Beatroute Magazine BC Print Edition - July 2017

VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL
celebrating 40 years of tradition and diversity
CITY
SHANNON GRIFFITHS
Vancouver has always been a place of
diversity — a desired destination for
both tourists and immigrants around
the world, and a breeding ground for
environmental and social movements
that represent our geographical and
social multiplicities. The Vancouver
Folk Music Festival has thrived in such
a city, and, now in its 40th year, has
firmly established its role in celebrating
diversity and inclusivity.
“There are two distinct kinds of
music that end up sheltering together
under the umbrella of folk music,” says
VFMF co-founder Gary Cristall. “One of
them is purely traditional music; music
that goes back hundreds of years that
essentially comes from rural, pre-capitalist,
non-literate societies… and then
there’s a whole body of song writing
and popular music that doesn’t really
fit into the commercial music industry,
and that too became known as
folk music.” Folk music, which can be
defined as music for and of the people,
has the ability to connect people with
forgotten stories, heritage, and cultural
traditions.
Cristall started the VFMF in 1978 as
a way to “do something that gave people
music that celebrated diversity of
traditions…and music that was going
to change the world or have the ambition
of doing that. Music that was
provocative — music that was saying
something.” A not-for-profit charity
run by volunteers, the VFMF has always
been committed to providing a stage
for authentic and honest artistry — in
one of the most beautiful settings, Jericho
Beach Park, at that.
At first, some criticized the festival
for being too much of a nostalgic
throwback to the free-thinking, freelove
era. Cristall jokes that it seemed
as if the public presumed festivalgoers
to wear tie-dye shirts and Birkenstocks,
without appreciating the core
traditions of folk music itself. After all,
folk music is not to be confined within
current trend or fad — it is much more
substantial than that. But over the last
four decades, the VFMF’s vision has
remained the same: deeply rooted in
values of diversity, equality, inclusivity,
and peace. Cristall recalls artists
from past years who have represented
this well, like Ed Balchowsky — a
one-armed pianist who lost his right
hand in the Spanish Civil War and who
performed at the festival in 1982. The
VFMF, Cristall says, is “a place where
a number of dynamic, contemporary
artists, and different facets of music are
able to reach thousands of people.”
This year, the festival lineup includes
Haitian roots group, Chouk Bwa Libète;
Australian singer-songwriter and Indigenous
advocate Archie Roach, who
combines folk music with the stories
of his ancestors; experimental African
musicians Mbongwana Star, from the
Democratic Republic of Congo; Saskatchewan
singer-songwriter Andy
Shauf; Barenaked Ladies; Missouri-born,
BC-raised blues artist, Jim Byrnes.
These are all people from different
backgrounds, uniting together through
music, storytelling, and emotion to
share a greater experience of humanity.
It is this that demonstrates the
beautiful diversity that is intrinsic to
folk music — and, in the same way, the
Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
Vancouver Folk Music Festival
runs from July 13 – 16 at Jericho
Beach Park.
photo by Florent de La Tullaye
Chouk Bwa Libete
The popular Vancouver festival celebrates 40 years of music and cultural unity
TOM LEE MUSIC
new flagship store helps make musical instrument buying more accessible, dynamic
EMILY BLATTA
Since its inception in 1969, Tom Lee Music has worked to share their
love of music-making by highlighting the beauty of sound, and their
new location does this better now than ever before. The store opened
their new flagship location in June, which features impressive strides
forward in space, technology, and location.
Although just two blocks down from their heritage space on Granville
Street, which they occupied for over 30 years, Tom Lee Music’s
location across from Nordstrom represents a shift from entertainer
to retailer, and makes shopping for musical instruments more accessible.
“Many of our customers live or work downtown, and are much
closer to where we are now,” says Graham Blank, Vice President at
Tom Lee Music Canada. “Whereas our business used to be built
around the building, our new building has been built around our
business.”
With more freedom to work within, Tom Lee Music has managed
to not only modernize their space and brand, but has also succeeded
in creating a more dynamic shopping experience. Behind every detail
is a purpose and intention for how it should interact with shoppers.
Proof of this is their open-concept piano room, which features
state-of-the-art technology and acoustics to bring sound that is worthy
of the quality of their instruments, and, most notably, their collection
of Steinway pianos. Each instrument has its own place, where
it can be experienced full-force and on its own.
Tom Lee Music’s new flagship store is located at 728 Granville
Street. Visit www.tomlee.ca for a complete list of upcoming
workshops, events, and products.
Tom Lee perfects their indelible influence on the Vancouver scene with new location.
July 2017 CITY
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