In May, the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame plans to induct four new members into its august ranks. Among them is singer, songwriter and guitarist Mike Preston who, at 46, will be the hall’s youngest ever inductee.
But it’s a miracle Preston will be there to accept the honor at all — actually, make that two miracles.
As a younger man, grinding out a brutal musical living on Nashville’s honky-tonk circuit, Preston developed a cocaine and alcohol addiction which almost killed him. Then, after moving home to Maine, getting clean and establishing a stable, New England-based country music career, a runaway car mowed Preston down in an Augusta music store parking lot. The impact crushed one side of his face, broke bones in his neck and nearly ended his life a second time.
Ultimately, neither cocaine nor car wrecks could stop Preston on his steady march to the hall, which started before he was even old enough to drink, drive or vote.
“The John Penny Talent Agency sent me to scout him when he was 14 years old,” said Hall of Fame member, drummer and longtime booking agent Bucky Mitchell. “And then he started singing Hank Williams tunes and yodeling.”
After impressing Mitchell with his singing, the young Preston then showed off his impeccable collection of tailored, cowboy-style stage clothes.
“He was already the real deal,” Mitchell said. “I called the agency and said, ‘You’ve got to book this kid.'”
A short time later, the teenage Preston was touring with Maine country music legend Dick Curless. He also went on to share stages with national country legends including Charlie Daniels, Ricky van Shelton and George Jones.
“You could say I started at the top and settled in the middle,” Preston said.
After aging out of his cute-young-phenom stage persona, Preston headed for Nashville in 1998, as many aspiring country musicians do, to try and make it as an adult. There, he plunged headlong into the honky tonk scene, playing three or four gigs a day, from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m., six days a week, for 10 years.
But the punishing schedule was too much, and Preston began to rely on alcohol and cocaine to get through his shows.
“I hit a wall with that stuff and eventually had to make a choice,” he said, “to do what I needed to do to stay alive, or not.”
Preston chose life, left Nashville, came home and stopped singing for five years while he enrolled in a 12-step program. Now, he’s been sober and making his living singing country songs for 15 years.
But in July 2022, an SUV plowed into Preston and bassist Kim Curry in Augusta. The vehicle had been rear-ended and careened up onto the sidewalk where the two were walking and struck both of them. Flying dozens of yards through the air, they came down, skidding and tumbling across the pavement. The multiple impacts fractured Preston’s skull, tore open Curry’s face and left them both in a world of hurt and uncertainty.
“The car carried me on its windshield for 75 feet before it dumped me on the pavement,” Preston said. “It fractured my eye socket.”
Friends and fellow musicians then rallied round the musical and romantic partners, filling in their gigs playing benefit shows to defray medical bills and lost income.
Preston recovered in just a few months, resuming his gigs with no vision loss or lingering physical effects. He said he considers himself lucky to be alive. Getting into the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame is just icing on an already delicious cake — and he never worries about never quite “making it” in Tennessee’s Music City.
“In Nashville, I didn’t have a pot to piss in,” Preston said. “Now I’m a homeowner, and I have faith in my higher power. It’s a blessing just to be here, humble and sober.”
And he still gets to make a living, singing the country music he loves, 280 nights a year.
The Hall of Fame will also induct Dan Brayall, Joan Kennedy and Bill Thibodeau next month.
Dexter native Dan Brayall started his musical journey in high school. He then went on to back up Dave Dudley at Nashville North in Bangor and also opened for country superstars such as George Jones, Dottie West and Louise Mandrell. While living in Nashville for a spell, he was a regular performer at the Opryland Hotel.
Joan Kennedy is a Portland-based singer and songwriter. Kennedy began her 36-year music career by winning a national talent contest in 1983. She’s already received a Canadian Country Music Association Humanitarian Award for her work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation and is also a member of the New Brunswick Music Hall of Fame.
Bill Thibodeau is one of Maine’s most prolific and successful bluegrass performers and was active in top-notch local bands for 30 years. The mandolin player is currently based in Rhode Island and plays with the nationally touring bluegrass band Rock Hearts.
Preston and the others will be inducted at a star-studded, family-friendly and music-drenched ceremony at The Silver Spur in Mechanic Falls on Sunday, May 19. All new inductees are expected to get up and play.
Mitchell plans to be there to cheer everyone on, including Preston.
“He doesn’t yodel much anymore,” Mitchell said, “But I’m so happy he’s made two big comebacks.”