News Release

Annapolis Maritime Museum / 723 Second St / Annapolis, MD 21403
Contact: Jeff Holland / 410-295-0104

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Aug. 30, 2011

Contact:  Jeff Holland / 410-295-0104 / director@amaritime.org

World-renowned folk legend Gordon Bok to perform at Annapolis Maritime Museum

The Annapolis Maritime Museum is proud to present an evening of maritime music featuring world-renowned folk legend Gordon Bok on Thursday, October 20, from 8 to 10 p.m.

Gordon Bok grew up around the boatyards of Camden, Maine. In his early years, he worked on a variety of vessels, from passenger schooners to yachts, where he learned many of the tunes, sea songs, stories, legends and ballads of the people he worked with. If he couldn’t find songs that matched his experiences or needs, he wrote his own, producing a lifetime array of poems, songs, stories, choral and instrumental works.

Over the years, Bok has acquired a devoted fan base, pulling from traditional folk music enthusiasts as well as from the maritime community where boaters and those who work the water appreciate Bok’s eye for detail and the authenticity of his storytelling. He has performed extensively in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and appeared on the radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor.

Gordon’s music is covered by numerous other performers and has been used for films, most notably the documentary “Coaster: The Adventure of the John F. Leavitt” for which he won an award. Gordon received an honorary Doctorate of Science from the Maine Maritime Academy for his reflection of Maine’s maritime heritage in his compositions and performances. His legacy includes more than thirty recordings featuring his own compositions as well as traditional folk songs from around the world. His extensive repertoire provides a rich well to draw upon for his concerts; he has never sung the same solo concert twice.

“I refuse to tell my audiences what to think or feel,” Bok says about his performances. “I’m drawn to songs that show me how others have lived their lives and sorted through their problems – that’s the great wisdom in traditional music, and in the songs that will become the tradition in other generations. They’ve shown me how to live, and if others learn something from my passing them on, that's another pleasure.”

Gordon Bok will be performing in the Buchanan Bay Room of the Annapolis Maritime Museum on Thursday, October 20, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. To make reservations, call the museum at 410-295-0104 or go to the website at www.amaritime.org.

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