Photo: Sascha Rose

Sascha Rose pulls from an array of Black American Music to form genre-bending and experimental songs. She is a self-taught music producer who has primarily used Ableton to record all of her music. Now expanding her practice to include drum machines and loop pedals, she is exploring the intersections of electronic music production and using traditional folk instruments such as the banjo. By blending and sampling her own voice with the violin, as well as gospel and trap, such as Pastor T.L. Barrett, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Kodak Black, she continues to shape her music through collaboration and an amalgamation of Black genres.

Sascha opens Roots & Routes with a twenty-minute solo set. First thing anyone hears when they walk in the door.

For the past 25 years, trumpeter Marc Chillemi has been an active part of the greater Portland music community. He is a member of the classic Cuban dance band Primo Cubano and leads Raging Brass, a local Afro-Caribbean brass band.

The trio puts a fresh spin on familiar jazz melodies, blending improvisation and heavy grooves with a steady backbeat. Organic jazz sounds meet electronic textures, creating a sound that is both familiar and new. The vibe is open, upbeat, and improvisational by design. Groove. Improvise. Repeat.

Presented with Brass Roots Productions, a community arts organization that preserves, presents, and explores diverse musical traditions through performance, education, and cultural engagement.

The Finestkind’s soulful sounds resonate out of Maine’s rocky coast, from gritty low-tide funk to inspirational evergreen roots. Known for their review shows where the band, composed of some of Maine’s most seasoned musicians, backs some of the state’s premier artists like Kenya Hall, Connor Garvey, Spencer Albee, Gina Alibrio and many more. For the artists, it’s like driving a Ferrari. For the audience, it’s an invitation to experience the breadth of talent coming out of Maine. And though they may not know the individual artists, they will always know that when The Finestkind comes to town, they’ll be in for some musical magic.

The band released Resurgam in 2025, an album of cinematic instrumental soul with nods to golden era hip hop fit for a Tarantino film. Also that year, they released collaborative singles with Connor Garvey, Joshua Eden and Sarah Boyden.

The band was founded by drummer, band leader and producer Dan Boyden. The inspiration for this community forward, collaborative musical entourage is Dan’s family, an incredible cast of musicians, teachers, artists, builders, actors and community organizers, and most significantly Dan’s mom, Annie Boyden. Whether it was leading the Finestkind String Band, manifesting community theater, building an arts center, curating workshops, or teaching in schools, Annie, with her husband Perry always at her side, sought to inspire, encourage and educate the artist within everyone. For her, art was “not just a way to express oneself … but rather the creation of an attitude and awareness that allowed for participation and celebration in the art of living.”

In this spirit, Dan aims to use his years of experience as a band member, band leader, producer and musical director to create projects that highlight the incredible creative community that is connected to and surrounds Portland, Maine. The Finestkind closes Roots & Routes with a full hour on the main stage.

Photo: Rylan Hynes

Maya Williams is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who served as Portland, Maine’s seventh poet laureate for a 2021–2024 term. Maya’s poetry has been longlisted for Omnidawn’s 2025 Poetry Open Book Contest. Maya’s published full-length poetry collections have been nominated for a Maine Literary Award and a New England Book Award. Maya’s published chapbooks have won contests by Garden Party Collective and The Headlight Review. Ey will have eir full-length collection Feminine Morbidity published by Fifth Wheel Press in 2028.

Maya will be reading up to ten minutes of original spoken word poetry, opening the spoken word block.