HOULTON, Maine — Portland-based roots rock and Americana band Gunther Brown will head north this weekend for their “One Night Only Reunion Tour” and make good on a performance that was supposed to happen five years ago.
Slated for a spring 2020 concert on the Sanctuary Stage at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Houlton, Gunther Brown was stalled by COVID-19 and never made it to Aroostook County that year, the church’s Rev. Dave Hutchinson said Monday.
Right after a European tour and the release of the album “Heartache and Roses,” the band was on tour plugging the release in late February 2020 when they were sidelined by the pandemic and a band member’s health problems resulting from COVID-19, Hutchinson said.
They haven’t played since.
But when the church’s annual spring fundraising act, British-Canadian comedian James Mullinger, canceled his Maine tour dates in Houlton and Eastport due to concerns about border tensions, Hutchinson thought about approaching Gunther Brown.
“One of our members gave them a call. They were interested and they did owe us a concert,” Hutchinson said. “We got four of the original band members and they started rehearsing a few months ago. We are kind of hoping maybe they will get back in the game.”
Gunther Brown’s drummer, Derek Mills, is originally from the Houlton area and graduated from Houlton High School. The other original band members include Pete Ryan on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Plumstead, lead guitar and vocals, and Mark McDonough, bass.
The band’s original songs, written mostly by Ryan, pull from country and rock ‘n’ roll roots, similar to Neil Young or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. One reviewer compared their mournful lyrics to Ray Lamontagne’s “Till the Sun Turns Black.”
“Pete has that distinctive gravelly voice that defines their sound,” Hutchinson said, pointing to a Maine-based song, “Norridgewock,” on their 2016 “North Wind” album.
The song tells the story of a 1724 downstate massacre of an Abenaki Indian village near the confluence of the Sandy and Kennebec rivers.
“An ambush, a massacre, they called it Dummer’s War, led by Harmon and Moulton,” the lyrics go. “Well, they’ll name streets for these men, oh here they come. Yeah, they’re coming up the Kennebec with seventeen boats and two hundred men.”
“Quite a powerful and political song,” Hutchinson said, adding that the band is known for their storytelling and ballads such as “Christ of the American Road.”
The band rarely toured outside Maine, but Gunther Brown had a connection in Europe. They did 10 shows in 10 days in the Netherlands in 2017 and appeared on the Euro Americana Chart.
“I can’t remember how high we got on the Euro Americana Chart, but the song that got the most traction was ‘Christ of the American Road,’” drummer Mills said.
While in the Netherlands, they got to play to some full rooms of great audiences, he said. A highlight was record store day, where the band did two in-store gigs during the day and a venue show at night.
“That was pretty sweet,” Mills said. “I would say the fact we lived together for 10 days with a rental van and played a ton of shows and still wanted to keep going at the end speaks to how close we are as musicians and more importantly as friends.”
The historic Military Street Unitarian Universalist Church relies on its once-a-year campaign for corporate and individual sponsors as well the annual fundraising concert on the Sanctuary Stage.
Those funds help to pay performers in the long-running Cup Cafe Concert Series that features prominent artists.
During the Gunther Brown concert break, food will be sold in the Cup Cafe and the church sanctuary, provided by legendary restaurateur Joyce Transue of Houlton’s former Courtyard Cafe.
“She will be bringing her famous lemon squares and berrymisu,” Hutchinson said.
Gunther Brown plays at 7 p.m., this Saturday night, Aug. 9, on the Sanctuary Stage at the church.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students and free to children 12 and under. They are available at The County Co-Op & Farm Store and online at uuhoulton.org.
