TOPSHAM — Legendary recording artist and performing singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards will be performing a benefit concert for the Stone Soup Institute on at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 31 at the Orion Performing Arts Center located at 66 Republic Ave.   Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is general admission. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door on the day of the concert. www.orionperformingartscenter.org

Edwards has been a pioneer in contemporary folk music for four decades. Known best for his hit song “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” Edwards’ poignant and powerful artistry has grown richer with time, throughout an acclaimed career of 16 records and multiple concert tours.

True to his musical roots, Edwards is still on the road, neither grizzled nor nostalgic, simply devoted to performing the usic he loves, for audiences that are lifted by his songs, which include classics such as Sometimes,” “One Day Closer,” “Don’t Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” “Shanty” and Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy”.

He has performed and recorded with artists such as Emmy Lou Harris, Wendy Waldman, Cheryl Wheeler and Michael Martin Murphy. He has toured with Don McClain, Jesse Collin Young and Steve Forbert in the past and has an album of children’s songs, honored with the National Library Association. An acoustic champion in the art of what it means to be a real troubadour, Jonathan Edwards brings people together in joy, heart and humanity. He is the rustic soul of what music is meant to be.

The Stone Soup Institute is a nonprofit organization located in Harpswell. The Stone Soup offers courses of study integrating traditional as well as contemporary practices and knowledge in the Agrarian Arts and Sciences, Crafts and Fine Arts.