Kray Van Kirk

Folk singers often try to one-up each other with obscure details and pastimes. No slouch in that regard, Kray Van Kirk has not one but two obscure distinctions. First, he holds a Ph.D. in fisheries population dynamics modeling. If that s not obscure enough, he does a spot-on impression of Japan's nineteenth century blind swordsman, Zatoichi.

A fine finger-style guitarist with a precise baritone, Van Kirk set science aside to write songs, tell stories and summon heroes. When he reached Scotland and the prestigious Fringe Festival, the Daily Fringe Review wrote The evening's act was Kray Van Kirk, whose 12-string guitar and soaring vocals were spellbinding; the Alaskan singer-songwriter, in his Edinburgh debut, was not the reason I arrived early, but was certainly why I stayed late."

Van Kirk, however, is not your average crying-in-your-coffee singer songwriter, and this is where the Zatoichi impression comes in handy. Shintaro Katsu played…