When he comes to the chorus of Travelin' Shoes, American singer-songwriter David LaMotte signals to the audience in the packed marquee at the National Folk Festival to join in.

"Hallelujah, a-dun dun doo-dee," fans in the packed marquee sing in unison with him. But this is no Easter celebration of Christian faith.

"This is a gospel song from the days of the underground railroad when slaves were being smuggled to freedom in the north," LaMotte tells the audience.

He continues, talking about the difficult ethical decisions that people in those days had to make, and how he is glad he doesn't live in a time of "mass killings and unjust wars."

The audience laughs.

If LaMotte sounds like just another moralising musician, he is at least able to back up his words with actions.

The singer/songwriter from the small town of Black Mountain in North Carolina is the co-founder and director of a non-profit organisation that funds projects to improve schools in Guatemala.

And as a recipient of a Rotary World Peace Fellowship, he will be moving to Australia next January to start a Masters degree in international peacemaking at the University of Queensland.

LaMotte believes not in fixing the world, but changing it, and his music is a part of it.

"Travelin' Shoe is a gospel song that I learned from a Texas folksinger Ruthie Foster and it's a code song,'' he said.

``It's a song that was actually used to give people information about how and when to run to escape to freedom so the song has very rich history. You listen to a song like that and you tell me you can't change the world, and I say listen to that song. That song changed a lot for a lot of people, and it's just a song. I think we are foolish to think we can't have an impact.''

He tries to not make his sets completely serious though, which probably makes it hard for critics to pin him down.

``I try not to [describe by music], I encourage other people to, but my favourite description was from The Washington Times, who once called it, `guitar spanking, open-tuning grooves as well as gentle folk-tinged pop.'''

Performing with Melbourne musicians and singer-songwriters Vincent Bradley and Liz Frencham, LaMotte said the festival had been ``a delight.''

Photo Courtesy of Nekonoir Licensed to Creative Commons