Right on, Maine music fans. There was a great crowd for the Katrina benefit held at Thompson’s Orchard in New Gloucester this past weekend and featuring the Dave Rowe Trio and Boreal Tordu. (Editor’s note: The "Sibilance" staff only know this second hand — they were too busy crying over the Patriots loss to actually go anywhere. Pathetic wretches.) So, let’s keep it up, music fans. Here’s the dope on more Katrina shows coming your way:

Don’t forget stuff we told you about last week. September 25 is jam-packed. The Big Easy Helps the Big Easy has added Sly-Chi and Esperanza to their already-great lineup of Graham Isaacson, Headstart!, Dominic and the Lucid, and the I-Rates. That’s a no-brainer. Plus, there’s New Orleans band Brotherhood of Groove playing the Muddy River in Portsmouth, and Cookie Cutter Girl headlining the Wharf in Hallowell.

Speaking of Cookie Cutter Girl, she’s also heading up benefit shows at Gardiner’s Johnson Hall on October 2, with Kip of the 45s, San Diego’s Jocelyn Celaya, Mark "Guitar" Miller, Mandy Hoffman and Steve Mingo, New York’s Amy Lennard, and Boston’s Jess Yoakum; and at UMaine/Augusta’s Jewitt Hall on October 9, with Portland rockers Morning Miracle, Dark Rain, good old Kip, Punch Bug, New York’s Emiko & Gemini Station and Lani Ford & Stark, and Massachusetts’ Christie Leigh. Both shows are $10, with all the money going to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.

Getting back to September 25, word just came in of a hurricane fundraiser to be held at Cape Elizabeth’s Fort Williams Park. The phone number left on the "Sibilance" voice mail didn’t work, but bands will apparently be Arsenic & Lace, Free Refills, Subterranean, Audiofile, the Project, and maybe (maybe) Butterworth’s Blues Band (featuring Butterworth, the kick-ass drummer) and the Leftovers. It’ll run noon to 6 pm, but we don’t know what the cover’s looking like.

And the big names are getting into the act, too. Veteran local promoter Jim Ahearne’s Rilo Sound has made their October 2 show with Nickel Creek, at Merrill Auditorium, into a hurricane benefit show. All proceeds from the $27.50 tickets (minus a $2 Merrill restoration fee) will go directly to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund, and the City of Portland has agreed that if Ahearne’s show raises enough money they will waive his fee to rent the Merrill down to the non-profit rate, essentially kicking in another $1600. And if you haven’t heard the new Nickel Creek album, go grab it. It’s their best work yet, more mature and interesting by far than their earlier stuff. Opener for the show is Leona Ness.

Finally for this week, September 26 through October 2, WUNH 91.3 (radio station for UNH, der) is going to host "Radio Feed 2005," where they’ll solicit donations for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans. During that time, donations can be pledged at 603.862.2222 (and this is in lieu of their planned Marathon fundraiser for their own operating budget, which they’ve moved to the spring). Further, they’ll host a show, September 30, at UNH’s Memorial Union Building on the Durham campus, which will feature the Adam Flaherty Noise Machine, Laurel Brauns, and Subject Bias. Tix are $9, with all money going to Radio Feed 2005. Call 603.862.2290 for all the details.