VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC
FESTIVAL 47
Acts to Catch Next Weekend
The 47th annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival will shine again at Jericho Beach Park next weekend. The event kicks off on Friday afternoon and runs through Sunday evening. Visit the Festival website for the weekend schedule, the artist line-up, tickets,to make donations and more.
ACTS TO CATCH AT FESTIVAL 47
Featuring one of the best line-ups in years
You can’t see everyone at next week’s Vancouver Folk Music Festival. So, what to do? With more than 40 acts from around the world and across the country presenting 45 daytime performances and three nights of Main Stage evening shows at Jericho Beach Park next week, there’s much to choose from. You’ll see and hear veteran stars, up and comers, best kept secrets and the usual complement of musicians from away or around the block who are new to you.
This brief (and subjective) guide will point you to acts on my must see list, several I’m curious about and others who land in between. But, since discovery is all part of the Festival adventure, no doubt you’ll find an equal number of performers not listed here who will surprise and delight.
Montreal’s Leif Vollebekk, Ivory Coast’s Dobet Gnahoré and Arkansas-born Iris DeMent
Inuit throat singers Piqsiq, South Africa’s BCUC and Ndidi O from BC and Los Angeles
Britain’s Grace Petrie, Montreal-based indigenous star Jeremy Dutcher and one of Ireland’s finest, Mick Flannery
Who to see and hear
Links are provided to the Festival website page for artist playlists and write-ups. Links for performers featured in Kurated over the past two months are also included.
Jeremy Dutcher – the Polaris prize-winning two-spirited indigenous artist and musicologist brings star power to Sunday evening’s Main Stage. The recent tour promoting his second album Motewolonuwok was a huge success. Kurated review of Motewolonuwok.
Ndidi O – It’s been almost 20 years since the BC-born singer first sang on the Festival’s stages. Touring behind her latest album – Simple Songs for Complicated Times – produced by former local Steve Dawson, this compelling artist is in top form. Read more in Kurated.
Mick Flannery – one of Ireland’s best singer songwriters, Flannery came up on my radar for his best selling 2021 duet album In The Game with Susan O’Neill who was a highlight at last year’s Festival. You won’t forget his grainy, forceful voice or his impressive way with words. Flannery is going to win some fans next weekend.
Iris DeMent – less than prolific, veteran country/folk singer-songwriter DeMent maintains a strong following for her straightforward approach and tell-it-like-it-is politics. She’s been touring behind her 2023 album Workin’ On A World and plays Sunday’s Main Stage. Read more on Kurated.
Grace Petrie – The British socialist lesbian and feminist first played the Festival in 2015. Her Festival bio says she “has become an organic part of the British Left, using her art to support a myriad of causes and campaigns and touring widely at home and abroad.”
Moontricks – hailing from the Nelson area of the BC Interior this duo met at the nearby Shambala festival 12 years ago launching their unique electro-folk hybrid musical interplay. They make a special sound which they’ll share on the Main Stage Friday night. See Kurated for more about their story.
Katie Tupper – sultry and soulful, singer-songwriter and producer Tupper hails from Saskatoon. She’s created some buzz among my younger friends. She says, “The lyrics that I’m finding the easiest to write at the moment are very coming of age which I think a younger crowd gravitates to.”
South Africa’s BCUC – has been challenging the African National Congress government for more than 20 years for its failure to raise its Black population out of poverty and crime. Their Festival bio says, “The group’s stirring harmonies blend with extended funk and rock grooves that incorporate hip-hop influences and a punk rock energy while continuing to draw deeply on indigenous spiritual traditions.” See Kurated to learn more.
Leif Vollebek – this Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist has an easy and precise way with a song. His lyrics are erudite and his playing intricate. He sings clearly with insight. Vollebek will be one of many highlights on the Friday evening Main Stage. Click to Kurated for more info.
Dobet Gnahoré – this Ivory Coast star has expanded her work from acoustic music to explore and embrace modern Afropop, electronic beats, electric guitar lines and danceable hooks. She opens the Festival Main Stage on Friday night. Watch out! Learn more on Kurated.
PIQSIQ – this Canadian electronic Inuit throat-singing duo draws on tradition to chart a different future for their genre. Says singer Tiffany Ayalik: “I feel like there’s a beautiful momentum that’s happening … where people are seeing how beautiful it is as a practice … to collaborate these sounds with things that you would never think of putting together.” Find out more on Kurated.
Chris Pierce – playing music for all his life, Pierce has earned a greater share of the spotlight in opening for Neil Young. An accomplished and passionate singer-songwriter Pierce is one of those hidden gems who will be in plain view on a Festival stage next weekend.
Krut – the Ukrainian bandura player is “in the forefront of a revival of Ukrainian national culture and in using that culture as a tool of resistance in the confrontation with Russia,” says her Festival biography. The bandura – a 65-string cross between a harp and a guitar – is the national stringed instrument of the Ukraine which she has been playing since age eight.
Dawn Pemberton – a Vancouver musical force who’s been on the scene for almost a decade, Pemberton is a passionate and soulful presence on any stage she graces. Whether it’s jazz, soul, gospel or more this amazing singer does it all and very well.
Gordon Grdina’s The Marrow – esoteric and eclectic, Gordon Grdina calls Vancouver home but he is truly a musical citizen of the world. The JUNO Award-winning oud player brings his new middle eastern/avant jazz ensemble to the Festival. His works draws on Arabic and Persian traditions presented in a jazz-flavoured context.
Wishing you all good times and great listening at the Festival! Hope to see you there.
12 July 2024
