LEWISTON — Breau Miller West: Three renowned guitarists. Three styles. One stage and nearly three hours of music by some of Maine’s most respected musical talents.

It’s taken 20 years, thousands of gigs and a lot of “growing up,” but Denny Breau, Mark Miller and Arlo West are finally together on the concert stage.

On Sunday, Nov. 29, BMW will rock the Ramada Conference Center from 1 to 4 p.m. 

It’s not that the three friends haven’t seen each other over the years. In various combinations they have gotten together many times to jam. But playing for an audience — well, that just didn’t happen. 

Why? West shrugs and says, “You know, back in those days we all had these egos, and you know, we have grown up, matured and mellowed a lot.” 

West and Breau are clearly excited about the event, laying out the framework for the show. Each artist will do a half-hour solo set, calling up the next artist in line to  join them in their final song. Breau assures the program is all worked out. West says, “I don’t know; I might throw something in there to shake it up a bit. You never know.” 

West, who says his style has the  hardest edge of the three, will bring along his Stratocaster. A flat picker, West says he still likes to play his guitar slung low, really low, like down around his knees (he acts out the move with an air guitar.) “I used to let that strap out as far as it would go; I loved it,” he says, his eyes twinkling at the memory. The proof is on YouTube.

He was a rocker when he broke into the business, but after living and working in Texas for several years he developed a taste for playing Texas blues.

Breau says, with a chuckle, “I’m the folkie of the group.” He says his solo set will include “The Snoopy Medley,” some of his own stuff, some Chet Atkins and “Yankee Doodle.”

“I’m a jack-of-all-styles, master of none,” he says with a laugh.

Miller, who grew up in East Millinocket, has made his living playing the blues all over the country. He is all about blues, and he’s passionate about it. “He plays with such emotion. You can see it in his face when he plays,” says West. Miller, who was on his way back from Florida when this interview was conducted, has opened for such diverse acts as B.B. King, Dick Curless and Peter Wolf, has made his living as a guitarist for 45 years, according to his website. 

Among them, Breau, West and Miller have 150 years of experience with music.

West, 58, recalls his first gig: He was 13 and he played at Cairo Club in Lewiston for $70 a week. Another early (nonpaying) gig goes back to a fifth grade skit at St. Louis School when he played “Dominique” on the guitar, while a girl sang the wildly popular song actually performed by a French nun.  

West broke into the business as a rock musician sporting the requisite mane of long, dark hair in the 1970s and ’80s. 

Exactly when did the hair go? (There’s no hint of it today.) “Nineteen-ninety-five, the day my son, Austin, was born,” he says. “It was time, you know, growing up, maturing and all that,” he adds.

Breau’s performing career began when he was a freshman at Edward Little High School, playing with the late Tom Rowe, long before Rowe became a member of the popular folk trio Schooner Fare. 

The younger brother of the late legendary jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, and the son RCA recording artists Betty Cody and Hal Lone Pine, Denny picked up the guitar when he was a child, and by the time he connected with his brother, who was away performing for extended periods, he had taught himself to play finger style.

So, is Breau Miller West a one-night-stand, or a “thing?” A website, bios, contact information and a logo: Sure looks like it’s something more. The two demure at first and finally admit they are thinking this might be the first of what could become a “semi regular thing.” 

Tickets:

Advance tickets are available at the Ramada Conference Center, 490 Pleasant St., Lewiston. Call 207-784-2331, at Main Street Music, 134 Main St., Auburn.