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MECHANIC FALLS — Maine country musicians, Jeff Budge, Kim Curry, Bobby Le, and Bill Smith will be inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame at the 48th Annual Induction Ceremony and Show on Sunday, May 18, at 1 p.m. at the Silver Spur, 272 Lewiston St.
, Mechanic Falls, Maine. The live music event will showcase performances by Budge, Curry, and Le, with Smith being inducted posthumously. Also performing are legendary Hall of Famers Perley Curtis, Brian Gelina, Rick McAlister, George Harnish, Denny Breau, Don Campbell, Bonnie Rairdon, Don Nickerson, Malinda Liberty, Mike Preston, and Lisa Overlock, with Peter Allen as Master of Ceremonies.
Jeff Budge Born in Bangor, Maine, Jeff Budge’s musical journey started in the fourth grade. He played trumpet throughout high school and taught himself guitar, bass, and drums. He taught trumpet, trombone, French horn, and bass, and worked for Hermon, Maine School Department’s Summer Music Program.
Budge’s father, Dave Dalton, a Maine Country Music Hall of Famer himself, played guitar for Bluegrass Supply Company (BSC) and invited his son Jeff to join the band on bass. BSC recorded four albums and toured the East Coast and Tennessee. In 1981, Budge was named “Bass Player of the Year.
” He also ran sound at gigs and mixed tracks for bands in local studios. After ten years with BSC, Jeff joined the New Society Band and two years later joined Allison Ames and the Flames. They made appearances from Maine to Las Vegas and Nashville and recorded an album of original songs called “One Way Love.
” Budge established a home studio and made an album with both bands. In 2013, Budge began playing for Allison with her new band, The Allison Ames Band. They recorded four original songs on the album “Roller Coaster” (I’m Alone and Roller Coaster), both of which were written and copyrighted by Budge.
He also worked with Mike Harkins and his band, Bullseye. Budge’s musical career spans 51 years, and he is still actively performing. Kim Curry GINIHAINES Born in Portland, Maine, Kimberley Jean Curry was a member of the Maine All-State Chorus and Chamber Singers throughout her teen years.
She appeared on the Curly O’Brien Show and joined her first band, Kim and Her Slaves, playing rhythm guitar and singing harmonies. She played with other bands such as Kenny Freeman, Eddie and the Outsiders, and later on, Nashville Express, as front vocalist, performing every Friday and Saturday night for eight years at the Country Crossroads in Standish, Maine. The band won several competitions and awards, played benefits for the American Heart and Muscular Dystrophy Associations, and opened shows backing Big Al Downing, Earl Thomas Conley, and Sara Evans.
Kim won female vocalist for the State of Maine in 1979. She wrote and recorded the song, “Thinking of You,” which was played on local Maine radio stations; in 2016, she re-recorded the song in Nashville, but with a more contemporary country sound. Later, with a few members of the Nashville Express, they formed a band called Kim Curry & Santa Fe, for which Kim managed all the bookings.
They performed at weddings, events, fairs, on the Scotia Prince ship, at the Augusta Civic Center (for the Ice Storm of ’98), and Governor Angus King’s inaugural ball. In 2014, Kim played rhythm guitar in Buckstop, and in 2017, she and Mike Preston, 2024 Hall of Famer, formed a duo called “Preston & Curry” performing all over New England. Both sang vocals, with Mike on acoustic rhythm and lead guitar and Kim playing bass guitar.
In 2022, Kim was inducted into the Maine Ole Opry and in 2024 received the “Trailblazer” award from the Pine Tree State Country Music Association.” Bobby Le Music has always been a major part of Bobby Le’s life. Born in Westbrook, Maine, Le has been playing country music for more than 50 years.
He is a lifetime member of the Maine, Pine Tree State, and Down East Country Music Associations. He was awarded Male Vocalist of the Year in 2006, Band of the Year for several years, and became a member of the Maine Ole Opry in 2011. He played drums and guitar with a wide variety of musicians from all over New England and has been on radio and TV.
One of his favorite shows was with Duke Knight, on which he and his sister, Gloria Jean, played in the late 1970s. He also played with her throughout New England. Bobby Le appeared on the Youth Cavalcade, The Teens, with Fred Nutter, and the Dave Aster Show, all local TV shows out of Portland.
In 2004, he appeared on York County Saco River TV with his band, Bobby Le and the Kountry Knights. He has played with legendary Hall of Famers Dick Curless, Ken MacKenzie, Betty Cody, Wayne Baker aka Rick Wells, Tommy Gallup, Eddie LeBlanc, Johnny Patterson, Slim Andrews, Betty Gribbin, and Ginger Mae. Other bands he appeared in included The Original Coachmen, Jerry Evans and the Gamblers, The Outsiders, The Southern Sounds, Gloria Jean and the E-Z Riders, The Coastliners, and his current band, Bobby Le & Country Breeze.
Le recorded two original songs in Nashville in 1980 at Doyle Grisham Studio, as well as many other CDs of all original songs. Le says he strives to give it his all and loves to make people smile. “More often than not, they entertain me!” he says.
Bill Smith Born in Bangor, Maine, Bill Smith was one of the very finest bluegrass instrumentalists, singers, and bandleaders in the State of Maine, from his professional debut in 1980 until his untimely passing in 2007 at the age of 44. At age 17, he took on his first musical job as standup bass player, banjoist, and vocalist with the country band, Mo and the Renegades. Smith also played upright bass in the University of Maine, Orono Orchestra.
Smith was primarily known for his 14-year career with Bluegrass Supply Company (1981-1995) and with North Star, the band he founded and led from 1994 until his passing. He also worked with Sam Tidwell and the Kennebeck Valley Folks (1981); the Unpaid Bills, a duet act with Bill Thibodeau (1989-1990); and the Sandy River Ramblers (1992-1994). In 1997 he toured Europe with Stan Tyminski and Rustic Blue.
Bill was best known for his banjo playing, having won the banjo contest at Ossipee Valley Music Festival in 2006. He also played dobro, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass at a top-tier professional level, and could sing all the parts. He played with Bluegrass Supply Company at top Northeast bluegrass festivals and venues and recorded five albums.
Bill promoted and booked for Bluegrass Supply Company and North Star and wrote several songs, both instrumental and with lyrics, by himself and with co-writers and Hall of Famers, Bill Thibodeau, Stan Keach, and Fred Pike. Bill was a wizard in the studio and worked on albums by the Mueller Family and Anna Mae Mitchell, and Rising Tide. Bill was a remarkably effective music teacher.
One of his most successful students was Jesse Langlais, who became a professional bluegrass musician in North Carolina. At this year’s Induction Ceremony, Smith’s wife, Lori Smith, will accept the posthumous award on Smith’s behalf. In addition to inducting new members at this show, the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame will also introduce the winner of the 4th Annual Maine Country Music Hall of Fame student Guitar Competition.
The Maine Country Music Hall of Fame was founded in 1978. The Museum, established in 2008, is the only country music hall of fame physical museum east of Nashville. The 3000-square-foot space in the lower level of the Silver Spur is an amazing showcase for thousands of historic memorabilia accumulated over the decades, bringing to life and preserving the legacy of over 175 inductees from the State of Maine.
The 48th Annual Induction Ceremony will take place at the Silver Spur on Sunday, May 18, at 1 p.m. at 272 Lewiston Street in Mechanic Falls.
Tickets are $20, general seating available at the door. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
The Museum, located on the lower level of the Silver Spur, will be open free to the public from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon and after the show.
The snack bar will be serving before and during the show. This is a family-friendly event. For more information, please call 207-613-5411, email mariaholloway207@gmail.
com, or follow the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame on Facebook. The Maine Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural organization. Comments are not available on this story.
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