Proceeds from folk
concert will benefit
Camp Sunshine

AUBURN — Concerts for a Cause, the flourishing new concert series at the First Universalist Church in Auburn, is hosting Jud Caswell, from Brunswick, as its next performer.  He will take the stage in the sanctuary at the church at the corner of Pleasant, Elm and Spring Streets on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7:30 p.m. 

The concert will benefit Camp Sunshine. Founded in 1984, Camp Sunshine provides retreats combining respite, recreation and support, while enabling hope and promoting joy, for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families through the various stages of a child’s illness.

Caswell is a bit like a one-man folk festival — banjo picking, singing Irish drinking songs, a rack of acoustic instruments, and a deep catalog of award-winning originals. He’s often compared to James Taylor and David Wilcox, but his songs draw on a long musical history and wide-ranging influences from jazz and Piedmont blues to contemporary folk and rock.  “I’m really excited about getting a chance to perform at the UU in Auburn — this is such a great venue to play and to experience live acoustic music,” Caswell said. “I also really appreciate the chance to help out organizations that are doing such great work, like the folks at Camp Sunshine.”

Caswell is currently celebrating the release of his sixth collection, “Watch The Fall.” This is his first CD of new material since 2007. The years between have been full of music and focusing on family, friends and community. The album reflects that focus. Early listeners have called it “homey and groovy and uplifting and thoughtful” — a “celebration of life, love, family, and all that is wonderful about midcoast Maine.” There’s a warm gratitude to “Get Poor Slow” and “So Far So Good.” There’s a sly sweetness to “Now Forever” and a romantic melancholy to “Montreal.” There’s “Talk To Me” — a song for a friend in crisis, and “Chasing the Leaves” —  an impressionist snapshot of a little girl dancing on a darkening autumn day. And then there’s “Watch the Fall,” an homage to the Androscoggin River that runs between Caswell’s “two home towns” of Topsham and Brunswick.

Caswell is a lifelong musician, but it wasn’t until he got to college and heard John Gorka the he found his calling. He sold his saxophone for an acoustic guitar, switched majors from physics to music, and set out to write his own songs. Three albums later, he was still piling 40 hours a week of music on top of a full-time straight job when his first daughter was born with a rare birth defect.

Weeks of sleepless vigils at the hospital put a lot of things into perspective. Within two years he had quit his day job to pursue music exclusively. Within four years he had a growing buzz on the national folk scene. He played folk festivals from Texas to Oregon and won some of the best songwriting contests in the country. His 2007 release “Blackberry Time” was a folk DJ favorite. But the travel was a heavy burden, and in 2009, Caswell turned his focus back to making music in Maine.

Since that time he has continued to pursue music full time as a performer, teacher and recording engineer. In addition to his acoustic six- and 12-string guitars, Caswell plays banjo, cittern and whistle at his many Irish gigs. He runs a monthly songwriter’s circle, offers musical story times at local libraries, and leads songwriting programs at local elementary schools. Caswell is also an in-demand producer at his own Frog Hollow Studio in Brunswick, where he records some of the best songwriters in the state.

Concerts for a Cause was launched in the fall of 2016 at the church to bring special concerts to the L-A community while raising money for area charities. The concerts are produced by local musician and church choir director Dave Rowe with a lot of help from a capable committee of church members.

Tickets are $13.50 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. For tickets or more information about this Jud Caswell concert and other Concerts for a Cause, visit <http://www.uuconcerts.org> or call the church at 207-783-0461.