Live Shows: Back Cove Music & Arts Festival, Payson Park, Portland, ME 8/3/25

Ripe
Photo by Ken Sears

This has been a weird year for music festivals, with many festivals cancelling and others announcing they're taking a hiatus next year. The New England festival scene can be pretty busy, and this year saw Back Cove Music & Arts Festival entering the fray and taking over Payson Park in Portland, ME. They had an absolutely stacked line up for their inaugural year, so I made the surprisingly quick trip up to Portland on Sunday to check it out. Here are my highlights in the order that they took place.

Maine Academy of Modern Music

I didn't expect much from bands made up of music students playing in front of a huge festival crowd. It sounded kind of gimmicky, but at the very least it would be a cool thing for kids to look back on. I planned on wandering around and getting my bearings, but was shocked by how sucked in I got. Representing the Maine Academy of Modern Music was a trio of bands: Prettiest Girl in the Morgue, Andromeda, and Fraternity Leave. Besides all three bands having great names, these kids played great two song sets of modern alt-rock with a confidence that blew my mind. They even promoted upcoming albums and singles, so don't be surprised if those end up getting covered here.

The Greeting Committee
Photo by Ken Sears

The Greeting Committee

Playing one of the most fun sets of the day was The Greeting Committee. I saw them last year at The Sinclair, but their Back Cove experience was completely different. They made everything in their set bigger, and injected a much needed burst of energy into the crowd. Frontperson Addison Sartino was all over the stage, and her energy and joy was completely contagious. They're the kind of band that reminds you that music is supposed to be fun, and even if you're not a fan of the pop music (even alt-pop), it's impossible not to be swept up into their live show.

Madi Diaz and Dead Gowns
Photo by Ken Sears

Madi Diaz

Madi Diaz is one of those artists I'm always confused isn't far bigger than she is. The singer-songwriter plays an impossibly engaging version of folk, indie rock, and pop with some absolutely solid songs. Taking the stage with only a drummer, she always seems to have die hard fans at every performance, and each show creates more. As an extra special treat, Diaz brought out Genevieve Beaudoin of Dead Gowns out for "Don't Do Me Good," her duet with Kacey Musgraves. It's only been a year since Diaz opened up Boston Calling 2024, and her performance has already improved tenfold. Don't sleep on her next time she comes around. She's destined for huge things.

Ripe

I don't think anyone could be more surprised by how much I enjoyed Ripe's set than I was. The funk and alt-pop band seems to run with more of a jam band/hippe crowd, so I assumed I'd watch half a song and then grab some food. But turns out they were impossibly fun live. They were a welcome auditory experience after a few more mellow bands, and they definitely got the crowd moving. Robbie Wulfsohn is a great frontman and vocalist, and the horn section was killer. One great thing about music festivals like Back Cove is that you end up giving bands you would normally never see a chance, and you get rewarded with a performance like Ripe at times.

Margo Price
Photo by Ken Sears

Margo Price

I'll never understand how Margo Price isn't huge. She plays a version of classic country mixed with rock and roll that has a near universal appeal, and she puts on one of the best live shows around. Newer songs like "Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down" were a delight to see performed live (she mentioned that her six year old thinks it's "Don't Let the Baskets Get You Down") and "Four Years of Chances" (my personal favorite of hers) has been reworked just enough to keep it interesting and lively. She was playing with a new band, but you never would have guessed it by how tight they all were. Margo Price is another artist doing it because she loves it, and someday the music world will catch up with her. They closed with a version of Bob Dylan's iconic "Maggie's Farm" that stayed true to the original while making it her own.

Jack White

It's been at least a decade since I last saw Jack White, so I was thrilled to get the chance again. The last time was at Newport Folk Festival where he was doing more of an Americana troubadour thing. Sunday night, he took the stage and immediately stepped on a guitar pedal to create feedback before he even had a guitar in hand, which set the tone for his set. This was Jack White the proto-punk guitar hero, playing a fiery and blistering set of modern rock classics. His set was career spanning and surprisingly heavy on his White Stripes classics, albeit completely reworked versions of songs like "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," "Hotel Yorba," "Fell in Love With a Girl," and more. He played a ninety minute set that felt about half that length, and proved that he's one of the true guitar gods of his generation.