A collage of five portraits featuring different people against various backgrounds, including a dark curtain, a red brick wall, a harbor, and a green garden.

The Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival

LXCL:Thanks for joining us! Donations gladly accepted via Zeffy or at the door, suggested donation $15-25.

General Admission

Tom Kastle, Sara Grey, Kieron Means &amp; Dave MacLurg, and Judy Cook &amp; Cate Clifford! Plus songwriting competition winners! Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival - 2026 - Saturday Evening ConcertJoin us for an evening of music with our fabulous headline performers!(Please note: donors, artists and volunteers have tickets reserved and do not need to reserve tickets here) Long before sea shanties went viral on the internet, Tom Kastle was singing them around the world and living the tradition by captaining tall ships on the Great Lakes. In the last decade, Tom has branched out to do film projects like Francisco Torres&rsquo; Delight In the Mountain, with Richard Riehle and Tom Wopat, and television where he hosted a short documentary that was nominated for an Emmy Award. On the theatrical stage, he has performed roles ranging from musicals to Shakespeare and played a political pundit with the legendary Ed Asner in God Help Us! Tom has performed a one man play for Fermat&rsquo;s Last Theater Company, on Joe Hill, at universities, the Woody Guthrie Center, the American Labor Museum, and the People&rsquo;s Voice Caf&eacute; in Greenwich Village. His new play Dan Seavey: Confessions of A Great Lakes Pirate was a sell out at the Playhouse at the Overture Center in Madison and will be touring throughout 2026. Mother-and-son duo Sara Grey and Kieron Means seamlessly blend their voices in a large repertoire of songs from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Their tight vocal harmonies are sung unaccompanied or enhanced by tasteful banjo and guitar arrangements. Sara and Kieron have that magical vocal blend and rapport that comes from being blood relatives. Both share a deep respect for the sources of the songs they perform, and their accompaniments complement, but never overpower, the lyrics. The songs they sing are mostly traditional, but also include newer songs in the traditional idiom. The duo&rsquo;s repertoire showcases a wide range of North American folk material, including songs of loggers, songs of migration into the American West, New-World versions of classic British and Irish ballads, old-time Appalachian songs, and gospel music. The two have recorded many albums, some of which are on Folk Legacy as part of The Golden Ring &nbsp;These are also available in the Smithsonian on their Folk Ways label. 2019 marks the release of their newest CD on the Wild Goose label.Both mother and son have lived in the U.S. and the U.K., performing and teaching at folk clubs, festivals and music camps on both sides of the Atlantic. Born in New Hampshire, Sara emigrated to the British Isles in 1970, where Kieron spent his childhood and where both became fascinated by the migration of songs between the U.K. and North America. Returning to the U.S. in 2015, Sara now lives in Middlebury, Vermont. Kieron is known both as a fine singer and as a guitarist, whose innovative song accompaniments are inspired by American blues and Appalachian traditions. He lives in the Adirondacks in New York state.Here they are joined by Sara&rsquo;s husband, Dave MacLurg. Dave was born and grew up in Northern Ireland. He went to work in Liverpool and became involved in the folk music scene there. He became part of a very well-known sea shanty group, Stormalong John. They sang frequently in Liverpool as well as sea music festivals in France, Germany &amp; Poland. They sang with Stan Hughill, one of the best-known shanty singers, who also came from Liverpool. They have created four CDs, and also sang with Stan on his last CD. He has taught shanties at the Summit School in Vermont, and the Maritime festivals in Essex, and &nbsp;Mystic.&nbsp; Judy Cook brings a powerful voice, a great-unaccompanied style and a deep respect for tradition to her performances of a huge repertoire of songs and ballads. &nbsp;Judy&rsquo;s singing is marked by a command of narrative that pulls the audience in to really understand what the song is about. Her style and presentation are &ldquo;a credit to the sources&rdquo;. &nbsp;Since 1998 Judy has toured with her singing in the US and UK. Program descriptions, and information about book and recordings are at <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.judycook.net/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">judycook.net</a>. Cate Clifford is a typically unaccompanied singer based in Rhode Island. With powerful vocals, sensitive harmonies, and engaging context gleaned from intensive study, Cate creates a vivid and accessible pathway to the songs she offers, the people and stories behind them, and the profound, timeless delight of sharing both. A proud member of AFM Local 1000, the Traveling Musicians Union, she has raised rafters and cracked hearts in homes, venues, festivals and recording studios on both coasts of the USA. She maintains that no set is immune to a dash of Sondheim or a sprinkle of Shakespeare.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attendance at the Saturday evening concert will be limited. Free tickets will be required to guarantee admission; walk-ins will be admitted as space permits.

Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name, Thank you for registering for our event and supporting our cause. Your registration greatly helps our mission. 🚀 If you would like to contribute further, contact us to become a volunteer, or talk to your friends about our cause! Lynz Morahnlynzmorahn@pmffest.org

Tom Kastle, Sara Grey, Kieron Means &amp; Dave MacLurg, and Judy Cook &amp; Cate Clifford! Plus songwriting competition winners! Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival - 2026 - Saturday Evening ConcertJoin us for an evening of music with our fabulous headline performers!(Please note: donors, artists and volunteers have tickets reserved and do not need to reserve tickets here) Long before sea shanties went viral on the internet, Tom Kastle was singing them around the world and living the tradition by captaining tall ships on the Great Lakes. In the last decade, Tom has branched out to do film projects like Francisco Torres’ Delight In the Mountain, with Richard Riehle and Tom Wopat, and television where he hosted a short documentary that was nominated for an Emmy Award. On the theatrical stage, he has performed roles ranging from musicals to Shakespeare and played a political pundit with the legendary Ed Asner in God Help Us! Tom has performed a one man play for Fermat’s Last Theater Company, on Joe Hill, at universities, the Woody Guthrie Center, the American Labor Museum, and the People’s Voice Café in Greenwich Village. His new play Dan Seavey: Confessions of A Great Lakes Pirate was a sell out at the Playhouse at the Overture Center in Madison and will be touring throughout 2026. Mother-and-son duo Sara Grey and Kieron Means seamlessly blend their voices in a large repertoire of songs from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Their tight vocal harmonies are sung unaccompanied or enhanced by tasteful banjo and guitar arrangements. Sara and Kieron have that magical vocal blend and rapport that comes from being blood relatives. Both share a deep respect for the sources of the songs they perform, and their accompaniments complement, but never overpower, the lyrics. The songs they sing are mostly traditional, but also include newer songs in the traditional idiom. The duo’s repertoire showcases a wide range of North American folk material, including songs of loggers, songs of migration into the American West, New-World versions of classic British and Irish ballads, old-time Appalachian songs, and gospel music. The two have recorded many albums, some of which are on Folk Legacy as part of The Golden Ring  These are also available in the Smithsonian on their Folk Ways label. 2019 marks the release of their newest CD on the Wild Goose label.Both mother and son have lived in the U.S. and the U.K., performing and teaching at folk clubs, festivals and music camps on both sides of the Atlantic. Born in New Hampshire, Sara emigrated to the British Isles in 1970, where Kieron spent his childhood and where both became fascinated by the migration of songs between the U.K. and North America. Returning to the U.S. in 2015, Sara now lives in Middlebury, Vermont. Kieron is known both as a fine singer and as a guitarist, whose innovative song accompaniments are inspired by American blues and Appalachian traditions. He lives in the Adirondacks in New York state.Here they are joined by Sara’s husband, Dave MacLurg. Dave was born and grew up in Northern Ireland. He went to work in Liverpool and became involved in the folk music scene there. He became part of a very well-known sea shanty group, Stormalong John. They sang frequently in Liverpool as well as sea music festivals in France, Germany &amp; Poland. They sang with Stan Hughill, one of the best-known shanty singers, who also came from Liverpool. They have created four CDs, and also sang with Stan on his last CD. He has taught shanties at the Summit School in Vermont, and the Maritime festivals in Essex, and  Mystic.  Judy Cook brings a powerful voice, a great-unaccompanied style and a deep respect for tradition to her performances of a huge repertoire of songs and ballads.  Judy’s singing is marked by a command of narrative that pulls the audience in to really understand what the song is about. Her style and presentation are “a credit to the sources”.  Since 1998 Judy has toured with her singing in the US and UK. Program descriptions, and information about book and recordings are at <a href="https://www.judycook.net/" target="_blank">judycook.net</a>. Cate Clifford is a typically unaccompanied singer based in Rhode Island. With powerful vocals, sensitive harmonies, and engaging context gleaned from intensive study, Cate creates a vivid and accessible pathway to the songs she offers, the people and stories behind them, and the profound, timeless delight of sharing both. A proud member of AFM Local 1000, the Traveling Musicians Union, she has raised rafters and cracked hearts in homes, venues, festivals and recording studios on both coasts of the USA. She maintains that no set is immune to a dash of Sondheim or a sprinkle of Shakespeare.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attendance at the Saturday evening concert will be limited. Free tickets will be required to guarantee admission; walk-ins will be admitted as space permits.

The Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival

Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival - 2026 - Saturday Evening Concert

2 Congress Street

General Admission

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