19 live music concerts in Maine worth traveling for this summer

Maine's live music calendar is stacked this summer, with touring legends, beloved homegrown acts and a few rare reunions filling venues from Bangor to Portland between mid-June and early September.

Kicking things off in Bangor, Mumford & Sons brings its "Prizefighter" tour to the Maine Savings Amphitheater at 6 p.m. on June 16. The British folk-rock outfit last drew a Maine crowd in 2013, when its Gentlemen of the Road Stopover festival took over Portland's Eastern Promenade. Dylan Gossett opens. Tickets run from $63.75 to $159.75 through waterfrontconcerts.com.

Two days later, alternative rock fans have a reason to head to Portland's State Theatre, where The Breeders take the stage at 8 p.m. on June 18. The band — sisters Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim MacPherson — has been releasing music on and off since 1990, with their 1993 album "Last Splash" and its breakout single "Cannonball" still standing as high-water marks of '90s rock. Tickets are $49.50 in advance or $55 at the door.

Country, rock and hip-hop artist Jelly Roll, whose legal name is Jason Bradley DeFord, plays the Maine Savings Amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. on June 20, with blues and country singer Kashus Culpepper opening. Jelly Roll won a 2024 Grammy for Best Contemporary Country Album with "Beautifully Broken" and is touring behind his Little Ass Shed Tour. Tickets range from $85.25 to $223.95.

Chicago's Wilco, led by Jeff Tweedy, returns to Maine for an outdoor show at Thompson's Point in Portland at 7 p.m. on June 21. Bassist John Stirratt, who keeps a home in Maine's Midcoast region, rounds out a band with 13 studio albums to draw from. Tickets are $62 in advance or $70 on the day of the show.

One of the summer's most anticipated indoor shows arrives July 3, when Barry Manilow plays the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland at 7 p.m. Originally scheduled for April 19, the concert was postponed after Manilow fell ill, and this will be his final Portland performance. Expect a setlist built around classics like "Mandy," "I Write the Songs," "Can't Smile Without You" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Tickets run from $77 to $385.

British singer, songwriter and pianist Joe Jackson brings his catalog of 20 studio albums — including the just-released "Hope and Fury" — to the State Theatre at 8 p.m. on July 11. Tickets are $55.50 to $99.50.

The same evening, Alison Krauss & Union Station perform at The Bowl in the Pines at the Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney at 6 p.m., with material from their album "Arcadia." The band, featuring Krauss on fiddle and vocals alongside Jerry Douglas, Ron Block, Barry Bales and Russell Moore, has racked up multiple Grammys over a 40-plus-year career. Theo Lawrence opens. Tickets range from $70 to $153.

Maine's own 12/OC, a country act founded by Portland brothers Will and Reid Nichols, headlines a benefit show at the Snow Pond Bowl in the Pines at 6:30 p.m. on July 18. The brothers, who started playing gigs when they were 10 and 13, relocated to Nashville roughly two years ago and have continued building a regional following. Kelsey Hart opens, and proceeds benefit the Travis Mills Foundation. Tickets are $27.76.

Parody king Weird Al Yankovic brings his "Bigger & Weirder" tour to the Maine Savings Amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. on July 19, with Puddles Pity Party opening. Across more than 45 years and 12 million albums sold, Yankovic has built a catalog that includes "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon" and "Smells Like Nirvana." Tickets run from $56.75 to $213.45.

New Orleans favorite Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue play the Snow Pond Bowl in the Pines at 6:30 p.m. on July 21, with JJ Grey & Mofro opening. Tickets are $63.43 to $120.06.

For a triple shot of late-1970s and 1980s pop-rock nostalgia, Toto, Christopher Cross and the Romantics share the Maine Savings Amphitheater stage at 6:45 p.m. on July 23. Expect sing-alongs to "Africa," "Sailing" and "What I Like About You," among others. Tickets range from $35 to $233.50.

Jazz icon Herbie Hancock, 86, performs at Portland's Merrill Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 1. The 14-time Grammy winner and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is known for blending jazz, funk and electronic music across a career that includes the 1983 hit "Rockit" and the 2007 Joni Mitchell tribute album "River: The Joni Letters." Tickets are $75 to $110.

Guster, the alt-rock band featuring Cape Elizabeth singer and guitarist Adam Gardner, returns to Thompson's Point for its eighth annual Guster on the Ocean festival, with two outdoor shows at 4 p.m. on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9. An Aug. 7 collaboration with the Portland Symphony Orchestra at Merrill Auditorium is sold out. This year's festival lineup includes Iron & Wine, Watchhouse, The Barr Brothers, Neal Francis, Eggy, Dave Butler & Friends, Bebe Stockwell, Khatumu and Cilla Bonnie. Tickets are $70 for adults and $40 for kids, with two-day passes available.

British rock veteran Billy Idol plays the Maine Savings Amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 11, just months before his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Los Angeles in November. The setlist will lean on staples like "White Wedding," "Eyes Without a Face," "Dancing With Myself" and "Rebel Yell." Tickets range from $44.50 to $181.50.

Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile brings her Human Tour to the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland at 7 p.m. on Aug. 13, in support of her album "Returning To Myself." A nine-time Grammy winner with nine studio albums to her name, Carlile is known for songs like "The Story," "Hold Out Your Hand" and "The Joke." Tickets range from $85 to $497.

Folk duo Indigo Girls — Amy Ray and Emily Saliers — perform at Thompson's Point at 7 p.m. on Aug. 25, with crowd-pleasers likely including "Closer to Fine," "Galileo" and "Kid Fears." Tickets are $53 in advance or $61 on the day of the show.

Texas rock institution ZZ Top caps the Maine Savings Amphitheater run at 7 p.m. on Sept. 6, with George Thorogood & The Destroyers opening. Expect "Legs," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man" and a tribute to the late Dusty Hill, who died in 2021. Tickets range from $65.20 to $304.70.

The same day, Thompson's Point hosts Ghostland, the annual reunion festival hosted by The Ghost of Paul Revere. The Maine folk band, founded by childhood friends Griffin William Sherry, Sean McCarthy and Max Davis from Buxton and Hollis, broke up in 2022 after more than a decade together. Doors open at 5 p.m., with Futurebirds, Weakened Friends and Mikaela Davis also on the bill. Tickets are $55 in advance or $65 on the day of the show, and free for children 3 and under.

Wrapping up the season, LCD Soundsystem brings its dance-punk sound to Thompson's Point at 7 p.m. on Sept. 9. Fronted by James Murphy, the band retired once in 2011 before returning in 2016 and has released five albums, with songs like "Dance Yrself Clean" and "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" anchoring the catalog. Tickets are $75 in advance or $85 on the day of the show.

Tickets for most shows are available through the venue websites listed, including waterfrontconcerts.com for Bangor's Maine Savings Amphitheater, statetheatreportland.com for Portland's State Theatre and Thompson's Point shows, crossarenaportland.com for the Cross Insurance Arena, snowpond.org for the Snow Pond Center for the Arts and porttix.com for Merrill Auditorium.