Annual event to be renamed COVID Independence Day to honor Mainers

BANGOR – The Greater Bangor 4th of July Corporation, the non-profit group that organizes the Independence Day festivities for the greater Bangor region, has been monitoring the latest news and meeting with state and local officials for guidance regarding Gov. Janet Mills’ four-phase plan to reopen the state and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s current recommendations.

BANGOR -Another big concert hit the Bangor Waterfront as Rob Thomas and Counting Crows rocked the Darling's Waterfront Pavilion.

Our Kevin Bennett was there, providing some dynamite images of all the rock and roll action on August 3.

(All photos by Kevin Bennett)

Looking ahead at the summer's offerings from Waterfront Concerts

BANGOR Summer is here, which means that the concerts are coming to the Bangor waterfront.

BANGOR - There are thousands of country music fans in Maine and over 8,000 of them attended the Lady Antebellum concert at the Darling's Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor on Saturday night. Every one of them who could, stood to their feet the moment the country trio walked onto the stage, and they remained standing until the group's very last note. The trio, comprised of vocalists Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley along with guitar/mandolin player Dave Hayward, opened with their 2013 single "Compass" from their album 'Golden.' The song is a mix of country, blue grass and folk music all rolled into one upbeat toe-tapping number driven by the sounds of the mandolin.

"The best way to stay warm is to dance," Kelley told the crowd before the trio launched into the song "Our Kind of Love" followed by "Just a Kiss," from their 2011 album 'Own the Night.' Next, Lady Antebellum transported the crowd back in time to their first radio single, "Love Don't Live Here," during which Kelley and Scott pointed their microphones to the crowd to let them belt out the lyrics to finish the number.

Rucker and company bring complete package to Waterfront

BANGOR - Darling's Waterfront Pavilion officially welcomed Summer to Bangor on June 21 with Darius Rucker's 'True Believers Tour.' It was a full-moon night of country music and Southern sentiment that featured Rodney Atkins and Jana Kramer along with Rucker.  

Opening the show with 'Sass and Class,' Kramer is rocking country with a straight-up message for men: smarten up. Stopping short of the typical trailer trash antics of many female country performers, Kramer's brass tacks are solid, entertaining, and smartly executed. Included in the set list were hit singles 'Whiskey' and 'I Hope it Rains.'

Bangor's Waterfront Concert Series begins its fourth season

BANGOR It's a gray Thursday night as people fill into the new home of Bangor's Waterfront Concert Series. Nestled into a tighter spot aside the hill along Main Street a mere hundred yards from its former spot where it stood for three years, the new Darling's Waterfront Pavilion looms large over rows of well-organized chairs that are more reminiscent of the interior of the Collins Center for the Arts than an outdoor amphitheater. Soon, rock bands Hinder and Motely Crue will be treating fans to their first sounds of heavy guitar and teeth-chattering bass in a venue that took both collaboration and patience to achieve, and for many will be home to many more concerts in the years to come.

BANGOR Fusion Bangor has revived its annual awards event and will take to the Bangor Waterfront on Nov. 15 in what organizers are calling the Fusion Awards Extravaganza.

The day of the event will see a temporary addition to the waterfront: a large tent, popping with different colors and bursting with music from the 1980s. This will be an awards ceremony and social event like no other in the Bangor Region.

Iconic legends rock Bangor Waterfront

BANGOR  As the old Journey song says, "the party's over." As the leaves begin to fall, the Waterfront stage is heading to the ground - but not before Bangor rocked with Journey, Pat Benatar and Loverboy on Friday night.

Loverboy, famous for the early '80s staples "The Kid is Hot Tonight" and "Lovin' Every Minute of It," started the evening. The band's lead vocalist, Mike Reno, can still knock out the vocals. They wrapped up with "Working for the Weekend," a suitable choice indeed for a crowd happily standing in a cold drizzle.

BANGOR - Live music will fill the air in and around the Bangor Waterfront on Wednesday, July 4 during Chords For Cure VIII a benefit concert that guarantees attendees the best seat in town for the largest fireworks display in Maine.

Scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Waterfront Concerts Pavilion and continue up to the fireworks at 9:30 p.m., Chords For Cure will be headlined by The Stone Doctors, a group of medical professionals who perform note-perfect versions of classic material by The Rolling Stones. The band only performs for charity.

Orthopedic surgeon Ian Dickey of Bangor handles lead guitar and backing vocals for The Stone Doctors and says the rest of the band will arrive from Montreal a couple of days before the show. 'This will be our eighth Chords For Cure event and we're looking forward to a truly rocking and explosive event,' Dickey said during a recent appearance on The Mike and Mike Show.