Brunswick Side Door Coffeehouse hosts open mic, Cribstone concert May 8

Brunswick’s low-cost live-music night will be back at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick on Friday, May 8, with open-mic sign-up at 6:45 p.m., performances starting at 7 p.m. and the featured set running from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Adults will pay $12, children 17 and under will get in free, and homemade refreshments and coffee will be offered on a donation basis.

The Side Door Coffeehouse functions as more than a concert stop. Organized by UUCB Music Director Will Bristol with volunteers, it is a fundraiser for the church and a monthly meeting place for singers, pickers and listeners who want live music without a big-ticket price. The coffeehouse runs on the second Friday of every month except August, a schedule that has made it a steady part of Brunswick’s arts calendar rather than a one-night attraction.

Friday’s headliner, Cribstone, brings the kind of range that has helped the Side Door endure. The duo features Tom McKeon on guitar and mandolin and Kathleen McGee on guitar, and their repertoire reaches across blues, folk, Celtic, country, classic rock, contemporary songs, unusual discoveries and originals. Their set list includes songs associated with The Youngbloods, CSN, James Taylor, Joy Kills Sorrow, Talking Heads and Karla Bonoff.

McKeon, a Maine native who lives in Brunswick, has played with Cowpie and the Buffalo Chips, worked in Iron Bridge with Sheldon Bird and in Wooden Nickel with Scott Andrews, and has been writing original songs for about 10 years. McGee began singing at age 5 and performed professionally starting at 14; she now performs mostly around Midcoast Maine and helps shape many of Cribstone’s song choices and arrangements.

The Side Door’s staying power matters in a town where small venues help hold local culture together. The church notes that the coffeehouse has supported live music since 1993, while the congregation’s roots go back to a predecessor society organized in 1812 and its first church building in 1828. In Brunswick, a community shaped by Bowdoin College and a long arts tradition, that kind of recurring, volunteer-driven stage gives local musicians a place to play and neighbors a dependable Friday-night option that does not require a long drive or a large budget.