Besides writing impeccable tunes, Ellis Paul practices good karma. Paul's keynote speech at the 2015 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance conference told the story of how he built his career among friends, created a network, and earned grassroots support one fan at a time; it's been 25 years since he played his first gig. Prior to being a folksinger, Paul was a champion runner in college and he said in an interview with City that those lessons still apply. When you put in the long hours of training, the performance is the easy part.

Ellis Paul performs with Davey O. on Saturday, May 7, at Café Veritas at First Unitarian Church, 220 South Winton Road. 7:30 p.m. $10-$16. cafeveritas.org; ellispaul.com.