A top Portland destination for live local music, including some touring acts. The room is big and spacious with plenty of room for dancing. A wide range of music is played here, from the Blues to Pop music, Americana, Bluegrass, as well as recurring shows like The Maine Dead Project, and other colorful revue-style shows. Set only a block away from Monument Square, Portland House of Music & Events is an important cultural institution and well worth a visit.
On a magical night at Nectar’s in Burlington, Vermont in December of 2018, three musical masters—Russ Lawton, Scott Metzger and Ray Paczkowski—came together with alchemical synthesis, and created a fresh, so-tight-it’s-free sound, permeated with technical prowess and a deep-pocket punch. The packed house fortunate enough to be in attendance that night witnessed the birth of something very special. The following spring, the trio took the name LaMP by combining the first letters of each members’ surname, and reconvened back in Vermont at Sugarhouse Soundworks for an intense recording session with sound engineer Roger Stauss laying down tracks that would become their eponymous debut EP.
Metzger, described by The Village Voice as “…an ace guitarist of a thousand styles,” and a full-time member of the beloved Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, tested the decades-strong synergy between Lawton and Paczkowski forged from their time playing with Trey Anastasio Band and their duo project Soule Monde. It resulted in seven tracks crackling with energy and soul. The melodic and harmonic interplay between Paczkowski’s swirling organ and clavinet dancing with Metzger’s acrobatic melodies on telecaster, driven by Lawton’s unflappable backbeat, produced a record that will stand the test of time. Ever since—as the three members busy schedules have allowed—LaMP has prioritized bringing the music to the people with shows across the East Coast. As word has spread and the crowds have grown with each subsequent tour, it’s become clear that LaMP will be a musical force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.
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