BATH – Ellis Paul, one of the leading voices in America’s singer-songwriter/folk circuit, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Chocolate Church Arts Center. He was a principal leader in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, an urbane, literate folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s.

Though he remains among the most pop-friendly of today’s singer-songwriters – his songs regularly appear in hit movie and TV soundtracks – he has successfully bridged the gulf between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

He has released 11 CDs and recently explored new media avenues with a documentary/concert DVD called “3,000 Miles,” and “Notes from the Road,” a critically acclaimed book of poems and stories.

In recent years, he has also departed from his solo career to tour and record with longtime compadre Vance Gilbert, and to indulge his deep respect for American folk icon Woody Guthrie. He appeared with the all-star Guthrie tribute tour, “Ribbon of Highway, Endless Skyway.” For his Philo CD, “The Speed of Trees,” he wrote a modern musical setting of Guthrie’s unpublished lyric “God’s Promise.”

Originally from northern Maine, Paul played trumpet well enough to earn a summer scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. He toured the country competing in track, catching a hard case of wanderlust, and earning a track scholarship to Boston College.

It was there that he discovered songwriting. A track-career-ending knee injury left him bedridden for months, and he began making up songs on a guitar a friend had given him. By 1989, he was haunting the open mic scene that would produce the most important generation of Boston folk stars since the early ‘60s, including Paul, Dar Williams, Vance Gilbert, and Jennifer Kimball (then performing as The Story), Martin Sexton, Patty Griffin and Catie Curtis.

Almost immediately, Paul’s infectious melodicism, literate lyrics, and honest performing style drew attention.

Concert tickets, $18-$22, may be purchased by calling the arts center at 442-8455. FMI: visit chocolatechurcharts.org.