Photo by Giovanna Cavallo
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The Princeton Folk Music Society presents a fusion of American and Italian folk music traditions with Beppe Gambetta on Friday, October 18, 2024 at Christ Congregation Church in Princeton. Showtime is 8:00pm. The concert is available in-person and as a livestream on their YouTube channel.
Beppe is a guitar master (think Earl Scruggs meets Richard Thompson) who taught himself to flat-pick by listening to bluegrass LPs. He combines the folk music of Italy and points east with the bluegrass style of Kentucky. While he may be best known for his picking prowess, Beppe also is a talented vocalist. He sometimes likes to step away from the microphone so that the audience can enjoy the pure beauty of a performance without electronic enhancements. His performances have been said to ooze charm and humor as he tells jokes and stories to provide context for his music.
Tickets are available online or at the door (if not sold-out): $25 ($20 members, $10 students). For tickets and livestream access, go to www.princetonfolk.org. Doors open at 7:30pm. Ample free parking. Christ Congregation Church is located at 50 Walnut Lane in Princeton, New Jersey,
Beppe's latest recording, Terra Madre (2024) weaves together the experience and wisdoms of his fifty-year career, and is further enriched by the participation of internationally-renowned guests from different musical genres, including. American mandolin icon David Grisman, acoustic guitar pioneer Dan Crary, and singer-songwriter Tim O'Brien.
“Get him on a stage and his fingers speak a language all their own. After all, he’s not known as the ‘Italian King of the flatpick guitar’ for nothing.” — Steve Wildsmith, The Daily Times
“His incredible versatility combined with his charm and engaging stage presence make Beppe’s concerts evenings of high quality music and relaxed entertainment. Overriding all else, however, is the brilliance of his talent.” — Cornish Guardian
“Few players on the planet could so successfully fuse an unwavering allegiance to tradition with impatient, wide-eyed vision, tongue-in-cheek humor with solemn devotion, and folksy song styles with progressive improvisation as Gambetta” — John D’Agostino, Wood & Steel
For over 55 years, Princeton Folk Music Society (PFMS) has presented professional folk artists in concert and sponsored informal “sings” for members to share their love of folk music. Since their first concert with Doc Watson in 1966, PFMS has presented the finest folk musicians in concert. From early folk icons including The Muddy Waters Blues Band, New Lost City Ramblers, Malvina Reynolds, Elizabeth Cotten, Jean Ritchie, Jean Redpath, Peggy Seeger and Mike Seeger, through singer songwriters like Christine Lavin, Richard Shindell, Rod MacDonald, David Massengill, Michael Smith, Tom Chapin, Sloane Wainwright, Mary Gauthier and Garnet Rogers, and everything in between (Louis Killen, Bruce Molsky, Archie Fisher, Ed Trickett, Gordon Bok, Work o’ The Weavers. Jez Lowe, Priscilla Herdman, Bryan Bowers, Walt Michael, Anne Hills, Roy Book Binder, Nowell Sing We Clear) PFMS has presented close to 500 concerts with a vast array of performers.
