Written by Casey

On August 7, I found myself making the four-hour drive to Portland, Maine, with my sisters to see Role Model. I was able to get tickets with my sisters, though it was completely accidental. When we first purchased the tickets, we had no idea it was a “One Night Only” type of event. Instead, we thought it was a listening party, nor did we have any idea that it was in Maine.

Eventually, it was time for the show, and we were making the four-hour drive.

I was excited to head to the concert because normally, the closest venues to see bigger artists like Role Model are in New York City, such as Madison Square Garden. Thompson’s Point, from my knowledge, has a maximum capacity of 6,500 people.

Getting to Portland was really fun, and we made it in good time. We even had time to go to the stores in downtown Portland beforehand. So, we made our way downtown (see what I did there), and our first stop was The Holy Donut.

The Holy Donut is a very cute little place in Portland. The only difference with their donuts is that they’re made from potatoes! To me, it tasted like a fresh Munchkin from Dunkin’ Donuts, and I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars just because I was confused by the concept of a potato donut.

After we finished up our pit stop, it was time to head over to the venue.

After we arrived at Thompson’s Point and got the car parked, we obviously had to stop at the merch stand when heading toward the venue. The shirts were really cute, and I had only previewed them really quickly in an Instagram post before the event. They also had an exclusive ONO poster and his newest album, Chuck Timely and the Hourglass.

For this show, there were no openers, so Role Model started right between 8:30 and 8:40 p.m. The bright stage lights were shining as “Chuck’s Mantra” played. This was the part of the show where he and his band walked on to get ready to play.

This event was reminiscent of watching Harry Styles’ One Night Only event on Netflix when he released his album Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally back in March.

We went down the album’s tracklist from “Song Is All You Get” all the way to “Harmony,” except three songs were notably missing from this performance. The songs that were not played from the new album were “Honeydew,” “Stain,” and “The Wedding,” which honestly really interested me because, at one point during the concert, Role Model said, “I don’t want to bore you guys.”

This concert was anything but boring. Between songs, Role Model shared parts of his past and how one of his only goals was to play a hometown show like this.

“Nothing means more to me than this place right here. I think about it every day. It’s in my (expletive) veins,” he said. “This is the greatest night of my life … I love you.”

Role Model also played some songs from Kansas Anymore, including hits like “Look at That Woman,” “Old Recliners,” “Some Protector,” and, of course, “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.”

“Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” was the final song of the night, and I can say I was already experiencing the feeling of missing the concert.

The next day, we didn’t leave right away. We went back to downtown Portland to get something Maine was known for: lobster rolls. A fair amount of the day was spent looking through all of the shops in Portland. My personal favorites were the gift shops because I love a little trinket from the places I go.

The final stop before heading back home was the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This is the lighthouse that is famously pictured on the cover of Noah Kahan’s EP Cape Elizabeth.

We spent some time roaming the grounds before deciding to head back home to prepare for the week ahead.

I feel like I can proudly say that this was one of my favorite concerts that I’ve been to. I was able to enjoy the moment while also capturing bits and pieces of my favorite songs on my phone.

Role Model gave me a memory that will stay with me forever!

Role Model at Thompson’s Point Setlist:

Chuck's Mantra
High Hopes 3000
Song Is All You Get (live debut)
Love I You
Chasing Midnight
Good Thing
Joy
Service Receipt
Harmony
The Dinner
Writing's on the Wall
Look at That Woman
Superglue
The Longest Goodbye
Old Recliners
Some Protector
Sally, When the Wine Runs Out