NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Jan. 1.
PORT TOWNSEND — Irish songs, stories and a spacious open-mic session are all part of 2016’s kickoff First Friday Storynight at Better Living through Coffee, 100 Tyler St., tonight.
Chris Gilbert, a man who is fairly new to storytelling, is the guest artist who will step up shortly after 7 p.m. to interweave tales and tunes from the life of Luke Kelly (1940-1984), the Irish singer-songwriter and founding member of the Dubliners.
Banjo man Mike James, a member of the newly formed shanty band Nelson’s Blood, will accompany Gilbert.
Storynight hostess Aimee Ringle, herself a spinner of tales, will also team with the guest performers, to stoke the evening’s theme of musical livelihood.
Admission is a suggested $10 donation though no one is turned away, Ringle noted.
Storynight always includes an opening of the microphone, and tonight will have 25 minutes devoted to those wishing to share something from their lives: a story, a poem or a song.
You might even do a dance, Ringle writes in her invitation. The only rules for the open mic are it must obviously be a story; no reading, as everything must be shared in the ways of the oral tradition.
First Friday Storynight is “increasingly becoming a sweet option for gathering on Friday night,” Ringle said, adding that people come early to buy a hot drink, so at 7 o’clock, they’re ready to listen.
“Storytelling is something we naturally do,” said Ringle, and this monthly night at Better Living through Coffee just formalizes it a little bit.
Ringle has been collecting and sharing stories for most of her life. When she came to Port Townsend in 2009, she worked with local mythsinger and mentor Daniel Deardorff, attending his yearlong workshop, “Living Myth Living World.”
In 2012, she traveled to England and Scotland to study with renowned British storyteller Martin Shaw, tour as a singer-songwriter from Edinburgh to the Isle of Iona and back, and attend the Scottish Storytelling Festival in Edinburgh.
She took over the organizing of First Friday Storynight from its creator, Brian Rohr, in 2013.
As for Gilbert, he hails from London, England, and has spent many a happy hour singing in folk clubs and pub song circles.
He emigrated to the United States in 1992, finally settling in Port Townsend. He finds the Northwest ideal for developing as a singer and storyteller, and can be found at open mics, and performing with two new ventures: his band Happenstance and Nelson’s Blood.
In his Storynight set, Gilbert will celebrate Kelly, who is widely recognized as one who redefined the folk-song genre.
Gilbert will tell stories about the man and his beloved city of Dublin, Kelly’s search for truth and beauty, and his determination to use the power of his voice to remind us of causes worth fighting.
For more information about this and future First Friday Storynights, phone Ringle at 360-531-4395.
