Venue: Gallagher Park
Who: Niki & Scott
Guest Appearances from Shannon, Kay, Jill, Ian & Tiago.
This was our second year as volunteers for the Folk Fest. We were on Liaison Security as well this year, which I think is a perfect fit for us since we get to walk around and help people. We had a total of 20 hours of shifts over the four days, as well as a few hours of site take down. This year there was no Wednesday night fundraising concert as we have raised enough in the last few years to have a bit of as cushion left in the account. The wonderful food was another highlight again this year, the biggest joy of our festival was a dinner with Peter Brown, the hilarious former host of the afternoon show on CBC Edmonton and the producer of The Irrelevant Show. We also forayed into the surprising delicious realm of deep fried oreos and strawberry covered elephant ears from the food vendors.
Here are a few highlights:
Delhi 2 Dublin
Scott and I finally made it to an after party this year, and it was incredible. We got to the concert room about 20 minutes before the band started and mingled a little, then the room just exploded with energy when this high energy indo-celtic-techno music started. I had heard of them a few times on CBC as they are based out of Vancouver, and their live show really delivers. We danced and danced into the wee hours of the night, and had a chat with the band afterwards. Really a fantastic memory of the festival.
Matt Andersen
We caught a few performances with this amazing soulful blues singer. We saw him a few years ago at Myer Horowitz, and his performances this year definitely turned a few heads this year at Folk Fest. He can project his voice so it give you goosebumps, and his fingers fly up and down on the neck of his guitar, defying physics.
The Secret Sisters
Scott heard of these two country singing siblings on Q a few months ago, and we had been looking for a Canadian tour date to check them out. They sing country, but soulful Johnny Cash country, not modern twangy pop country. The look and sound as if they walked out of the 1950s, harmonizing and playing the heart strings of the crowd.
This Scottish singer-songwriter warmed up the crowd during a brief downpour before Brandi Carlisle played. She really had a sweet stage presence, lots of humor and her performance lifter the spirits and the tarpolines of Gallagher Hill of all the soggy patrons. By the end of her set, there was a beautiful rainbow above the hill and smiling faces of all who braved the storm.
Amelia Curran
From Newfoundland, this Canadian Singer Songwriter participated in many different workshops as well as her concert. Her heart-felt lyrics and down-to-earth stage presence make her an endearing performer and a gem in Canadian Music.
Honorable mentions for performances for this year were the amazing repeat performance from last year's sweetheart, Brandi Carlile, the whistling sensation Andrew Bird, k.d. lang and her cover of hallelujah that warmed the hill, Celtic jazz from the McDades, Lissie and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
