SEA-FARING SONGS WITH TOM LEWIS: The Princeton Folk Music Society welcomes musician Tom Lewis to Christ Congregation Church in Princeton for a performance of sea-faring songs accompanied by the button accordion and ukulele on Friday, May 19 at 8:15 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.). Born in Northern Ireland, Tom’s Celtic heritage is evident in his passionate musicality. Tickets are $20 at the door ($15 Folk Society members, $10 students, and $5 children). Ample free parking is available.

Anchoring its last concert for this season, Princeton Folk Music Society presents an evening of sea-faring songs with Tom Lewis on Friday, May 19 at 8:15 p.m. at Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane in Princeton. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8:15 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for $20 ($15 members, $10 students, and $5 children).  

Tom brings to the stage a great voice, wry humor, skillful button accordion and ukulele playing, and more than 40 years’ experience bridging the sea-going and folk-singing communities.

His repertoire ranges from traditional shanties to original songs based on his own seafaring experiences. His performance takes his audience on a voyage that is by turns reflective, dramatic and humorous. Born in Northern Ireland, Tom’s Celtic heritage is obvious in his clear, strong voice that can evoke quiet sorrow for a fisherman lost to the sea just as honestly as it powers out a shanty “to be heard above the gales.”

Tom managed to balance a naval career, serving in submarines, with participation in folk clubs, concerts and festivals. While stationed at a nearby naval base in the 1960s, he was active in the folk music community in Dumferline, Scotland, where he was exposed to such luminaries as Willie Scott, Alex Glasgow, Ewan McColl, Archie Fisher, John Watt, ands Louis Killen.

For more information, call (609) 799-0944 or visit www.princetonfolk.org.