Nora Roberts has written 170 books, which have collectively spent 632 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. If you lined up every copy sold, they’d stretch from coast to coast 11 times over.I don’t care. I’m a guy.I’m sure that among her millions of readers there are some male fans, and when I […]

BRUNSWICK – State Radio, which plays a blend of rock, punk and reggae, will perform with Maine musician Pete Kilpatrick Saturday, Feb. 3, in Sargent Gymnasium at Bowdoin College.State Radio’s music also expresses the band’s “progressive politics.” Its 2006 album, “Us Against the Crown” features music that addresses such issues as the Iraq war.Kilpatrick got […]

NEWRY – Rusted Root, known for percussion-driven live shows, will return to Sunday River’s White Cap Lodge Saturday, Feb. 10, for a Bud Light Concert Series show. The concert will be the fourth stop on the band’s winter 2007 tour.Latin, African, Eastern, soul, rock, and traditional American music are the influences and roots of the […]

PORTLAND – “Wouldn’t she be lovely if she were running about?”Such is the refrain of Grace, grandmother to the title character of Joe Egg.Would she? And isn’t she lovely now, just as she is?Peter Nichols’ black 1967 comedy of a couple struggling to care for a severely disabled child raises profound questions about what constitutes […]

NORWAY – Singer-songwriter Kate Schrock has been working on new material for an upcoming album, “Invocation,” featuring music inspired by her travels and work with members of the Wailers in Jamaica. This is not traditional reggae per se, but spiritual consciousness-inspired music fused into the roots soul music that is Schrock’s forte.Joining Schrock lately has […]

(The call is out for eighth-grade competitors for a televised game show)Being in junior high just got a little more exciting.WPXT-TV is looking for eighth-grade students for “Kick Start,” a new, half-hour game show. “We’re pulling out all the stops on this one,” said John Marshall, the show’s producer and creative director at WPXT television […]

The Rock-Off spotlight is ready to shine on 2007’s best high-school rock band in Maine.The 23rd Annual Reindeer Rock-Off, created by the Portland-based independent label Reindeer Records, is open to original high-school bands across the state. Deadline to register is Feb, 23, after which bands will be slotted for a live showcase on one of […]

Sparks the Rescue, a young-and-upcoming band from Poland, recently signed a record deal with Double Blind Music in New York City, which will release its EP, “The Secrets We Can’t Keep,” Feb. 6 through the iTunes Music Store.Sparks the Rescue (formerly Pozer) has worked to find a niche in the emo-pop/metal-hardcore scene. The band’s music […]

100 Years Ago, 1907Between four and five inches of snow fell in yesterday’s storm which proved the heaviest and most disagreeable of the year. Beginning in the afternoon, the storm gradually increased until early in the evening. It was indeed wild. The wind together with the low temperature made it unusually hard to bear.Electrics had […]

“When Darkness Falls,” by James Grippando; HarperCollins; $24.95.A mainstay of author James Grippando’s novels is his ability to weave timely topics into solid thrillers without resorting to plots that are overburdened with issues. The result: Grippando’s mysteries get the message across more forcefully while keeping the reader on the edge of the seat.That’s especially true […]