19/07/2025
TONIGHT!!!
LEE MURDOCK TO PERFORM LIGHTHOUSE LEGENDS
Musical historian Lee Murdock will present a program of music and storytelling from the lighthouses of America, this Saturday, July 19th, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Bay City State Park.
Like the Great Castles of Europe, there is an aura of mystery and romance surrounding the lighthouses of America. Lee’s songs and stories share the tragedy and heroics of shipwrecks and rescues, the isolation and the beauty of lighthouse lore, and the people who work along the inland seas and oceans.
Noted as a fluent instrumentalist on the six and twelve string guitars, Murdock combines ragtime, Irish, blues and folk styles with his flair for storytelling in songs. His musical influences span fifteen generations. Murdock began his folk career in the Chicago area in the mid 1970’s, expanding his repertoire of blues and popular music as his interest in folk music and the maritime tradition grew.
His focus on Great Lakes music began as a simple interest in finding the folk songs from his own local history. He says, “I sort of ‘fell in’ to the Great Lakes by accident,” says Murdock, “but once I started performing songs about the Great Lakes, my audiences kept asking for more. And the stories and songs just keep coming.”
With a deeper understanding of the folk process, Lee's repertoire combines historical research and contemporary insights. Murdock's work is both documentary and also a contemporary anthem to the people who live, work and play along the Great Lakes today.
