Young aspiring Maine musicians look to Role Model as a model

Pop singer Tucker Pillsbury took the stage name Role Model a decade ago, long before he was one.

The Cape Elizabeth native starts his latest international tour Friday with a sold-out show at Thompson’s Point in Portland. On Saturday he’ll be signing copies of his new album, “Chuck Timely & The Hourglass,” at the Bull Moose music store in South Portland.

He’s also been the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” and has been cast in an upcoming Netflix romcom with Natalie Portman. His success is an example for young Maine musicians, who hope to make a career in music, too.

“I hope to do songwriting and production, that’s my big goal. So having Tucker as a literal role model gives me a little more hope that I can make it,”‘ said Mia Mastrogiacomo, 16, of Poland. “He inspires me to keep moving forward in my journey as a musician.”

Pillsbury, 29, graduated from Cape Elizabeth High School in 2014 and went to Point Park University in Pittsburgh to study film. There he started writing and recording raps, and eventually started writing songs and singing. By 2017 he was performing under the name Role Model, chosen because he loved the 2008 comedy movie “Role Models” with Paul Rudd.

Pillsbury has talked fondly in previous interviews about growing up in Maine and how much he values spending time here. Among his many tattoos is a script P from the Portland Press Herald logo, on his right hand. Friday’s Portland show sold out in minutes. Slots for his South Portland album signing filled up quickly, too.

A MAINER LIKE ME

Mia first heard about Pillsbury when her parents bought tickets to a Gracie Abrams concert, with Pillsbury scheduled as the opening act. She listened to his music and really liked Pillsbury’s mix of musical influences, including folk, country, pop and rock. Mia plays mandolin and guitar in a bluegrass band at 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth, and appreciates lots of different musical styles.

“I really love when artists mix genres like that and when I heard that he was an artist from Maine, I was like ‘Wow, this is amazing,’” said Mia, who hopes to study music at the University of Southern Maine and perhaps at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Mia also mentioned Amy Allen, who grew up in Windham, as another Mainer whose music business success is inspirational. Allen has made her name predominantly as a songwriter working in Los Angeles with some of today’s biggest pop stars, including Sabrina Carpenter, Selena Gomez and Halsey. She has won the songwriter of the year Grammy Award twice.

Elle Smith, 17, has aleady played some pretty big gigs. In August 2025 she played the Back Cove music festival in Portland, opening for Lucy Dacus and Jack White as a member of the band Prettiest Girl in the Morgue. Hers was one of several Maine Academy of Modern Music groups to play the festival.

Still, Elle was impressed when she found out that Pillsbury grew up in Cape Elizabeth, maybe a half-hour from her house in Cumberland. Then she listened to his 2024 album, “Kansas Anymore,” and was impressed a second time, especially with the folk rock feel of it.

“When you get an artist of that scale and he is literally from right in your backyard, it’s like, “Oh, this is an accessible world for me,’” said Elle, speaking from a summer program at Berklee College of Music.

NOT NASHVILLE — OR LA

Layla Stephenson, 15, Durham likes a pretty wide variety of artists, including The Cure, Billie Eilish and Conan Gray. She first heard Pillsbury at summer camp, and became a little more interested when she found out he was friends with Gray.

Layla plays guitar, violin and piano and performs in a bluegrass band at Maine Coast Waldorf School in Freeport. She also writes songs, and admires Pillsbury’s skill in that department, especially on the song “The Longest Goodbye.” She would appreciate his music even if he wasn’t from Maine, but the fact that he is from here and not Nashville or Los Angeles “is really cool.”

“Being able to have music as the main thing I do in the future is definitely a really big dream of mine,” said Layla, who takes voice lessons at 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth. “As long as I’m playing music, I’m happy. “

Carter Bourgoin of Gorham only began learning about Pillsbury since his Portland concert was announced. But he read up on him and was fascinated by the fact that he’s self-taught, and started making music just because somebody had left some recording equipment in his room. Pillsbury basically started playing around with recording software and wrote raps.

Carter, 15, plays guitar and sings in a rock band called Andromeda, and is a student at Maine Academy of Modern Music. He also writes songs. His hope is to go to the Berklee College of Music in Boston and maybe have a career in music.

“It’s cool to see him be so successful and get such a huge following,” said Carter. “It inspires me to keep writing.”