20
Jul

Folk Fest Kicks Off This Weekend in downtown Calgary

by Victoria Peterson · 1 comment

The Calgary Folk Music Festival couldn’t come at a better time.After 10 days of rowdiness at the Stampede, the annual four-day festival is a breath of fresh air. Kicking off on Thursday at Prince’s Island Park, Folk Fest brings a laid back atmosphere, varying musical genres and international feel to Calgary for the weekend.

Hosting 68 artists from 14 different countries on seven stages, this year’s lineup has something for just about everyone.

For the indie rock fans, The Avett Brothers, Stars and Calgary’s own Dojo Workhorse are most definitely a draw. Those looking for some good ol’ soul have the legendary Roberta Flack to rely on while Po’ Girl brings an urban edge to the lineup. The truly folk contingent comes in with the inclusion of Tom Russell and the festival has even delved into the electronic world with DJ Dolores taking the stage on Friday and Saturday.

This year’s festival features a great deal of local talent with 13 Albertans on the bill. The best known comes in the form of Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans who close out the main stage on Saturday night.

Other notable names to take the main stage this weekend are Ian Tyson, Michael Franti and Spearhead and The Cat Empire.

Comprised of a main stage and six smaller stages, artists not only hold solo shows but workshops. These sessions are essentially jam sessions with between bands and are often a huge draw for festival-goers. The on-the-fly mentality creates an incredibly intimate feel to the sets and guarantees a once-in-a-lifetime performance for the audience to take in.

Workshops run Friday through Sunday on the six smaller stages.

Music isn’t the only thing happening over the weekend. The festival has a ton of kid-friendly activities all over the island, morning yoga, a plethora of both exotic and local food choices and a ton of vendors selling unique arts and crafts.

Limited tickets are still available for this weekend.

Photo Credit: Torie Peterson

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