Although they hadn’t planned to move to Maine and open a live music venue, that’s exactly what happened. Not long after they moved, Taylor and Rebecca recognized the need for a listening-room venue in Lewiston, where they recently opened The Maple Room at 22 Park St. “There was a big void in the community,” says Taylor, who notes there are plenty of clubs and bars, but no quiet place to enjoy live music.
The Maple Room (www.themapleroom.info) is no club or bar. It’s an intimate, relaxing venue where you go to appreciate music. A nourishing place where “people are connected to their five senses,” is the way Rebecca describes it.
A skilled musician and recording technician, Taylor has high standards for sound quality. And Rebecca, who had always wanted to open an organic boutique, partnered with Nezinscot Farm to provide all-natural food at the venue. No aspect is forgotten — room diffusers fill the venue with natural scents, the walls are painted warm colors and the music, well, that’s where this little 80-seat venue is making a big name for itself.
John Hammond, Colin Hay, Phil Keaggy and Livingston Taylor are all on the schedule. Who are they? The names may sound obscure, but you’ll never see blues legend John Hammond or Men at Work’s Colin Hay playing at the Big Easy.
Taylor’s connections in the music biz certainly don’t hurt in getting them to come to Lewiston, but the draw is the room, which is growing a reputation as one of the best places to play and to listen. Peter Mulvey praised the venue on stage saying, “This room rocks! You can always tell when an artist has just gone renegade and has decided to set up a space for other artists and audience members.”
The couple, who live in Durham, hopes to book shows with Jonatha Brooke, Colbie Caillat, Eric Johnson and Maine’s own national star Ray Lamontagne. But Taylor says they aren’t looking to ask Lamontagne until they’ve already established a reputation.
So far, so good as the Lewiston community has embraced the Maple Room. “People are offering to create posters for our shows and hang them themselves,” both Rebecca and Taylor say. The couple has also partnered with Bates College to offer internships at the Maple Room.
In the future, they’re considering other types of events like comedy, poetry readings, film screenings and possibly a kid’s talent show. Between Taylor’s ear for talent and Rebecca’s passion to support locally grown and organic foods, The Maple Room nourishes the body and soul. It’s a place where you walk in and, as Rebecca says while opening her arms and smiling warmly, just “ahhh.”