BELLOWS FALLS \u2014 Master singer-songwriter Kray Van Kirk will be at Stage 33 on Sunday, May 17, to promote the release of his sixth CD, “Empire.”<\/p>\n
A fine finger-style guitarist with a precise baritone, Van Kirk has a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska, but he set science aside to write songs, tell stories and summon heroes. With the release of “Empire,” he addresses justice, fury and renewal in the face of 500 years of Empire in the US.\u00a0He promises to bring new myths to Stage 33 to tilt at 21st century windmills.<\/p>\n
“We are driven by myth and the seasons of the heart,” he says in a news release. \u201cThere is a reason for hero stories, hidden in plain sight and cloaked in the everyday. The dragons look different, the monsters wear suits, the quest hides behind the mundane and appears utterly futile, but the work is the same. Everyone, of every identity and history, is called to this work: Defeat Empire! Build Utopia!”<\/p>\n
His song Thunderbird resurrects the Phoenix in an empty desert diner in the American Southwest… The Queen of Elfland plucks Thomas the Rhymer from the English-Scottish border in 1250 and drops him and the Queen into a subway car… The Library Song has Superman moonlighting among the stacks\u2026 Rosa and Hector ride through Sherwood Forest on canes and a wheelchair… The Midnight Commander celebrates an insane old man leading the city of New York to take up arms (and underwear) against hatred.<\/p>\n
John Fealy is a Vermont folk singer, and his acoustic music \u2014 made on finger-style steel string guitar, banjo, ukulele, and piano \u2014 is rooted deep in his heart and aims to share his love of humanity, nature, and the greater forces of life. He\u2019s a father, husband, and a dedicated street outreach worker. And also the lead singer of the band Ox Child.<\/p>\n
The matinee show begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance through stage33live.com<\/a>, or $20 (cash) at the door as available.<\/p>\n Stage 33 Live is a nonprofit that receives institutional support from The Island Corporation, WOOL-FM, Guilford Sound, and the Rockingham Arts & Museum Project. Volunteers run the thing from stem to stern. More information, visit stage33live.com<\/a><\/p>\n