AUBURN — The 15th annual concert titled Remembering Tom Rowe: A Celebration in Song will be held Saturday, May 11, at the First Universalist Church of Auburn.

The gathering of musical pals of the late Schooner Fare member and Auburn native is organized by the late musician’s son, Dave, who is also a well-known professional musician. It’s supported by the Jack McPhillips Memorial Fund, in cooperation with Concerts for a Cause.

Tom Rowe was a founding member of Schooner Fare. He died in 2004 due to complications in the treatment of throat cancer. His passion was playing music. His journey started as a grammar school student playing clarinet in the school band. He took up the saxophone and started playing dances with his father “Bud” at grange halls as a teen. In high school he formed a folk group with classmates, including Dave Rowe’s mom, Joanne Demers Fuller, Denny Breau and Kathy Redmun Haley, called the Chord Majority that developed a loyal local following.

In subsequent years, Tom joined forces with many local musicians of note, playing rock ‘n’ roll in watering holes around central Maine. In 1975, while still playing rock almost every night of the week, Tom formed Schooner Fare with two brothers, Steve and Chuck Romanoff.

Schooner Fare brought him to the pinnacle of his career, playing the Kennedy Center, the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, the Birchmere in Washington, D.C., and many other notable concert venues around the U.S. and Canada.

In the early 1990s, Tom joined his son, Dave, to form Rowe by Rowe, a father-son duo that toured extensively for several years during times when Schooner Fare wasn’t busy. In 1998, Denny Breau joined the Rowe men to form Turkey Hollow. Tom continued playing with Schooner Fare and Turkey Hollow until his passing.

The concert will feature sets by Schooner Fare and Dave Rowe, as well as special guests Bess Jacques and the Strays, Carole Wise and the Half Moon Jug Band.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the group of musicians we have coming together for the show this year,” said Dave Rowe. This year Bess Jacques and the Strays will present genuine Americana and jazz standards. Carole Wise, one of my dad’s favorite songwriters, will pull out some of her thoughtful originals. The Half Moon Jug Band will just be no-holds-barred fun with banjos, kazoos, saxophones and other instruments that shouldn’t go together, but somehow do!”

The concert will benefit the Jack McPhillips Memorial Fund, a charity started by friends of Schooner Fare and Devonsquare, dedicated to helping people with immediate, fundamental financial needs who would otherwise fall through the cracks.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. and is part of the Concerts for a Cause series at the First Universalist Church. Tickets are $23 in advance or $25 at the door. To buy tickets or for more information, visit the Jack McPhillips Memorial Fund website at http://www.jmmf.org or call BrownPaperTickets at 1-800-838-3006.

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