Peter Mayer will perform at Princeton Coffeehouse on Saturday

Marilyn Rea-Beyer, the music director at WUMB Radio, Boston, described the experience of listening to Peter Mayer as follows: “His guitar work is breath-taking, his lyrics mind-spinning, his singing soul-soothing and his feet-on-the-ground optimism nothing short of healing.”

Mayer began playing the guitar and writing songs when he was in high school. He studied theology and music in college, and then spent two years in seminary. After deciding that the priesthood wasn’t for him, he took a part-time job as a church music director for eight years, while performing at clubs and colleges, and writing and recording his music.

In 1995, Mayer quit his job and started touring full-time. Since then, he has gradually gained a dedicated, word-of-mouth following, playing shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to California. He has nine CDs to his credit, and has sold more than 70,000 of them independently. His guitar style has been described by David Kleiner of Minor Seventh Reviews as “alternately percussive, rhythmic, melodic, or all of the above. In Mayer’s capable hands the instrument sounds like a calliope one moment, an orchestra the next and then a cleanly picked guitar a la Dave Van Ronk ...”

Others have observed that Mayer’s music and story telling transcend the traditional boundaries of the folk genre. “Peter Mayer is a magician ... (his) universe is full of metaphor and meaning, story and symbol,” wrote Bill Reed, music editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette, “everything contains more than meets the eye.” Dirty Linen Magazine concluded: “Mayer offers up everything you could ever want from a singer/songwriter.”

Coffeehouse admission is $12 at the door. The venue is completely accessible and there is ample free parking nearby. Doors open at 7 p.m. Mary Gay McKinney and Goldy Mortensen are the sponsors of the show. In observance of their birthdays, they will treat the crowd to a selection of special cakes made by local baker Terri Zearing. Fair trade coffee and tea will also be available.