POLAND — Poland Spring Resort will host a Leaf Peeping Musical Extravaganza at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, in the Maine Inn dining room.

Folk artists Dave Rowe, the Squid Jiggers, and the Half Moon Jug Band will perform.

Rowe, of Auburn, is the son of a member of the popular folk trio known as Schooner Fare. There was always an expectation that Rowe would join the family business, which he did at age 15. Now he has 13 critically-acclaimed recordings and a career of his own. This concert brings Rowe full circle, because he will play on the same stage where his parents performed together for an entire summer as newlyweds.

The Squid Jiggers is comprised of Rowe and Troy R. Bennett. They specialize in a familiar brand of Maine folk music and maritime music, not unlike the songs Rowe’s dad performed with Schooner Fare.

Bennett grew up collecting Schooner Fare ticket stubs and albums. He started his professional folk music career touring with Rakish Paddy, an Irish band based in Portland. This led to him traveling Europe with his guitar and studying Anglo-Irish literature at University College Galway and the University of Southern Maine.

Upon his return to the U.S., he started Half Moon Jug Band, a high-octane folk group specializing in new uses for kazoos and banjos. Bennett and Rowe joined forces in 2010 to become the Squid Jiggers, and thus began the symbiosis of the three acts being presented at this show.

The Half Moon Jug Band started as a merry band of sidewalk subversives entertaining passers-by and annoying shopkeepers on Exchange Street in Portland more than 15 years ago. They can be found on the road playing concerts and festivals all over the Northeast and still freezing their fingers off on the street to entertain shoppers during the holiday season.

This concert will include sets by all three acts as well as never-before-witnessed musical collaborations, brand news songs, and a sneak peek at some of the music from the Half Moon Jug Band’s CD to be released in November.

Tickets are $16, and can be purchased by calling the inn at 207-998-4351, or by visiting polandspringinns.com/shows.html. They will be available at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

A full buffet before the show is available for an additional $10.