FARMINGTON — The Maranacook String Band, whose debut CD, “Bear In The Barn,” was released in November, will give two benefit concerts the weekend of Jan. 28-29.

The string band will team up with the Back Porch Bluegrass Band for a concert Saturday, Jan. 28, at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The 7 p.m. performance in Nordica Auditorium in Merrill Hall will benefit the Farmington Emblem Club. Suggested donation: $5.

Then on Sunday, Jan. 29, the string band will bring its toe-tapping music to the  Ladd Recreation Center in Wayne to benefit the Cary Memorial Library.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. An assortment of homemade soups, bread and baked goods will be offered for sale. Music will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students. They will be available at the library or at the door.

The Maranacook String Band is made up of current and former area students: Dan Simons on mandolin, lead vocalists Julie Churchill and Lee Stetson, bassist Zach Greenham and banjoist Megan Dood.

The band is led by Stan Keach, a nationally known bluegrass songwriter whose song,“Whispering Water,” was on the national Top 10 Bluegrass Singles Charts in 2009.

Back Porch Bluegrass features Deb Burdin and Fred Pike Jr. and other musicians who perform regularly at the Ole Tyme Jamboree in St. Albans,  a series of bluegrass concerts at St. Albans Town Hall.

For more information, call Keach at 397-22421.

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