Featured Artist of the Month for July – Rigometrics
Strolling down the cobblestone streets in Portland during the summertime welcomes you with the cooing of jazz from local restaurants, cover bands rocking and rolling on the bay, and music festivals popping up around town.
Maine boasts talented musicians from near and far but we locals tend to get stuck in the comfort of a cover band. Maybe it’s a natural human instinct to stick to something you know but whatever happened to original music? Is there even an innovative music scene in Maine?
Rigometrics Brings a Unique Sound to Maine
What started as a group of friends jamming in their free time and busking on a road trip has quickly turned into an inspiring local band turning up the heat in our music scene.
The Rigometrics have hit the stage and now the bar is set high for Maine’s musicians.
Keenan Hendricks (pianist/vocalist), Josef Berger (guitarist), and Derek Haney (percussionist) have made quite the name for themselves in less than a year by creating a transformative and unique sound that makes them stand out from other bands in the area.
Inspired by legends like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Beatles, this original rock ‘n roll band brings life to every stage they hit. Whether it’s Joe ripping insane solos with his shirt off at Portland House of Music or Keenan hitting a vocal range that feels inhumane, the Rigometrics is a distinct sound that doesn’t blend into the local cover band scene we Mainers are used to.
It’s a sound you remember.
Maine’s Ready to Rig ‘n Roll
After a sketchy last few years, Mainers are finally hitting the stages again and begging for a rebirth of the local music scene. The Rigometrics encompasses that resurrection with high energy, light, life, and killer vibes at every show. Head rocking to The Way or swanging those hips to A Chance brings us back together to do what we all love doing.
The Rig Bros have already dropped a few long-awaited singles that fans have been pre-saving on Spotify, which you can check out now on their account and get rïggy with it.
What we’re all restlessly waiting for is the album release of Rig ‘n Roll, their debut album that has been brought to life with the help of local producer, Anthony Gotti, and the mastering engineer, Adam Ayan out of Gateway Mastering Studios. We’re all on the edge of our seats but we can expect the album to drop in late summer or early fall.
The debut album symbolizes the rebirth of music and life and is representative of the three musicians and what an insane and transformative year it has been for them as individuals and as a band. These songs are what made the Rigometrics, from their first pop-up gig in North Carolina that happened on a whim to now riggin’ ‘n rollin’ with us all at venues across the state.
These singles and the album as a whole shines light on life coming back to normal and what they want it to be. They’re bluesy, rock ‘n roll, and have high energy and a sound that’s impossible not to dance to while also having a good message and meaning behind the beat.
The Rigometrics Hit The Road
Have you asked yourself what ‘Rigometrics’ means yet? That was my first question, too. It all started with a post-graduation road trip in a scamp after college. As they hit the road in their camper, they referred to themselves, jokingly, as the “The Rig Bros” and once they started jamming together they quickly decided their band name would easily be “Rigometrics”.
The name symbolizes their desire to travel, combining the rig with the metrics as the science of life on the road. Their vision is to be a traveling band, to see new places and experience new things, and the name encompasses that dream.
The birth of the “Rigometrics” name manifested itself into a recent road trip where the band took their sound on the road and shared their original music across the east coast. A school bus fell into their laps and they painted and converted it into their own Big Rig with the help of local artist Pam Chavas. The boys reached out to the first gig they had played in North Carolina which had been the catalyst to the band and once they got the green light to play, they reached out to other venues across the coast, packed up the bus, and hit the road.
They have rocked the east coast with multiple shows in Boston, Vermont, NYC, Philly, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and up and down the state of Maine with the help of sponsorships from local businesses like Stage Cannabis.
But don’t worry, they’re back in the Pine Tree State.
Get Rïggy With It
Don’t just take my word for it, go get rïggy for yourself and you will see why this band is our first featured artist of the month. They’re young, they’re fun, and they put on one hell of a show.
Coming up this month on July 22, the Rigometrics will be co-headlining with Boston’s own Los Elk at Portland House of Music and Events. You can find them playing at venues across the state, from gigs at Thompson’s Point, headline shows at PHOME, and festivals in the Midcoast. The best way to stay up to date is on their Instagram and Facebook pages, which they regularly post updates on so you can follow along.
To make it easy for you, here are the next upcoming shows happening this summer but definitely check out their page as they are quick to add more shows as they gain traction and grow their following.
This is a new band that has just sprouted into an inspiring name in less than a year, so now is the time to get on board and be a part of the journey as these insanely talented musicians grow into their sound, make it their own, and emerge as a kickass original rock band.
