FOLK SINGER, BROADCAST HOST TOM MAY TO PLAY

Folk singer Tom May, host of the nationally syndicated radio/TV show "River City Folk," will perform at 8:30 tonight at the River City Yacht Club.

The free concert is presented by KRCU, which carries "River City Folk" at 8 p.m. Saturdays. Donations will be accepted to support KRCU's programming.

May studied classical guitar in college and performed mostly in pubs before being invited to open for Gordon Lightfoot in Toronto in 1973. "I never looked back," he said in a phone interview.

He has recorded five albums, the most recent 1994's "River and the Road." His concerts mix originals and tunes selected from other writers.

He has appeared on Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" and numerous other radio and television programs in the U.S. and Canada. In 1994, he headlined a series of concerts with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra.

May both hosts and performs on his show, and delights in introducing audiences to performers they might never have heard of. Iris Dement, now a popular folk singer, made her first radio appearance on "River City Folk."

The show is heard on more than 200 radio stations from Alaska to New York. In addition, a TV version of the show was produced by Branson-based Americana Cable Network and was shown on commercial cable outlets. The show is still broadcast on some public television stations.

May thinks listening to folk songs does people good. "I believe in this day of increasing alienation because of technology, the thoughtful literature of folk music is needed," he says.

Folk singing is "a wonderful way to make a living," the Omaha-Neb.-based singer says. "I'm always meeting incredibly interesting people."

Sometimes his life seems disjointed, playing a different concert hall every other night. "But most of the time it's very rewarding," he said. "Music, I believe, has great healing power and a message for people."