The Woodstock Folk Festival is excited to bring high quality folk music to our community throughout the year.

Bill Camplin, co-owner with Kitty Welch of Café Carpe in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, contributes greatly to the folk music scene in Wisconsin and beyond.

Bill’s performance for Woodstock Wednesdays is especially relevant given the current state of our nation. His songs, “Village of Kindness” and “Inspiration” invite us to think and dream about kindness and follow the inspiration of people we admire.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, January 18th. Dr. King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. Bill’s third song, “I’ve Let My People Down”, reminds us that we need to walk our talk as did Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandella.

The Woodstock Folk Festival is excited to feature artists that have performed for us before such as Bill Camplin. To sign up for the Café Carpe events email list, go to cafecarpe.com. In-house events are cancelled, but you can check for live streamed events. Many fans are eagerly awaiting the day when we can go to concerts in the listening room, dine in the café and have a drink in the bar!

The video premieres HERE at 7pm/CST, Wednesday, January 13

Bill’s video will remain in our Gallery after the show if you would like to see it again or share it with others. You can enjoy watching our past performer’s shows by clicking on our Video Gallery.

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Featured Performer: Bill Camplin

“When I think of Bill, I experience his warm voice and gentle guitar that pierces the heart in the night.” ~ Corky Siegel

“Bill is one of THE nicest club owners on the planet, with a keep love of music, and a strong commitment to bringing the best music to Ft. Atkinson, WI. Warm-hearted, generous, and slightly surreal, he and Kitty provide the most simpatico and copasetic vibes possible at Café Carpe, along with great food. Not to mention his great singing voice that I wouldn’t mind hearing more of! Bill, my hat is off to you, even though it’s REALLY cold out there now!” ~ Howard Levy

Bill Camplin is one of my favorite songwriters and performers! His percussive guitar and innovative interpretations of cover songs are second only to his original material. Musician, club owner, head cook or human being, Bill is one of the best! ~ Tricia Alexander

“What can I say about Bill Camplin that you haven’t already heard on your police scanner? Well, when he’s not running from the law, he is singing soulful renditions of his own songs, delivering inventive interpretations other others’ material (most notable Bob Dylan), and accompanying himself on his Martin guitars. He makes a mean jambalaya in the galley kitchen of the beloved Café Carpe in Ft. Atkinson, WI. He is a longtime dear friend and colleague, but if you happen to see him, please remind him he owes me forty bucks.” ~ Randy Sabien

“I have been a follower of Bill Camplin’s music for over a decade. I love to sit in the dimmed lights of the listening room at the Café Carpe and get lost in Bill’s performances. He is one of those rare performing artists who seems to become one with the song–whether his own or a cover arrangement–and, in becoming one with the music, he invites us into that experience as well. To be carried away by Bill’s music is not an escape so much as a journey of emotion and ideas. With Bill, it seems to me that it’s about the music, the art; his guitar playing and singing serve the songs, amplifying their power and beauty. As a singer myself, I have extra appreciation for Bill’s vocals. His strong, passionate voice, gorgeous and true, masterfully conveys all that each song has to say, fulfilling a promise to us as listeners and, also I believe to the Muse, to Art itself. I feel enormously grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy his concerts, and even learn a thing or two from him over the years.” ~ Kaia Fowler

“Bill Camplin is well known as a singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist. He was an integral part of the Milwaukee acoustic folk scene for many years and is also proprietor (along with Kitty Welch) of the World Famous Café Carpe in Fort Atkinson. The club attracts people on the singer-songwriter circuit, and has gained a national reputation among songwriters. ” ~ Wisconsin Public Radio

Bill is a singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist, playing professionally in the Milwaukee area since the late 1960s. Bill writes and arranges his own material and has produced a considerable body of work. He has appeared regularly at various clubs including the Blue River Café, Numero Unos, The Crystal Palace, The Avante Garde and the 19th Street Coffee House. Live performances with the Bill Camplin Band can be seen on Facebook, Reverbnation and on YouTube. Call the Café Carpe at 920-563 -9391, email info@cafecarpe.com or go to cdbaby.com to order Bill’s CDs. You’ll also enjoy The Bill Camplin Band’s CD, “Reunion at Ebbott’s Barn.” Watch and listen to a fantastic show that Bill and other musicians performed in October, 2020 by clicking here: It’s… a lot concert (w/ SistaStrings, Willy Porter, Paul Cebar, & Bill Camplin).

Bill has performed in the past for both the Woodstock Folk Festival and Off Square Music, and we are grateful that he will join us virtually for our January 13 Woodstock Wednesdays.

Enjoy Bill’s folk music show!

Views expressed by performers and others who appear at Woodstock Folk Festival or on the website are solely the views of these individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Festival or its Board members.