‘I’m so happy to be home!’ Maine’s Role Model kicks off tour in Portland
At 8:37 p.m. on Friday, Chuck came home.
To a screaming crowd of roughly 6,500 people, Tucker Pillsbury (under the stage name Role Model) performed his first show in his home state to celebrate the release of his new album “Chuck Timely & The Hourglass” and kick off an international tour.
As the sun set on Thompson’s Point, fans chanted “Chuck comes home,” some wearing outfits of pink and yellow with “Chuck Timely” hand-stitched across. The show sold out almost immediately after tickets went on sale.
Pillsbury describes the album as centered on a time-traveling character (Chuck Timely, of course) and the ups-and-downs and back-and-forths of being single and trying to find love.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said one line stuck with him the most throughout the creation of the album: “Does love come around, or does one come around to it?”
The question, asked in the single “High Hopes 3000” released in June, was a line he carried with him and one that defines much of the album.
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Pillsbury’s tour, including stops in England, Ireland, Canada and more than two dozen U.S. cities, picks back up in Oregon on Sept. 9, with a stop in Boston on Sept. 27. On Saturday, Pillsbury met fans at a record signing at the Bull Moose music store in South Portland.
Role Model performs in Portland on Friday night. (Photo by Lauryn Sophia)
Samantha Winchenbach, Danica Juntura and Morgan Lowe all agreed that they were excited for the show, but also excited just to see Role Model live.
“I think it’s going to be a phenomenal show, since this is the first one in his home state,” said Winchenbach, 24.
Juntura, 26, said she might even get a little emotional.
“I think I’m gonna cry if he cries,” she said.
When Pillsbury finally appeared on stage, opening with the first song on the album “Chuck’s Mantra,” the crowd erupted.
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Pillsbury spoke a bit between songs, taking time to catch up with his hometown since he’s been away.
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In between singing about Kennebec heat waves and angels knocking at his door, Pillsbury spoke in depth about his Maine roots.
At the end of his song “Service Receipt,” Pillsbury shouted into the microphone: “I’m so happy to be home!”
Born and raised in Cape Elizabeth, the singer said this show was a long time coming; but for a while, he was worried no one would come if he performed in Maine.
“It wasn’t until I put out ‘Kansas Anymore’; the one I started talking about where I’m from and how much it means to me, and for the first time in my career I felt like I had my home state on my back,” he said.
From recognizing a member in the crowd as someone he skied with at Sugarloaf Mountain, to his mother asking for a plus-46 as opposed to a plus-one for all his friends and family, Pillsbury was clearly at home. He said there was a time where all he could think about was leaving Maine.
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Now, all he can think about is coming back.
“Nothing means more to me than this place right here. I think about it every day. It’s in my (expletive) veins,” he said. “This is the greatest night of my life … I love you.”
Pillsbury ended the concert with the viral hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” the audience singing along to every word. As he walked off the stage, fans dispersed with their arms filled with posters, records and t-shirts from the merch table, talking about the show.
Lydia Morgan, Lindsay Gilton and Alex Lermond all moved from different states, but the trio agreed they felt almost honored to get to live in a state with so much love surrounding it.
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“It makes you feel lucky just moving here,” Lermond said. “I get to live in such a great place now.”
When asked how they enjoyed the concert, the women, all 24, thought it was fantastic. They said throughout the audience the joy was palpable, and every person felt just as happy to be there as the next.
A view of the audience at Role Model’s concert on Friday in Portland. (Photo by Lauryn Sophia)
“It was fantastic,” Morgan said. “Life changing, I would say.”
Gilton said she thought it was telling that Pillsbury mentioned he booked Thompson’s Point a year in advance.
“It shows just how excited he’s been for this,” she said.
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Tagged: entertainment, music
Abigail is a community reporter for Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Sanford, and Wells. She recently moved up to Maine from Connecticut after getting her bachelor’s degree in English/Journalism at the University. More by Abigail Driscoll
