Food for thought
SARATOGA SPRINGS—Folk singer-songwriter Tom Chapin will perform at Caffe Lena on Saturday, Feb. 15, bringing his signature blend of storytelling and music to the Spa City.
A three-time Grammy Award winner, Chapin has spent more than 60 years crafting songs that explore themes of family, activism, and everyday life. His discography includes more than 25 albums, spanning folk music for adults and children.
“It might be one of the best jobs—don’t tell anybody!” he joked in an interview on The Screen Chatter Interview Page podcast. “You get to be your own boss, you get to invent music, and then you get to play in front of folks who clap for you.”
Chapin’s roots in music run deep. He began performing as a child alongside his brothers Harry and Steve Chapin in The Chapin Brothers, a folk trio influenced by artists such as The Weavers and Pete Seeger.
“I was 12, Harry was 14, Steve was 11 when we started performing together,” Chapin said in an interview with Folk Night at the Registry. “Steve and I had been choir boys, so we already knew how to harmonize. Harry never was a choir boy—though the joke is he hung around the girls’ choir a bit!”
Even as a solo artist, Chapin continues his family’s musical tradition. He frequently performs with his daughters, Abigail and Lily Chapin, who make up the folk duo The Chapin Sisters.
“The best thing now is I get to play three days a week live with my daughters, who are among the two best harmony singers in the world,” he said.
Beyond his music, Chapin is an advocate for hunger relief and has been actively involved with WhyHunger, a nonprofit organization co-founded by his late brother Harry Chapin.
“The world can feed itself. The U.S. can feed itself 12 times over. And yet, millions of people are hungry—many of them children,” Chapin told The Screen Chatter Interview Page podcast. “That skyrocketed during COVID.”
Chapin recalled how Harry’s relentless drive helped shape WhyHunger into a lasting institution.
“Harry wouldn’t take no for an answer,” he said. “He had this amazing drive. He believed that the world should change and that we could change it.”
WhyHunger works to address not only food insecurity but also the policies that contribute to systemic hunger.
“WhyHunger isn’t just about feeding people today—it’s about changing the system so people don’t need to be fed tomorrow,” Chapin explained.
Chapin credits Pete Seeger as a major influence on both his music and activism. He recalled a moment when Seeger was asked whether his many benefit concerts had ever made a difference.
“Pete said, ‘I don’t know. But I met the good people. People with live hearts, live eyes, live minds,’” Chapin recounted. “That’s the perfect answer. It’s not about me helping them. It’s about how they’ve helped me.”
