Concert slated to benefit AES foes

ELLSWORTH — Area musicians will join forces to benefit State Taxpayers Opposed to Pollution’s legal battle against the Applied Energy Services plant proposed for Bucksport.

Pianist Paul Sullivan, singer-songwriter Gordon Bok and the contemporary folk trio Trillium will headline a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Grand Auditorium.

Concert co-producers Jillson Knowles and Judith McGeorge say proceeds will help defray STOP’s legal expenses incurred in fighting the AES shoreland zoning application, which was recently approved by the Bucksport Planning Board.

Ellsworth resident McGeorge, a plant opponent, also led the successful fight against a special waste landfill proposed for Ellsworth earlier this year.

McGeorge said she used to be a “nice, quiet person” before the landfill fight, but now feels a moral obligation actively to oppose project she doesn’t believe in.

Like McGeorge, Knowles and musician husband Sullivan became opposed to the AES plant after attending Planning Board hearings in Bucksport. The couple operates the River Music Recording Co. in Blue Hill Falls, where Sullivan has produced four recordings on the company label.

Sullivan said his opposition to the plant springs from aesthetic rather than political values.

“I’ll never forget the two years of absolute bliss when I first moved up here,” the Brooklin resident said. “I feel an obligation to keep the environment I live in as unspoiled as when I got here.

“I’ve also felt that my job in this world is to point out how beautiful it is. So this isn’t about economics, it’s about beauty,” he said.

A seasoned special events organizer, Knowles said events benefiting STOP are a pleasure to coordinate because of strong community support galvanized around the coal-plant issue. Ticket sales have been brisk, she said, and at least 126 businesses in Hancock and Waldo counties have contributed a minimum of $25 to become sponsors of the Nov. 9 concert and another later this month.

According to Knowles, concert organizers used a “brainstormed” list of potential sponsors, enlisting most of those businesses right away.

“Within a short time, the list exploded,” Knowles said. “People were just dying to help.”

Musician Gordon Bok of Camden has performed throughout the country with the Paul Winter Consort, a contemporary ensemble whose music interprets the natural world. Known for his recordings of traditional sea and folk songs, Bok plays six- and 12-stringed guitar.

The folk trio Trillium includes area musicians Ellen Gawler on fiddle, Megan MacArthur on bass, and Elisabeth Wolfe on banjo and guitar.

Another benefit concert at the Grand at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, will feature Don McLean of Castine and Noel Paul Stookey of Blue Hill Falls.

Lasagna suppers will precede each of the two November concerts at 5:30 p.m., at the Ellsworth Unitarian-Universalist Church. Seating is limited.