A Familiar Face at the Farmers Market

The swallows of San Juan Capistrano it ain't, but the trusty guitarwork of Audubon musician Dave Kelly is as sure a sign as any that the is back in season.

Kelly, a Tulsa transplant whose Okie charm has been warming the hearts of crowds at the open-air weekend festival for nine years, has a smile quicker than his fingers and a song list that goes back decades.

Whether he's called upon to deliver Irish standards, Grateful Dead tunes or "Happy Birthday," Kelly provides the soundtrack that underscores the human carnival of weekends in Collingswood from May to November.

He does it mostly for tips; sometimes vendors buy him breakfast. He does it partly for the chance to be outside, and entirely to meet the people in the neighborhood.

"When I'm there, I'm catering to elderly people, small children; I know them all by face," he says. "I see them every year, and I'm happy and humbled to be there."

An exceptionally well-traveled musician, Kelly grew up immersed in the musical culture of country blues, jazz and Western swing. He downplays the scope and variety of acts with which he has performed, but they include Roger Williams and Leon Russell.

Kelly was brought in to play the farmers market by owner Sam Caruso. He met Caruso when he was still new to the area, without a gig to play and even fewer prospects. Over the years, he's built a following one show at a time, and now holds residencies at places like the Keg & Kitchen, Mexican Food Factory and Treno.

Still, Kelly is more likely to deflect a compliment about the longevity of his storied career with an undercutting remark about how he's "only a stunt singer."

"I'm not waving any David Kelly pom-poms around," he says; "I met some people here and one show led to the next."

In seeing the farmers market grow into the regional sucess that it's become, however, he says, he feels like he arrived in town "during the Golden Age of Collingswood."

"It always had a vibe," he says. "It's my kind of people. I dig that community; I'm just glad to be part of it."