NEW SWEDEN, Maine – Friends old and new came together Saturday for what has become Aroostook County’s largest and only celebration of original Maine music.
Van Buren native Travis Cyr launched Arootsakoostik in 2007 after years of performing in venues across Maine and realizing that folks in The County did not have many chances to hear the talent he was witnessing.
That first music festival was a low-key affair, with a small crowd and at least eight to 10 of Cyr’s folk and indie rock friends joining him from the afternoon to near darkness. New Sweden’s Thomas Park, named for the town’s founder W.W. Thomas, provided the perfect venue, with its arched amphitheater projecting the music far uphill, where folks gathered on folding chairs and blankets.
The festival has kept that same venue, set-up and its laid back vibe, Cyr said, with crowds fluctuating into the hundreds but never too chaotic. And that’s what he thinks has kept the performers and fans coming back.
“We didn’t have any expectations [that first year]. People came with open minds and left with a positive experience,” said Cyr, who now lives in New Sweden. “That has allowed us to grow at a gradual pace. If we had gotten any bigger, [the festival] would be much harder to put on.”
This year marks the 15th Arootsakoostik. Though it started in 2007, festival organizers took 2017 off, then the pandemic canceled events for 2020 and 2021. The festival returned in 2022.
On Saturday afternoon, rain showers pushed back the schedule but all musicians still performed. Cyr estimated around 6 p.m. that evening that nearly 200 tickets had been sold, making attendance lower than last year.
But rain didn’t dampen the spirits of Cyr’s fellow musicians, many of whom have a long history with Arootsakoostik.
Madawaska native Dominic Lavoie has played 13 out of the 15 total festivals since 2007. He and Cyr are old friends who go back to Lavoie’s high school days when the two performed at local venues.
“I think [growing up in Aroostook] really gave me time to focus on music because there weren’t that many distractions,” Lavoie said.
Now based in Portland, Lavoie has been part of Arootsakoostik with the likes of The Mallett Brothers Band, Ghost of Paul Revere and dozens of other Maine bands and solo artists. Lavoie brought his latest band, Dominic Lavoie and Full-On Voltron, to headline with their mix of folk and psychedelic rock.
“[Arootsakoostik] has grown but it’s the same energy,” Lavoie said. “It has happened because of Travis’s dedication to musicians.”
Lavoie was one of 10 musicians to perform Saturday, along with longtime Portland-based bluegrass band Tricky Britches.
Tricky Britches has performed at Arootsakoostik six times since 2012 and has long appreciated the chance to bring their music to northern Maine, said bass player Jedd Bresette.
“The venue itself is unique. It’s a very laid back community vibe,” Bresette said.
