No rust for the busy Tom Kastle

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Folk singer and sailor Tom Kastle is also a respected artist, focusing primarily on maritime works. | Photo by Mariah Clark

Updated: November 16, 2011 1:53AM

Sailors look to avoid rust, and Tom Kastle did just that.

“If you get stuck in one thing for too long, you get rusty,” said Kastle, who describes himself as a singer, sailor, songwriter, educator, storyteller, and professional romantic.

Well known and respected on the folk music scene, and widely acknowledged as among the finest in the maritime genre, Kastle has also “walked the walk,” short of the actual plank. He’s served as Relief Captain of the Tall Ship “Windy” and Captain of the Tall Ship “Red Witch,” among many other sailoring experiences.

Formerly of Chicago and now living in Madison, Wis., Kastle has in recent years expanded his artistic palette, producing an album of contemporary folk originals, dabbling in opera, and even becoming a bit of a rabble rouser on the volatile political scene in Wisconsin. While still grounded in maritime music, Kastle enjoys being a more eclectic performer these days.

No longer at sea

“It’s been an amazing personal Renaissance,“ he said. “We all have this little niche that we do to survive, to pay the bills. I’ve always been part of the maritime world, and that’s what pays the rent. But, as an artist, you get tired about being pigeonholed. Nobody is just one genre. When I started writing ‘Across the Center Line’ (Kastle’s album of contemporary folk released in 2008), it was supposed to be a four-song singer-songwriter demo, because I had songs that didn’t fit into the whole nautical genre. So I started writing songs and got carried away, and it ended up a whole album.”

Kastle has also performed some opera parts in the Madison area, and is part of a newer group calling itself the “Outside Agitators,” formed in the wake of the political protests sparked at the capitol in Madison.

“I came to Madison to pursue a certain young woman, which turned out quite well, and I always thought I might want to live in Madison from when I played here a couple of times in the past. It’s a change of scene, a starting over process.”

But Kastle is close enough to the Chicago area to continue to be part of the scene here.

Kastle headlines a concert for the Lake County Folk Club Aug. 21 in Lake Bluff. He will perform a solo acoustic show on 12-string and 6-string guitar, button box accordion, and harmonica. Show opener is Ted Geise.

Mix of tunes

Asked about his upcoming performance, Kastle said: “I’ve got new stuff and old stuff from all aspects, but not performing any opera (at the Lake County show). It’ll be a diverse bunch of newer songs. One is a song I learned from Clary Croft from Halifax, who worked with Helen Creighton collecting songs, so this is a song from the Helen Creighton collection called ‘Moonlight Tonight.’ It is traditional Halifax fisherman song, but it sounds like a 1940s pop tune. I did this recently at Mystic Seaport, and people loved it.”

Kastle is also the co-founder with Chris Kastle of the long-running Chicago Maritime Festival, scheduled for Feb. 25 in 2012. It is held at the Chicago History Museum, and is an event which attracts outstanding maritime performers from all over the world.