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SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE! Live music permeates Greater Portland, with genres as diverse as the audiences they attract. P eople gather in concert halls, performance spaces, bars, and night clubs across the region, enjoying life and getting lost in the music. The number of venues in downtown Portland is truly impressive for a small city. The one-mile stretch from the Arts District to the Old Port is jamming with over 40 spots to catch a live show including One Longfellow Square, the State Theatre, and Port City Music Hall. Try and find local musicians Janaesound, Sarah Violette, Golden Oak, Viva and the Reinforcements, Jason Spooner, Weakened Friends, and Samuel James playing around town. And beware, Ghost of Paul Revere may be seated at the table next to you! In the warmer months, you’ll hear music throughout Portland, with performers on the streets and a regular schedule of free outdoor concerts on the Eastern Prom and in Congress Square Park. Stars bring their talent to amazing outdoor concerts at popular Thompson’s Point and the newest waterside venue, Rock Row inWestbrook. Good cheer fills snow capped days when street performers play Christmas carols for holiday shoppers and Portland Symphony Orchestra’s Magic of Christmas gets every- one in a festive mood. There are also free outdoor concerts and live music venues inWestbrook, South Portland, Scarborough, and Peaks Island. In nearby Freeport, L.L.Bean’s Summer in the Park series brings national headliners for free concerts in the retailer’s Discovery Park. For classical enthusiasts, University of SouthernMaine’s School of Music offers concerts in Gorham; and three summer music festivals, staged from Brunswick to Portland, pair Bach and his contemporaries with world-renowned and up-and-coming musicians. [p. 42-44]

Crowds regularly pack the Art Deco-style State Theatre for live performances.

PHOTO: STATE THEATRE / JOSHUA FRANCES

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