WHO: Country musician Don Campbell

WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19; doors open at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Dudley’s Restaurant at the Ramada Inn and Convention Center,

TICKETS: $22, $18 for students and seniors. Call L/A Arts at 782-7228; or log on to www.laarts.org

Don Campbell ‘His lyrics are real sincere, and he’s just a wicked nice guy’

LEWISTON – Maine native and country music favorite Don Campbell loves to road test his songs – something local audiences will get a chance to do that when he takes a break from recording in Nashville to perform in Lewiston next week.

Campbell and his band will wrap up the 2006-2007 L/A Arts concert season when they play April 19 at the Ramada Inn and Convention Center.

“I’m excited about the show,” said Campbell this week from his second home in Nashville. “We’ll be playing some new songs. I like being close to the audience, talking to them about the songs.”

Campbell’s wife, Tonya Shevenell, also bass player in the band, added that there will be a couple of surprises at the next week’s show, including something to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. But, she guaranteed loyal fans, the band won’t leave out “Orange Blossom Special.”

“He does have a following,” said Rich VanValkenburgh of Monmouth, who has worked the sound equipment for Campbell when he has performed at the Odd Fellows Theater in Buckfield. “There’s really not that much of a country scene in Maine. But when you hear Don, you really feel like you’re seeing an honest-to-God country star. His lyrics are real sincere, and he’s just a wicked nice guy,” VanValkenburgh said.

Campbell has been recording his current project, “American Garage,” since January. Shevenell said he has about 20 contenders for the CD, due for release in July, but hasn’t made the final cut yet.

“He’s just been 24-7 in the studio right now,” she said. “We have this dual existence. In the Northeast, Don’s known more as a performer; but down here, he’s better known as a songwriter.”

The prolific and award-winning Campbell and his wife continue to live in Maine and tour throughout New England during the summer, but make their winter home in Nashville.

Campbell said he loves writing songs as much as performing live. The country music genre appeals to Campbell because “you can still hear the lyrics,” he said.

True to all of Campbell’s recordings of his original music, this one includes a tribute to our nation’s veterans and to Pat Tillman, in particular. Tillman, a former professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals, died in April 2004, while fighting in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger soldier.

“I really appreciate the sacrifices that veterans have made,” said Campbell, who started writing salutes to veterans several years ago when he read a news article exposing the neglect of Arlington National Cemetery.

“I’ve been rewarded by meeting thousands of veterans across the country when I perform,” said Campbell, adding that his father continues to refer to his service as a U.S. Marine in the present tense. “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” Campbell dutifully repeated.

Besides a love for his country, Campbell’s father also provided a love of country music. Campbell’s family comes from Canadian Maritime stock, with his father playing fiddle and his mother playing piano.

“Every weekend, there would be music around my house,” said Campbell. “We played a lot of traditional Celtic music, and it was just a natural progression to country music.”

Campbell’s family plans a recording project later this summer to celebrate his musical roots, said Shevenell.

That Celtic sound continues to prevail in some of Campbell’s tunes, especially with the fiddle phrases provided by longtime band member Andy Happel. But the band doesn’t have just one sound. Other band members include drummer Todd Richard, electric guitarist Sumner McKane and Shevenell on bass guitar. Campbell said he wants every CD to be a roller coaster ride with different beats from ballads to up-tempo dance tunes.

Campbell’s recordings, dating back to his first in 1991, flow through folk, folk-rock, country, and country-rock. Consistent through his music are his own, smooth voice that has a Vince Gill-like quality and lyrics that resonate with regular folks, which is actually what qualifies as country music, regardless of its tempo or instrumentation.

“I don’t want to pigeonhole myself,” said Campbell. “In Nashville, a lot of the successful songwriters started out in the folk circuit. I try to write songs that mean something to me and that will resonate with the audience.”