Trinity United Methodist’s Candlelight Concerts will host local singer Chris Gilbert for a performance on Thursday, Nov. 17 at Trinity United Methodist Church.

The concert, one set with no intermission, starts at 7 p.m. It will be presented in person and online, with a simulcast on KPTZ FM. 

Gilbert’s repertoire contains an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary folk songs from across the British Isles, but for this concert he will focus on folk songs from England and Ireland. He sings soft lilting ballads, dramatic story-songs, upbeat drinking songs, maritime songs, rollicking roaring shanties, and more. 

He was born in the East End of London and often lets his Cockney accent shine through. He cut his “folk-teeth” on the traditional English pursuit of Morris Dancing and learned to sing folk songs the hard way — in front of rough-and-tough British pub audiences.

Gilbert spent his professional career in healthcare software engineering in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. and has now returned to his passions as an artist, singer, and storyteller splitting his time between Port Townsend and Gloucestershire, England. 

He has played at many venues in the Puget Sound area, including the Wooden Boat Festival, the Port Gamble Maritime Festival, the Port Angeles Maritime Festival, and Northwest Folklife. He was the leader of the Irish band Happenstance, one part of the duo Gilbert and McHagar, and a member of the shanty band called Nelson’s Blood. Happenstance and Nelson’s Blood have performed at previous Candlelight Concerts.  

Gilbert will be joined by Hap Smith on bass. 

Smith has played in many popular bands and was a founder member of Happenstance.

Admission to Candlelight Concerts is free, with a suggested donation $10 per person.

The performance will also be streamed live at trinityumcpt.org, which has a link for the Candlelight Concerts Online and ways to donate.

Half of the proceeds from this concert will be donated to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an organization with a mission is to empower families and individuals living with mental illness to better understand and cope with the special challenges posed by this kind of illness. Learn more about NAMI at namijeffcowa.org.

Trinity United Methodist Church is located at 609 Taylor St., across from the Community Center, in Uptown.

Attendees should plan on arriving early; doors will open at 6:30. Masks will be required for in-person attendee.