Singer-songwriter and storyteller Kray Van Kirk returns to Steve’s Guitars on Saturday, April 27 to share heroic tales accompanied with melodies strummed on six and 12-stringed guitars. 

“We need delight and hope,” stated Van Kirk in a recent press release. “And we need new myths and new stories for the 21st century to make it clear that humanity and heroes are all of us. Every single person of any history or identity is on ‘The Hero’s Journey.’”

Van Kirk is based in Alaska and has been playing music since he was 8 years old. When he entered a music store with his parents around that time, he was given a choice between a guitar and a ukulele. His mother, who was a concert pianist, likely didn’t anticipate him playing the genre of music he gravitates toward today.

“My mother, I think on some level, was horrified that I became a folky instead of going to Juilliard and wearing a tuxedo,” he told The Sopris Sun. 

In listening to Van Kirk’s discography, he introduces stories based on nuanced and diverse heroic characters. The songwriter said he is influenced by myths and archetypes, but is known to flip an original script. 

“I do carry some remnants of religious imagery from being in seminary at the Graduate Theological Union and spending some time in a monastery in Germany,” he added. 

He molds tales of the past to be more representative of today’s world. When asked about this approach when reimagining heroic protagonists, Van Kirk said that he is highly influenced by the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion. 

“Everybody gets to play in the sandbox” through his music, he stated. “Nobody is excluded because of their identity, history, ethnicity or anything.” 

“Almost everything that I do is a story in some sense. I find it extremely difficult to get up on stage and be utterly idealistic and naked,” Van Kirk shared, adding, “But I think that’s the only way to do what I’m doing.” 

When asked if he has any wisdom to pass on to hopeful creatives, Van Kirk — who, in fact, left a career in the sciences to work toward his own bohemian calling — said that anyone who has a creative passion should pursue it. 

“The time will never be right, so jump in with both feet and pursue whatever you want to. The hero’s quest does not mean you win; it does not mean you will succeed. The hero’s quest means that you have set your foot upon the correct road, not in a moral or ethical sense but correct in the sense that it is your road,” he concluded. 

Van Kirk is excited to be returning to Steve’s and praised the establishment for how his previous performance there went.

To purchase tickets for Kray Van Kirk’s show at Steve’s Guitars visit www.stevesguitars.net To keep up with Kray, visit www.krayvankirk.com