Bald Hill

New Gloucester Newgrass

Tag: Lewiston Auburn music

Sound & Color Collide this Saturday Night at SBE

March 6, 2023 /

AUBURN, Maine — Don’t miss Bald Hill’s show here at Side By Each Brewing Co. this Saturday night, March 11. And don’t miss the new and distinctive splash of color behind the band.

Area quilt artist and BH super fan Sharon Vandermay has fashioned — for the common musical good — a sound-absorbing backdrop of riotous color that debuted late in January, the last time Bald Hill played SBE. On that occasion, the expansive coverlet was suspended in rusticated-but-not-so-efficient fashion between two ladders. On Saturday, like the band, it will perform to its full breadth and capabilities, thanks to a custom stand.

As Fernando Lamas made clear, it’s more important to look good than to feel good. It’s better still to sound good, and the new quilt will play a vital role there.

Bald Hill, those surprisingly hep purveyors of blues-inflected newgrass, folk rock and Americana, prefer to perform around a condenser microphone or two, moving back and forth in the old-time, Appalachian style. No need to plug in each instrument, or multiple “dynamic” mics: The condenser picks everything up and relays a pure, unadulterated sound to the audience.

Condenser mics are very sensitive, however. They pick up every little sound in a room, even those that might have ricocheted off walls and ceilings back toward the performers. This results in the feedback. The new quilt will serve to absorb those ricochets from behind, and reduce feedback, even when BH deploys common/dynamic mics. While all the while looking totally fabulous. Click on the picture to enlarge and better appreciate its detail.

Bald Hill at Davinci’s Friday night, April 15

April 13, 2022 /

LEWISTON, Maine — Bald Hill, those surprisingly hep purveyors of blues-inflected newgrass, folk rock and Americana, will drop into the Grappa Room, here at Davinci’s Italian Eatery, this Friday evening, April 15, from 6-9 p.m.

Davinci’s, home to the best pizza and pasta in the Twin Cities, has started hosting live music this spring. On Thursday nights, local acts have been holding court in the expansive bar area. On Friday nights, starting with Friday’s Bald Hill show, the music will move into the Grappa Room, where two large, garage-sized doors will open — essentially connecting this erstwhile banquet space with the bar space.

Bald Hill will preside therein, around a central mic, with an acoustic set of bluegrass, alt-country and traditional tunes. Rumor has it that, come Friday evening, several new selections will be test-driven inside Davinci’s massive, brick-bedecked, former mill space.

Be advised that Bald Hill will be popping up and dropping in to play music all over Maine this spring. Fresh of its triumphant All Dead Revue, which drew 200 patrons and exhausted the glass supply at Side By Each Brewery on April 2, BH will take the Revue on the road in May — up north, to the Blue Ox Saloon in Millinocket, on May 28. That show will benefit Boreal Theater Community Arts. Three days later, the band will feature at the Music for Mavis concert series on the town green in Turner, May 31.

Bald Hill is poised to confirm several more dates for June and beyond. For news of those shows, stay glued to this space.

Bald Hill back at Gritty’s Saturday night, March 7

March 2, 2020 /

AUBURN — Bald Hill, those surprising hep purveyors of blues-infused newgrass, folk rock and Americana, will return to Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Co. for a pair of shows this spring — the first being this Saturday night, March 7.

The music runs from 8-11 p.m., but no harm in arriving beforehand to secure primo seating, indulge in some of Gritty’s stellar pub fare, and partake of the beers that pioneered Maine’s craft-brew scene.

Bald Hill will return to Gritty’s in Auburn for another show on May 9, so mark your calendars accordingly.

For those of you who’ve never visited, the Gritty’s in Auburn is the most sumptuous and scenic of all the Gritty locations. It fronts on Main Street but the picture windows out back look out over the pub’s sprawling deck, Great Falls and the Mighty Androscoggin River. For those of you who’ve not partaken of the Bald Hill experience, well… get ready for songs from the varied likes of Patsy Montana, Prince, Richard Thompson, Dolly Parton, Elvis, Son Volt, The Stones, The Dead, Hank Williams, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Band and Delbert McClinton.

And that’s just the first set…

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