POLAND – On Saturday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m., the OMNI Folk Music Series will present a performance by folk music legend and Maine native David Mallett.

The concert will be in the new Cliffside Lodge at OMNI Camp, 135 Verrill Road in Poland Spring. Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Alastair Moock will open the show.

Mallett, who is from a small town in northern Maine, was working in the garden on his family’s farm when he was inspired to run into the house, take a pencil and pad, and write a new song.

In the nearly three decades since, “The Garden Song” has been covered by more than 150 artists ranging from Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie to John Denver and the Muppets. It has been translated and recorded in a lengthy list of languages and even inspired a book, “Inch By Inch,” published by Harper Collins. The song’s chorus features the words, “Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow.”

A highly skilled songwriter, he has consistently captured the the simple life of rural America through his writing. Other singers who have recorded his work include Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Hal Ketchum and Kathy Mattea. The millenium edition of The Bangor Daily News named him one of the most memorable Mainers of the 20th century and the listeners of WUMB radio in Boston voted “Inches and Miles” one of the top 100 folk albums of all time.

His most recent honor comes from the readers of Folkwax Magazine, who voted him 2003 Artist of the Year and his newest recording, “Artist in Me,” 2003 Album of the Year. He has released 12 albums and two books and has played throughout the United States and Europe.

Moock sings original, roots-based music. He has played solo at events such the Newport and Boston folk festivals and, most recently, The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. At Falcon Ridge, he was one of the 2004 Emerging Artist Showcase finalists chosen by the audience to return for next year’s festival. The Boston Globe calls him “one of the town’s best and most adventurous songwriters” and The Washington Post declares “every song a gem.”

Tickets are $17 in advance or $20 at the door. They are available at omnilearning.org and at Bull Moose Music stores. For more information, people can call (207) 998-5297.