SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Don Campbell isn't just passionate about songwriting: It's in his DNA.
The lead singer and guitarist grew up in a big musical family. He recalled his parents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and others gathering in their Maine home and playing a variety of instruments together. Campbell referred to the mashup melody as a stew that kept being added to.
"It was all Celtic music. Every weekend around my family was like being in an Irish pub," Campbell said.
"Somebody would put their guitar down to use the bathroom, and I would pick the guitar up for the five minutes they were gone and have to hand it back when they came back," Campbell continued. "Just these little pockets of time playing music was like my little school."
Campbell, who grew up and now resides in Greater Portland, spent a lot of his youth following in the footsteps of Devonsquare and Schooner Faire, two other well-known Maine bands. It was the late lead singer of Devonsquare who encouraged Campbell to take his music career to the next level and record a professional studio album. Soon after that, Campbell and his band were headed to Nashville, Tennessee.
One standout moment from those years was back in 1999, when the band took home $50,000 for making the top spot in the True Value Country Showdown. What makes that win and performance even more special? It was on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
The group got its start in the early '90s, and since then the Don Campbell Band has performed on stages around the country and has even opened for A-list country stars like Carrie Underwood and Willie Nelson. These days, Campbell is still writing new music every chance he gets but his focus has really shifted to giving back to his community and young musical artists from Maine.
"If you're lucky enough to play music, then you've gotta give some of that luck back," Campbell said.
His advice? Take care of yourself. Make sure you have health insurance, a savings account, and listen to other musicians around you.