August 05, 2009

Publication title: Edmonton Journal, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Unknown

Eclectic mix of must-sees

FESTIVAL PREVIEW

EDMONTON FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL

With: More than 60 artists including Sarah McLachlan, Steve Earle, Raul Malo, Rodney Crowell and Steven Page

When: Tonight through Sunday

Where: Gallagher Park

Tickets: Sold out-except for tonight’s Forever Folk Fest fundraiser with Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman and Meaghan Smith. Evening passes are $90 for adults, $45 for youth at the north gate box office. The lineup starts at 4 p. m., gates open at 6 and the show starts at 7:30. No parking at Cloverdale Community Hall. Park ‘n’ Ride from the University of Alberta Butterdome.

—

Happy 30th birthday, Folk Fest!

Despite the anniversary, it’s going to be a rather low-key affair. Producer Terry Wickham and his volunteers aren’t crowing about the milestone, preferring to defer to the talents of the festival’s 60-plus acts.

As usual, there’s a hodgepodge of musicians and genres from around the world–including Mali’s harp-lute Jamaican reggae legends The Wailers.

There’s also an extra night. For the first time in the festival’s history, fans will gather tonight in Gallagher Park. Vancouver songbird Sarah McLachlan and Fast Car tunesmith Tracy Chapman will perform; the concert will raise money for the festival’s endowment fund.

(The show starts at 7:30 p. m. Tickets are still available through the Folk Fest box office at the north gate.)

If there’s any sort of theme to the five-day fest, it’s the unexpected collection of Canadians stars from the ’80s and’90s-what with sets by McLachlan, Spirit of the West, The Skydiggers, Steven Page (formerly of Barenaked Ladies), Lynn Miles, Joel Plaskett and bad-boy fiddler Ashley MacIsaac.

They’ll be joined by tomorrow’s household names -Souljah Fyah, Chloe Albert, Great Lake Swimmers, Alex Cuba, and The Wooden Sky.

Here are a few of the must-see performers picked by some of The Journal’s Folk Fest writers.

SANDRA SPEROUNES – Neko Case: As one of the New Pornographers, she sings with the joy and innocence of Pollyanna. As a solo artist, she writes unsettling film-noirish tunes about dirty knives, interstate killers and prison girls. It’s her first local appearance in three years. Friday, 7:30 p. m. on Stage 6, and 10:10 p. m. on mainstage. – Souljah Fyah:One of Canada’s sweetest reggae groups, led by charmer Janaya Ellis, lives in our very own backyard. You’ve likely heard about them–the Fyah-brands were nominated for a Juno and won several reggae music awards earlier this year. Here’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about. Sunday, 5p.m. on Stage 1. – The Idan Raichel Project:This Israeli artist, who specializes in world-beat jams and heartfelt ballads, could be one of the stars of the Folk Fest. Remember Ozomatli’s hill-shaking set in 2007?We might be in for a repeat. Sunday, 4p.m. on Stage 6, and 6 p. m. on the mainstage. – Iron and Wine: South Carolina native Sam Beam is one of those rare(and bearded)singer-songwriters who can command silence–his fans hang on to every one of his whispery (and half-crazed)words about circus performers, cats and women. Saturday at 8:40 p. m. on the main stage. – The Swiftys: Good ol’ hurtin’ and drinkin’ twang-rock tunes –Sweet Rose, Bottle of Wine, 26 Oz. of Gin –courtesy of Edmonton’s version of Johnny Cash, Shawn “Swifty” Jonasson (Old Reliable). He’s backed by the steady beats of drummer Grant “Stovetop” Stovel. Friday, 8p.m. on Stage 3. Saturday, noon at Stage 2. Sunday, 4:30 p. m. on Stage 5. – Spirit of the West: Vancouver’s Celtic rockers, fronted by part-time actor John Mann, were raising a ruckus–and singing about environmental issues (Save This House)–long before Newfoundland’s Great Big Sea rose up from the Atlantic. Saturday, 4:45 p. m. on Stage 1. Sunday, 11 a. m. on Stage 7. (Mann also performs Saturday, 1p.m. on Stage 1.)

ROGER LEVESQUE – Issa Bagayogo: His origins come from the same musically rich soil of Mali, West Africa that has brought us Ali Farke Toure and another Folk Fest visitor this year, Toumani Diabate. He’s a master of the kamele n’goni (a six-string harp), but what really sets him apart is a willingness to experiment with studio electronics that has earned him the nickname “Techno Issa.” Friday, 6p.m. on Stage 7;Saturday, 11 a. m. on Stage 5; Sunday, 11 a. m. on Stage 2 – Great Lake Swimmers:Together for about six years, this five-member, Ontario-based folk-rock band is based around the songs of lead singer/guitarist Tony Dekker. He writes intelligent, evocative material and the less-is-more moody quality of their recordings really resonates long after. Saturday, 12:30 p. m. on Stage 6 and 3 p. m. on Stage 4;Sunday, 1p.m. on Stage 4 and 3 p. m. on Stage 5. – Hanggai: While the group is based in Beijing, China, most of them originate in Mongolia and draw from the haunting sounds associated with the traditional themes, instruments, and throat-singing of Central Asia. Given that, their debut recording also reflects certain song-forms and influences from the West. Friday, 6p.m. on Stage 3;Saturday, 11 a. m. on Stage 2 and 4p.m. on Stage 3;Sunday, 4p.m. and 5 p. m. on Stage 3. – Oysterband:With origins from all over Britain, the members of Oysterband drew much of their early punk-folk fire from the’80s politics of Margaret Thatcher’s England. Those inspirations have changed, but these folk-rock veterans still spin songs that are flavourful, danceable and politically penetrating. Saturday, 11 a. m. on Stage 3, and 2 p. m. on the mainstage. – Eivor (Palsdottir): While her moody songs often draw on Nordic mythology, she has also crossed over into collaborations with Celtic players and Canadian musicians like our own Bill Bourne. The most immediately arresting thing about this artist from Denmark’s Faeroe Islands is her powerful, dexterous voice. Friday, 6p.m. on Stage 5; Saturday, 1p.m. on Stage 1 and 5 p. m. on Stage 7;Sunday, 11 a. m. on Stage 7. – Loudon Wainwright III: In recent years, his career has come to be overshadowed somewhat by the solo work of his gifted children, Martha and Rufus Wainwright. But as he heads into his 60s, Wainwright senior’s talent for creating songs with acid wit, poignant wisdom and wider social significance hasn’t lessened any. Friday, 7p.m. on Stage 1. Saturday, 11 a. m. on Stage 3, and 3 p. m. on Stage 6.

TOM MURRAY – Boz Scaggs: If he plays even one song off his Yacht Rock classic Silk Degrees, it will be worth it to catch Scaggs. Lido Shuffle, Harbor Lights, Lowdown–slick’70s pop-soul tracks, redolent of martinis and late nights at the marina–may be light-years away from his current blues, jazz and American songbook stylings, but will always have a special place in the hearts of those who worship at the altar of smooooth. Thursday at 9:40 p. m. on the mainstage. – Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir:Calgary’s masters of the stomp and holler have had a very successful couple of years touring through Canada and Europe on the strength of 2008’s Ten Thousand, a soupy and eccentric mix of Delta blues, old timey and acoustic music. Friday, 8p.m. on Stage 7.Saturday, 12:30 p. m. on Stage 3.Sunday, 4p.m. on Stage 7. – Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings: A few years back, this proselytizer for classic funk and soul brought her Dap Kings –with full horn section–to the Likwid Lounge, where Jones completely blew away the crowd with a taste of the old revues from the late ’60s. This incredible dynamo of a performer and her band have become a not-to-miss event. Saturday evening on the mainstage. – Dick Gaughan:A fiercely committed performer of the old school, Gaughan is not so much a Scottish folksinger as a musical activist with a number of surprising sidelines– whether as classical composer and orchestrator (Treaty 300)or as an early Internet enthusiast and web designer. His own music sprawls between British folk, country, bluegrass, with the expected Scottish and Irish strains threaded in between. Friday, 7p.m. on Stage 5.Saturday, 11 a. m. on Stage 3, and 5p.m. on Stage 2.Sunday, 11 a. m. on Stage 5. – Fred Eaglesmith: Easily the prickliest performer you’ll see at the festival, Eaglesmith will also, for a number of people, be a personal “find” for the weekend. That’s because the Ontario-born singer-songwriter has stubbornly stuck to a personal code of ethics that’s seen him bypassed by the mainstream music industry — even as he’s picked up a huge cult following of Fredheads. Saturday, 5p.m. on Stage 3, and 3 p. m. on Stage 6.Sunday, 1p.m. on Stage 1, and 4:30 p. m. on Stage 6. – Jill Barber: It’s wrong to categorize this East Coast chanteuse as simply a “folksinger”–she wanders too blithely between pop, folk and jazz, especially the latter on her latest, 2008’s Chances, which was nominated in June for the Polaris Prize. Saturday, 3 p. m. on Stage 6.Sunday, noon on Stage 1.