Dan Lorey is a longtime musician based in the Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island area who has been playing guitar for more than 50 years. Originally from Long Island, New York, he moved to Maine in 2004 and became deeply involved in the local music community. Influenced early by The Beatles and classic rock, Lorey performs a wide mix of blues, folk, rock, country, and pop music both solo and with the Dan Lorey Band. He is also part of the acoustic trio Grumpy Old Men alongside Mark Kanter and Scott Allen. Known for his broad setlist and collaborative spirit, Lorey values the supportive community of seasoned musicians across MDI.

Dan Lorey of Maine Musicians Documentary Series

For more than 50 years, Dan Lorey has been building a life around music. What started with a Beatles obsession and a teenage fascination with Deep Purple eventually became decades of performing, collaborating, and playing for audiences across the Mount Desert Island area. Today, he is one of the many seasoned musicians helping shape the local music scene around Bar Harbor.

Lorey grew up on Long Island, New York, and first picked up a guitar in 1972. Like many young guitar players of that era, hearing Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” changed everything. He went out and bought the album, picked up an electric guitar, and began taking music seriously while still in high school. More than five decades later, he still hasn’t put the instrument down.

In 2004, Lorey moved to Maine, leaving behind what he called “the rat race.” He settled into the Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island community, where he found a thriving network of musicians and venues. Over the years, he has become a familiar face around town, playing both solo performances and with several different groups.

One of his main projects is the Dan Lorey Band, a rock trio that blends blues rock, classic popular music, country, and acoustic favorites. He also performs regularly as a solo musician, drawing from a huge catalog of songs that spans folk, classic rock, blues, pop, and country. Lorey credits much of that musical diversity to growing up with The Beatles. Their wide-ranging style shaped the way he approaches music. Rather than staying locked into one genre, he prefers to play “a little of everything.”

That flexibility has become one of his trademarks. If someone requests a song he does not know, there is a good chance he will go home, learn it, and add it to the setlist for the next performance. Over the years, that habit has helped him build a deep repertoire designed to connect with almost any audience.

Lorey is also part of the acoustic trio Grumpy Old Men alongside fellow local musicians Mark Kanter and Scott Allen. The group formed naturally after years of crossing paths in pickup bands, local performances, and substitute gigs around the area. After playing together in different combinations for nearly a decade, the chemistry came easily. Lorey describes it as “finishing each other’s sentences.” Their long experience and shared musical history allow the group to play with an ease that only comes from years of collaboration.

A favorite place for Lorey to perform is the Ivy Manor in Bar Harbor. He enjoys the outdoor setting, the steady flow of people walking through town, and the constantly changing audience throughout the afternoon. Some listeners stop for a single song. Others stay for a full set. For Lorey, that variety keeps every performance interesting.

What stands out most in Lorey’s story is his appreciation for the local music community. He speaks highly of the support among musicians in the area and the lack of competition or ego that sometimes defines music scenes elsewhere. Instead, he sees the Bar Harbor and MDI community as a place where experienced players “cross-pollinate,” sit in with each other’s groups, and create something new every time they play together.

Even after half a century of performing, Dan Lorey still approaches music with the same curiosity that first drew him to the guitar as a teenager. Whether he is playing solo at the Ivy, performing with his trio, or learning a new song after a crowd request, music remains a constant part of his life.

More information on Dan Lorey

• Facebook: @DanLoreyBand
  
• Ivy Manor Music Show: Dan Lorey

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Ivy Afternoons is a 6 part documentary series.

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