“Kray Van Kirk is a gifted songwriter whose allegorical weave of contemporary and mythological themes is both remarkable and tremendously relevant. He backs that up with deft guitar work and a voice that embodies power and genuine tenderness. A stellar and meticulous musician, equally rooted in the mind and the heart.” ~ Joe Jencks

THE MIDNIGHT COMMANDER WAS HERE! Singer-songwriter brings new myths to tilt at 21st century windmills. A fine finger-style guitarist with a precise baritone, Kray Van Kirk has a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska, but he set science aside to write songs, tell stories and summon heroes. Within those songs and stories are echoes he hopes audiences will hear and realize that THEY are the summoned heroes. With the release of his 6th CD, Empire (March 1, 2026), he turns to the issues of justice, fury, and renewal in the face of 500 years of Empire in the US.

"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." Daily Fringe Review, Edinburgh, Scotland

"We are driven by myth and the seasons of the heart," he says. “There is a reason for hero stories, hidden in plain sight and cloaked in the everyday. The dragons look different, the monsters wear suits, the quest hides behind the mundane and appears utterly futile, but the work is the same. Everyone, of every identity and history, is called to this work towards a common humanity free from Empire." “An enviable body of songs.. an intelligent and gifted writer.” Bob Leslie, Transatlantic Conversations CelticMusicRadio.net

Thus his songs: Thunderbird resurrects the Phoenix in an empty desert diner in the American Southwest (yes, the Phoenix drives a Thunderbird), The Queen of Elfland plucks Thomas the Rhymer from the English-Scottish border in 1250 and drops him and the Queen into a subway car, The Library Song has Superman moonlighting among the stacks, Hellhound summons a spectral justice for evil, and The Midnight Commander celebrates an insane old man leading the city of New York to take up arms (and underwear) against hatred. Of this charming, Quixotic, and decidedly eclectic performer, the Borderline Folk Club in New York wrote “it is what every singer-songwriter should aspire to."

Need a little more convincing?... trust your own ears here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SCt36ncuEc