The All Roads Music Festival returns to Belfast this weekend for its seventh annual event, featuring 40 music performances at five different venues.
Events begin Friday with two separate showcases sponsored by the Belfast Community Co-Op, one offering a pop, rock and hip-hop line-up while the other features singer-songwriter and bluegrass tunes.
The performances continue on Saturday at noon and go all day, featuring everything from psychedelic rock to punk to folk music at five different venues. The stages are located at the American Legion hall, the Belfast Maskers theater, the Belfast Free Library, The First Church and Marshall Wharf Brewing Co.
“I’m just excited about the energy around this year’s festival,” said Festival Director Meg Shorette. “All the artists are so excited, and that energy coming from them is contagious.”
The festival is run by Launchpad, a Maine nonprofit Shorette co-founded that highlights music and arts projects throughout the state. She said volunteers make the event possible, and only three people are involved in the planning and booking process year-round.
All but one of the artists performing are from Maine, Shorette said.
Two day tickets for the All Roads Music Festival are $60. A vintage market will also be held at the steamboat landing — no ticket required — where anyone can visit and peruse offerings from 20 different vendors, Shorette said.
“We always try to add some things for the general community,” Shorette said.
The festival first was held in Belfast in 2015 and typically brings in around 1,200 people throughout the weekend, according to Shorette. The COVID-19 pandemic shut the festival down in 2020 and 2021 but it returned in 2022 with a smaller crowd.
This year, Shorette said she’s seen a big uptick in interest around live music. She’s hoping the event could break 1,500 attendees.
“Live music is back,” Shorette said. “It finally feels like we’re back since the pandemic.”
