29-04-2025
Role Model's a rising star, but he's still homesick for Maine
Apr. 29—Tucker Pillsbury was working on his latest album when he got very homesick for known as Role Model to music fans, had already been in Los Angeles for several years, establishing himself as a pop singer and songwriter. But he began thinking a lot about his childhood home in Cape Elizabeth and the music his parents played, by artists like Jackson Browne and Neil Young.
"I just hit a point where I was missing home a lot and my whole taste in music was kind of shifting. I started listening to the music my parents would play around the house, a lot of Americana and folk, and it inevitably started to bleed into my songwriting," said Pillsbury, 27. "I just wanted to think about things that reminded me of home."
His album — "Kansas Anymore" — came out last July and he's been touring the world since. His feel-good TikTok video for the song "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out," showing Pillsbury dancing through a Los Angeles mall, has more than 4 million views, and he made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Monday night, performing the song.
He'll also join Gracie Abrams on some of her summer tour, including July 23 and 24 at TD Garden in Boston, and will headline his own tour of Europe beginning in November.
@rolemodelSALLY VIDEO OUT NOW DIVA♬ sally when the wine runs out — tucker
Pillsbury came upon his musical voice by accident. He didn't sing in a school chorus or play any instruments growing up, but displayed his creativity by writing and making videos. After graduating from Cape Elizabeth High School in 2014, he went to Point Park University in Pittsburgh to study film. While there he started playing around with some recording equipment left in his room one day. He started performing raps for a while, but decided he'd rather sing. By early 2017 he was performing and under the name Role Model, picked because he loved the Paul Rudd 2008 comedy film "Role Models."
Pillsbury has several tattoos to remind him of Maine, include the script P from the Portland Press Herald logo, on his right hand. Others include a sack of potatoes, a box of strawberries and a lobster trap.
@gq so sweet and sentimental ? #rolemodel #kansasanymore #tattoo ♬ original sound — GQ
With his hectic tour schedule, Pillsbury says it's been harder for him to get home as often as he'd like, but says he has some trips to Maine planned throughout the summer. Sometimes family and friends come to him when he's performing nearby. When he played MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston on April 23, his mom, Susan Pillsbury, danced on stage with him.
"Everyone kept telling me that he was blowing up. I didn't always understand its magnitude until I stepped on stage with him the other night. This very emotional feeling came over me as I joined him on stage and felt the immense energy from his fans," said Susan Pillsbury, a retired special education teacher. "It was truly a dream for me to experience that with him."
@sarahlicciardi just two iconic divas @tucker @noplaceliketour #boston #rolemodel ♬ original sound — sarah
While on tour in April, Pillsbury took a few minutes to talk to the Press Herald about his career so far and the role Maine has played in it.
Where was the video for "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out" filmed?
We didn't have much time to explore different malls and different places. We had about two days and it was Valentine's Day, so we just went to the Beverly Center here in LA. The idea was from the TV show "Impractical Jokers," the time they had one of the guys dancing through a mall with headphones on, kind of disrupting things. I thought, why not make that into a music video and use real people in the mall, and get them to sign waivers, so we could have real reactions. I wanted genuine reactions and that was a cool way to do it.
Had you ever danced through a mall before? Like the Maine Mall in South Portland?
I mean, the Maine Mall is a very special place. I feel like for anyone in their late middle school or early high school years, that was the only place we could hang out with girls and hang out with people from different schools. I'm sure there was dancing going on. There was flirting, first dates and everything. I don't know if I would have had the confidence (then) to dance around.
You've said that the songs on the album were inspired by a break-up, yet "Sally" is so upbeat. Why is that?
The original album was very much about that, the ending of a relationship that I had been in. A few months after the album came out, we were starting to talk about putting out a deluxe version. We had two songs I knew I wanted to put on the deluxe and I thought I should probably write some more, too. I was just in a very different place then, so the song wasn't about heartbreak, it was about my re-entry into dating, kind of finding myself again. It was celebratory, from a more joyous time in my life, for sure.
What are some of the things you like to do when you come home?
I will never miss a Fourth of July in Maine, that's always on my calendar. I love the fireworks and everything on the Eastern Prom (in Portland.) I like to go strawberry picking. I grew up very close to the the strawberry fields and spent a lot of time there. I heard one of them (Maxwell's) closed last year. That's a bummer. Hopefully somebody else will take it over.
I like to go the beach just about everyday. The Old Port at night is my favorite thing ever. I always say, I'm at the point where I have seen a lot of the world, but there's still nothing that comes close to Maine in the summer.
When you toured with Gracie Abrams last year, did you guys talk much about Maine? Her family's from here, right?
I've known Gracie for a long time. She was one of the first people I met when I came out to LA. She found out that I was from Maine, and we talked about it. Her mom is from Maine, and they have family up there. It's beautiful to have someone on tour to talk (about Maine) to. She embraces it in a cool way.
What's the thing you like most about touring and what's the biggest challenge?
Being on stage is truly one of my favorite parts of this whole thing. I don't think there's been a time when I got on stage and didn't have a smile on my face. No matter how bad my day was, as soon as I'm on stage and performing, it will change my mood.
Everything else about touring can be pretty hard on your body and your mind. Not being able to settle anywhere for more than 24 hours and being in a different bed every night, going from hotel to hotel and living out of a bag. It is cool to see new places every day. It's just a unique way to live your life. I have an amazing group of people I tour with, and they make it fun.
Do you think there were things about growing up in Maine that help you deal with the celebrity and touring and all you're going through now?
I think there's a lot. I've always talked about my friends. My best friends in the world are people that I grew up with, that we have been friends since kindergarten. They ground me every time I go home. We plan our trips together, and we hang out the same way we did in high school. Those friends, when I 'm with them, we never, ever talk about my career or anything that's going on with music. Our conversations are pretty much the same as they were when we were 18. I love that, because when I'm in LA I feel like all I'm talking about is myself and my career. I get excited for that, for just the normalcy of Maine.
Copy the Story Link
