Brian Robbins at Camden Library Coffeehouse

Brian Robbins at Camden Library Coffeehouse April 2

The Camden Library Coffeehouse will feature Brian Robbins on Thursday evening, April 2, at 7:00 pm. Robbins and his rollicking music will kick off Maritime Month at the Library. Robbins is a former lobsterman from Stonington who writes about the waterfront in his column “Bearin’s” in addition to playing music, “some originals that are rooted in the ocean and experiences from the fishing days . . . but most of the time, it’s anything from Willie Nelson to the Stones that provided the soundtrack to our lives on the water,” he says.

Brian’s live performances often include readings, acoustic music, and off-the-cuff storytelling. Says Robbins, “My goal is to turn whatever venue I’m at into a bait shed full of friends. Well, you know . . . a nice bait shed.” Brian’s show will be part of “Maritime Month” at the Camden Public Library; admission for the Coffeehouse is only $5.

Robbins is a freelance writer, musician, and cartoonist. Robbins’ saltwater-flavored work is published in Commercial Fisheries News, Fish Farming News, National Fisherman, and Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine. His music-related articles (features, interviews, and reviews of everything from modern rock to classic jazz) regularly appear online and in print. Brian’s live performances are an eclectic mix of music (“I can be equally annoying on the guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, and harmonica,” he says) ranging from acoustic covers of rock classics to self-penned originals.

He also weaves in stories from his life on the coast – “Pretty much mostly the truth,” he swears. He adds, “I grew up in a family (and a community) chock full of storytellers. It was one of those things that folks simply did; it was part of who they were. So was playing music; it was something to do. . . . We worked hard and we played hard in between fishing trips – a period of life backed by a soundtrack of the Stones, Tom Waits, and Waylon Jennings. We couldn’t be cowboys or join the French Foreign Legion, so offshore lobstering was the next best thing.”

“Maritime Month” is a celebration of our marine history and cultural heritage at the Camden Public Library throughout April.  The celebration will include a photography exhibit and a wide variety of speakers including scientists, historians, adventurers, authors, and musicians. Maritime Month 2015 is sponsored by The First.

Speakers will include: Matt Wheeler of the Penobscot Marine Museum, Maynard Bray, and Don Merchant with a gallery talk and slide show through time and the Midcoast with photos and commentary on Tuesday, April 7;  “A History of Megunticook Lake: Prehistory through the 20th Century,” presented by Paul Leeper of the Megunticook Lake Association on Thursday, April 9 ; “One Simple Question” film presentation by Ben and Teresa Carey, about their quest to sail north until they find an iceberg; the “Frozen in Time” expedition to recover WWII aircraft from deep in a glacier in Greenland, presented by team leader Lou Sapienza on April 14;  “Climate Change & the Biology of the Arctic” presented by Dr. Paty Matrai on April 16; illustrated presentation by Elliot Rappaport of SEA (Sea Education Association in Woods Hole), presentation title to come, on Tuesday, April 21;  “The Historical Atlas of Maine,” presented by Dr. Stephen Hornsby, editor, on Tuesday, April 28; and “The Titanic: A Century of Myth and Memory,” presented by museum consultant, Dr. Erin Bishop on Thursday, April 30. The evening programs are all at 7:00 pm at the Camden Public Library, all are welcome!

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