The Bollard Bulletin for Aug. 1 & 2, 2026

Jazz-funk giant Herbie Hancock pushes yet further into the outer grooves of the aural dimension with his band at Merrill Auditorium (20 Myrtle St., Portland) at 7:30 p.m. Tix: $90.

Matt Shipman and Erica Brown on the old-time music group Darlin’ Corey put together the Cultural Crossroads Festival at Bath’s Linwood E. Temple Waterfront Park (61 Commercial St.), presenting a program of dance and music drawing connections between Irish music and old-time American folk and country. An Irish Ceili dance instruction begins at 1:45 p.m., followed by performances by Darlin’ Corey, the duo of Natalie Padilla and Yann Falquet, and high-energy Irish trio Open the Door for Three. Free.

Hey, hippie! It’s Jerry Garcia’s heavenly birthday today! We reminded you in this month’s edition of The Regulars, which features an interview with members of the Jerry tribute band Rose Alley, who play Live at Madrid’s (144 Fore St., Portland) to celebrate the occasion with Half Dead at 8 p.m. Tix: $25 (18+).

Slemons Productions presents the cult-hit musical Be More Chill, about a high schooler’s misguided effort to become cool via computer, at The Hill Arts (76 Congress St., Portland) at 7:30 p.m. Tix: $19-$24 ($17-$22 students and seniors). There’s another show Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

Boston hardcore punks Gang Green mark “40 Years of Wasted Nights” at Geno’s (625 Congress St., Portland) with F.U.’s, Tree and Worm at 7 p.m. Tix: $40 (21+).

Geno’s, some will recall, was once beneath Brown Street in downtown Portland. In Brunswick, a new underground club, called The Den, is hosting metal bands beneath Social Goose Restaurant & Bar (94 Maine St.), and tonight they have Fresno, California deathcore act Eternal Bloom atop a bill that includes Pulsifer, Noise on Neptune, Re:Vision and Vox Populi at 7 p.m. Tix: $10 (all ages, apparently).

Be more chill is more than a cult-hit musical; it’s the musical philosophy of modern folkies The Head and the Heart, who headline a mellow show at Thompson’s Point in Portland with Houndmouth and Center Mid at 6 p.m. Tix: $56-$66 (all ages).

“In my day,” the crotchety old-timer begins, “we had to take a boat to Peaks Island for reggae on Sundays. The voyage back could be mighty rough, what with the waves and everybody’s stomachs chock-full o’ jello and vodka. Nowadays kids got it easy. Hell, they can ride an elevator to the rooftop of Bayside Bowl (58 Alder St., Portland) for Mainely Reggae Sundays, a Caribbean cookout at 5 p.m. that turns into a dancehall party an hour or so later.” Cover: $10 (all ages).

Believe it or not, it’s possible to be yet more chill, so chill, in fact, that you’re perfectly content to listen to a minimalist experimental album like Music For Tape And Keyboard by Nick Lawler and Slow Hymn, or the out-there electronic sounds of New Haven’s Matt Wellins, or the wild vocal improvisations of Portland’s The Asthmatic (which are not chill at all, actually), or whatever Ernest Braun does, at The Apohadion Theater (107 Hanover St., Portland) at 8 p.m. Cover: $10 (or whatcha can; all ages).