Things grow well in Aroostook County. Potatoes. Broccoli. Peas. Musicians.

A lot of those things get shipped away upon ripening – the spuds hitch a ride in big rigs down I-95 to meet their destiny in the form of french fries and baked potatoes. Musicians hitch a ride, guitars and drumsticks in hand, bound for Bangor or Portland or Boston and beyond.

Some of those musicians leave and never look back, lured south by population and dreams of rock stardom. And then some of them leave, and eventually return home. Such is the case with Travis Cyr, a musician and a native of New Sweden who moved away to Farmington, then Vermont, then Portland, and then came back.

“I love the remoteness of the whole area. I like all the space. And the fact that, well, it’s home,” said Cyr, a singer-songwriter who plays, as he calls it, “aggressive acoustic music” in the style of Ani DiFranco and the Avett Brothers.

It’s not an easy place to make a living as a musician, but Cyr gets by – through some hard work and with a little help from his friends. A whole bunch of his friends, actually, who are all making the trek northward next weekend to play at Cyr’s second annual daylong benefit concert, the Arootsakoostik Music Festival, set for 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, June 28, at Thomas Park in New Sweden.

Cyr is a champion of his beloved County and has spent the past year carefully organizing this event. It’s a party for his friends and neighbors in the Great White North, it’s a fundraiser for several deserving charities, and it’s a way to let people know that hey, guess what? Aroostook County is actually a pretty cool place to visit – especially in the summer.

“People say, ‘Where is that? Is that in Canada?'” said Cyr. “For people who don’t know where it is, it’s a good excuse to come check out the northern Maine woods, to spend time in a beautiful place in the summer, and to get together with some cool people and rock out.”

The first Arootsakoostik fest was held last year, and despite some inclement weather was enough of a success to inspire Cyr to try for bigger and better in 2008.

“It rained all day, and we still had 150 people show up,” said Cyr. “In this entertainment-starved neck of the woods, that is not bad at all.”

Cyr has secured 14 acts for the festival, ranging from indie rockers Dead End Armory and psychedelic folkies Cursillistas, both hailing from Portland, to eclectic Mount Desert Island songwriter Audrey Ryan.

It’s a wide-ranging lineup: Cape Elizabeth’s The Estimated Prophets plays surf-tinged reggae, the southern Maine-based Adam and the Waxmen plays lean, funky soul, and Ficus, also from Portland, play a progressive take on contemporary jam band music.

Cyr isn’t worried that the diversity of the lineup might not appeal to everyone in his town. He knows that people will come out with open ears.

“It’s a little off the beaten path from what might seem normal to people up here. That is, it’s not country, so it’s not appealing to 80 percent of the folks here,” said Cyr. “There aren’t a lot of young folk in New Sweden. But I think the bottom line is that it’s a quality event, whether you like country or rock or whatever. And we donate all our proceeds to charity, so that helps.”

Cyr, who travels around the state several times a year to perform, has amassed a lot of friends in the Maine music scene. Belfast’s Tree By Leaf and North Haven’s Toughcats have played with Cyr at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, while his time spent in Portland connected him with the likes of Tigroid Substance, aka songwriter Jasmyn Shaw, and roots rocker Putnam Smith.

There’s plenty of local talent, too. DJ Alien Journalism, aka Les Rhoda, who’s spinning electronic music and mash-ups between sets, grew up in Houlton. Dominic and the Lucid, a popular Portland rock band, has County ties; the Dominic part of the band hails from Madawaska, while the Lucid are from Fort Kent. Guitarist Frank Hopkins is from Wallagrass, and John Clavette is from The County, too.

Cyr’s civic pride is evident when he talks about the festival – he loves his home and wants to do something fun to celebrate it.

“Being able to offer these musicians a place in the top half of the state, and seeing them play in a beautiful environment like this, is what’s rewarding,” he said. “Actually having the opportunity to throw a party in my hometown is pretty great.”

Admission to the Arootsakoostik Music Festival is $10, with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, preservation funds for Thomas Park, and local food pantries. Bring a nonperishable food item and be entered to win a door prize. For information, visit www.myspace.com/amusicfest.

eburnham@bangordailynews.net.