located at the United Methodist Church 75 Main Street Bethel, Me. Tickets $15 Reservations at 207-824-2027. North Church is located at 118 High Street Farmington, Me. Tickets $15, for reservations at North Church call: 207-778-2006. Phillips Community Center is at 21 Depot Street Phillips, Me. Tickets $15.00 at the door. One Longfellow Square is located at 181 State Street in Portland, Me. Tickets $15 Call 207-761-1757 or go online at https://onelongfellowsquare.com .
Reservations are strongly suggested at all locations. More info available at http://www.necelticarts.com
