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Lake Street Dive and Allison Russell Thrill Portland’s Thompson’s Point on August 21st [Photos & Show Review]

On August 21st, Lake Street Dive and opening act Allison Russell stopped by Portland, Maine’s outdoor venue Thompson’s Point for a spectacular sold-out show!

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It’s been a joyful and exciting return to live music for Portland, Maine’s outdoor venue Thompson’s Point this summer season, with ecstatic fans selling out nearly every show so far. The fun continued on the evening of Saturday, August 21st with yet another sold-out show, this time with regional favourite Lake Street Dive as they kicked off their late-summer tour in a city that has almost become a second home for the band, who sells out just about every show they put on here.

Despite the overcast weather and cool temperatures, fans flocked to the venue in droves to catch the opening act, Allison Russell. You might recall we caught Russell a couple of weeks ago opening at this same venue for Nathaniel Rateliffcheck out that coverage here.

Lake Street Dive (w/ Allison Russell) @ Thompson's Point (Portland, ME) on August 21, 2021

Russell has now joined Lake Street Dive on tour, giving us the treat of taking in her set again! Performing this time as a 3-piece, Russell’s performance was just as powerful and enthralling as the last time. Not only a skilled musician, but she is also a gifted storyteller and utilized the time between songs to build on the stories told through her songs. Her narrative is one that starts with pain and trauma but ends with joy and healing through music. Highlights of her set included the tracks “The Hunters,” “4th Day Prayer,” and “Persephone,” the latter two of which hit just as hard as they did two weeks ago.

As the foggy sky began to darken, Brooklyn’s Lake Street Dive emerged to begin what would essentially be a night of crowd sing-alongs and dancing to the genre-defying band’s blend of soul, blues, southern rock, indie pop, and folk music. Lead singer Rachael Price was absolutely phenomenal—her powerful voice did not wane in its intensity at all during the band’s 21-song performance and her dance moves gave even more encouragement for the crowd to get moving–not that they needed it, it was a full-on dance party from start to finish.

Fresh off releasing their latest record Obviously on Nonesuch Records this past March, the band played most of the tracks on the new record, starting with “Know That I Know,” and “Hypotheticals.” However, they didn’t skimp on the hits, and while the sing-alongs were louder for fan-favourites like “You Go Down Smooth,” they were plenty loud during the newer material too! Midway through their set, the band grouped up around the center-front of the stage and performed a couple of songs stripped-down before returning to their posts and blasting through a few more hits, ending the set with “Good Kisser,” to a wild response from the crowd. If you haven’t seen Price belt out “Tell ’em I’m a good kisser!” at the start of the chorus live–you have not experienced the song fully–holy hell can she sing!

The band returned for an encore with “Sarah,” another track off the new record, before closing things out fully with a cover of The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down.” Normally folks try to filter out of the venue ahead of the final song as it can be quite a bottleneck at the exit, but Lake Street Dive held nearly everyone in thrall to the very end—they were just so incredible live! You can catch the Lake Street Dive on tour through late October, the remaining dates are below!

Lake Street Dive Tour Dates:

Aug 28 – Minnesota State Fair – St. Paul, MN
Aug 29 – Sister Cities Smokeout – Moorhead, MN
Sep 11 – Moon River Festival – Chattanooga, TN
Sep 17 – Les Schwab Amphitheater – Bend, OR
Sep 18 – Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery – Woodinville, CA
Sep 19 – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater – Troutdale, OR
Sep 21 – The ELM – Bozeman, MT
Sep 22 – Treefort Music – Festival Boise, ID
Sep 24 – The Gallivan Center – Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 26 – Red Rock Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
Sep 29 – Montbleu Resort Casino & Spa – Stateline, NV
Oct 2 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 3 – Humphrey’s Concerts By the Bay – San Diego, CA
Oct 7 – TBA – New Braunfels, TX
Oct 8 – TBA – Dallas, TX
Oct 9 – The Criterion – Oklahoma City, OK
Oct 12 – Civic Theatre – New Orleans, LA
Oct 13 – Mobile Civic Center – Mobile, AL
Oct 15 – TBA – Birmingham, AL
Oct 16 – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park – Atlanta, GA
Oct 17 – Koka Booth Amphitheatre – Cary, NC
Oct 19 – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre – Charlotte, NC
Oct 20 – Riverfront Park Amphitheater – Wilmington, NC
Oct 22 – Virginia Credit Union LIVE! – Richmond, VA
Oct 24 – Matthews Theatre – Princeton, NJ

When he's not out in the woods, clomping around in streams, or looking at shiny rocks, you can find our U.S. Managing Editor and contributing photographer Nathan Katsiaficas in the photo pit, covering everything from heavy metal to punk, alternative, indie, and hip-hop.

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