House Concert: 6.00 – 9.00 p.m. Wednesday 24 January 
Tom Lewis is legendary. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland; then moving with his family to Gloucester, Tom joined the Royal Navy as an Engineering Apprentice in 1959, just a few days after his sixteenth birthday. Posted to a naval training establishment in Scotland in 1960, he soon started frequenting THE HOWFF Folk Club (in nearby Dunfermline) being exposed to such luminaries as Willie Scott, Alex Glasgow, Ewan McColl, Archie Fisher, John Watt, Louis Killen, and more, where he learned his trade as a folk singer and song writer. His output includes the famous “LAST SHANTY”; a song sung around the world. He cemtented his career in North America, where he lived for many years.
After thirty six years; tours in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Europe, Canada and the United States; major festival mainstages and tiny coffeehouses; and eight more recordings; Tom and his wife Lyn now reside aboard their boat on the Boyle River near Carrick on Shannon, in Ireland. In a way of life where enormous success is not having a day-job, Tom Lewis has translated his love of singing into that ‘enormous success’ and more – his previous existence as a sailor – and his reincarnation as a musical ex-sailor – bringing enjoyment for all.
Tom’s repertoire—from traditional shanties to songs fashioned out of his own seafaring background—recruits his audience for a voyage by turns reflective, dramatic and humorous. Tom’s Celtic heritage is obvious in his clear, strong voice, evoking 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 accompanies himself on button accordion and ukulele—but it’s that powerful vocal style and infectious humour—that quality of entertaining—which keeps audiences coming back again … and again.
Old Songs Festival (Altamont NY) declares “This man knows the sea … from the bottom up!“.
Living Tradition (UK) says “Although I always knew he was good, I was not quite prepared for HOW good.” 24 years in the British Royal Navy, “provides him with that vitally authentic stance with which to tackle nautical song” Living Tradition.
This is a House Concert, and places are limited. Bookings are essential. All welcome, only $20.00 (One price for members, non-members, concessions)