Princeton Folk Music Society presents Poor Man’s Gambit

The Princeton Folk Music Society presents Poor Man’s Gambit, a Philadelphia-based Irish music band. The multi-instrumentalist group comprises Deirdre Lockman (fiddle and vocals), Corey Purcell (button accordion, cittern, bodhran, vocals, and dance), and Federico Betti (guitar and fiddle).

Deidre and Corey are steeped in the traditional Irish culture of the Philadelphia area. Both started as step dancers in childhood. Deidre studied at the DeNogla Academy of Irish Dance in New Jersey, and both went on to dance competitively at national and international levels. In time, however, they found their true calling in Irish music. Deirdre began competing in fiddle competitions, and Corey began teaching himself Irish-style button accordion. He studied with all-Ireland button accordion champion John Whelan. His musical interests expanded to include other instruments and voice.

Federico found a different path to joining the trio. He grew up in Milan, Italy, where he first learned to play the fiddle and fell in love with traditional Irish music. In 1996 he co-founded Inisfail, a group that would become a leader in the Italian Irish music scene. After sharing the stage at music festivals in Italy with various Irish musicians and bands such as Altan, Dervish, and Lúnasa, he moved to Ireland in 1999. He immersed himself in the Galway traditional music scene, learning from a range of fiddle players and traveling to festivals all over the country. In 2010 Federico began teaching fiddle at the Galway City branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

To hear Poor Man’s Gambit, visit: YouTube

8:00 pm. Friday, January 19, 2024, Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ. Tickets in advance or at the door: $25 ($20 members, $10 students 12 – 22, $5 children 11 and under). Ample free parking. For tickets, live-stream access, and more information: www.princetonfolk.org.

Photo© Poor Man’s Gambit