VFMF 2017 Program Yumpu

40 

Celebrating 40 yea 

rs 

JULY 13.14.15.16 

2017 

JERICHO BEACH PARK

CHAN CENTRE PRESENTS SERIES 

The Blind Boys of Alabama 

with Ben Heppner I SEP 23 

The Gloaming I OCT 15 

Zakir Hussain and Dave Holland: 

Crosscurrents I OCT 28 

Ruthie Foster, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, 

and Carrie Rodriguez I NOV 8 

The Jazz Epistles: Abdullah Ibrahim 

and Hugh Masekela I FEB 18 

Lila Downs I MAR 10 

Daymé Arocena and 

Roberto Fonseca I APR 15 

Circa: Opus I APR 28 

BEYOND WORDS SERIES 

Kate Evans: Threads I SEP 29 

Tanya Tagaq and Laakkuluk 

Williamson Bathory I MAR 16+17 

SUBSCRIPTIONS 

ON SALE NOW! 

SAVE UP TO 25% 

DAYMÉ AROCENA 

THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA 

RUTHIE FOSTER 

JIMMIE DALE 

GILMORE 

CARRIE RODRIGUEZ 

TANYA TAGAQ 

chancentre.com

Ce 

le40 

brating 40 yea 

rs 

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

Presented by the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society, 

a registered non-profit organization incorporated under 

the Societies Act of British Columbia. 

The society is a Canadian registered charity: 

#11926 1030 RR 0001. 

Mailing Address 

#230 – 275 East 1st Avenue 

Vancouver, British Columbia 

Canada, V5T 1A7 

Phone 604.602.9798 

Fax 604.602.9790 

Email: info@thefestival.bc.ca 

Web: www.thefestival.bc.ca 

PROGRAM 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival Publisher 

Gwen Kallio, John Endo Greenaway, Linda Tanaka Editors 

John Endo Greenaway Design & Layout 

Gary Cristall, Valdine Ciwko Performer Biographies 

& Artist Dedications 

Wayne Arthurson, Gary Cristall Contributing Writers 

Ola Volo 2017 Illustrations 

Lorne Mallin Copy Editing 

Mitchell Press Printing 

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society gratefully 

acknowledges that the Festival takes place on unceded 

indigenous lands belonging to the Coast Salish People, 

including the territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, 

and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. We raise our hands to you 

– O’Siem. 

Information contained in this program is subject to 

change without notice – kind of like life. 

© Vancouver Folk Music Festival 2017 

Printed in Canada by Mitchell Press Ltd. 

Acknowledgements ..................................................... 2 

Festival Raffle ................................................................ 3 

Welcome ........................................................................ 4 

VFMF Staff & Board .................................................. ... 5 

Festival Info ................................................................... 9 

Sharing Common Ground...........................................10 

Onsite Services ............................................................ 11 

Festival Endowment Fund ........................................ .12 

Help Pete Power On! ...................................................13 

Festival Merchandise + CD Tent ................................15 

Environmental Stewardship .......................................16 

Accessibility Services ..................................................17 

VFMF in the Community ............................................20 

Friends of Pete ............................................................85 

Volunteers ................................................................... 87 

PERFORMERS & SCHEDULES 

Evening Main Stage Emcees ......................................21 

Thursday Night Concert ............................................22 

Performer Schedules..................................................24 

Artist Bios .............................................................. 27-73 

Friday Schedule .......................................................... 47 

Saturday Schedule .....................................................48 

Sunday Schedule ........................................................49 

Evening Concerts .......................................................50 

Little Folks Village ......................................................92 

Francophone Jam Tent ..............................................94 

Artisan Market ............................................................96 

Folk Bazaar .................................................................. 97 

Community Village .....................................................98 

Food + Beverages ......................................................101 

Site + Food Vendors Map ........................................ 103 

ARTICLES 

Dedications .................................................................... 6 

How the Festival was Raised .................................... 74 

All Our Relations: Beyond Canada 150 ................... 77 

What’s so Special...? ................................................... 78

AP 

fon 

THANK YOU TO OUR 2017 FUNDERS, SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS 

The Employment Program of British Columbia 

is funded by the Government of Canada and the 

Province of British Columbia. 

PMS: 2925 PMS: 3005 

• ENSEMBLE • 

• QUINTET • 

3” arm logo or ches 

5” upper back logo 

telephonic 

• SOLO • 

• TRIO • 

• FOUNDATIONS • 

11” front logo 

• MEDIA SPONSORS • 

the evolution of 

• COMMUNITY PARTNERS • 

Buddha Board • Our Social Fabric • Vancouver Community College (VCC) Culinary Arts Program • Doug Alder • Yamaha Canada • Festival du Bois 

Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farms • St Mary's Kerrisdale Church • All Seasons Mushroom Farms • BC Fresh • Bunge Foods 

Western Rice Mills • Renegade Productions Inc. • Nimbus School of Recording & Media 

THANK YOU TO 

The City of Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation for allowing us to again make beautiful Jericho Beach Park our festival home. 

The staff of the City of Vancouver for their assistance with building permits, parking and a variety of other items. 

The Jericho Garrison and Jericho Hill Centre and Gym for their assistance with our parking needs. 

2 Vancouver Folk Music Festival 2017

1 

FESTIVAL RAFFLE 2017 

1 TICKET FOR $5 

Waterway Houseboats 

Experience Canada’s best houseboating 

on spectacular Shuswap 

Lake! Head to Sicamous and board a 

luxurious, hot-tub equipped Genesis 

70 Houseboat that sleeps up to 16. 

Makes for a great vacation or family 

reunion. Good for 4 day/3 night midweek 

or 3 day/2 night weekend trip 

for the 2017/18 Season. Value: $4445 

WIN FABULOUS PRIZES! 

3 TICKETS FOR $10 

2 

Electric Scooter from Motorino 

Electric Look cool while being 

environmentally aware. Cruise around 

town in style with a Motorino XPi! 

Value: $2,450 

Family Pack of Blundstone Boots 

5 from Tin Shack Make your whole 

family’s feet happy with a pair 

of stylish and well-crafted 

Blundstones! Includes 4 pairs 

of boots (2 adult, 2 children). 

Value: $1,000 

Two-Night Weekend Getaway on Cortes Island from 

7 Hollyhock Enjoy a stay for two on beautiful Cortes Island, 

B.C. Includes meals, special events and access to amenities. 

Enjoy the serenity and beauty of Hollyhock Lifelong Learning 

Centre. Value: $786 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

3 Ultimate Festival Experience 

Includes two weekend passes to the 

2018 VFMF, meals and coveted swag. 

Value: $1,100 

Norco VFR 3 Commuter Bike from 

4 Bike Doctor Go green and get 

fi t with this hybrid bike! It will make 

tackling Vancouver’s hectic streets a 

lot more enjoyable and affordable. 

Value: $1,149 

Ultimate Fan Prize Package from 

6 BC Lions Football Club Hear 

those Lions roar in person! Includes 

four club tickets, on-fi eld fan 

experience, and autographed 

memorabilia. 

Value: $850 

Three-Night Weekday Escape on Pender Island from 

8 Arcadia by the Sea Relax in the lovely Hummingbird 

Cabin with two bedrooms, full kitchen, sundeck with scenic 

view and access to pool, hot tub, private dock, unique grass 

tennis court and the surrounding beauty of the Island. 

Value: $600 

Buy from a roving Raffle Seller or visit the Raffle Tent located between the Information Booth and the Donations Tent 

Ticket Draw: Sunday, July 16, 2017 after 9pm on the Evening Concert Main Stage. 480 “1 for $5” tickets & 5280 “3 for $10” tickets printed. Total prize value: $12,380. 

Arcadia 

by the Sea 

Cabins on Pender Island, B.C. 

Chances are 1 in 2,750 (total tickets for sale) to win a GRAND prize. 

BC Gaming license # 96831 

Problem Gambling Help Line 1-888-795-6111 

www.bcresponsiblegambling.ca 

Know your limit, play within it. 19+ to play! 

Funds raised from raffle ticket sales support Festival operations. Good luck and thanks for your support. 

FINE PRINT: WINNERS CONSENT TO THE RELEASE OF THEIR NAMES BY LICENCEE. TICKET BUYERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BE PRESENT AT THE 

DRAW TO WIN. OUT-OF-TOWN WINNERS UNABLE TO CLAIM PRIZE IN PERSON MUST PAY FOR SHIPPING AND INSURANCE. 

2017 Vancouver Folk Music Festival 3

Happy VFMF 40. Welcome to the festival! 

How does a folk music festival get to be 40 years old in these 

days of “commercial,” “target markets,” and “mainstream”? 

First, I believe we’ve made it to 40 because we’re a folk festival. 

The vision that first inspired this festival has kept us grounded 

in a music and a perspective that is a part of us all. We are the 

folk. We hear our lives echoed in so much of this music. No 

matter who we are, across our differences – folk music speaks 

to us. It rings authentic and true. 

Second, we have worked hard to make the festival fresh every 

year, to find great music, amazing traditional and contemporary 

artists with something to say. We musically reinvent ourselves 

each year because it’s a big world out there, full of wondrous 

sounds and voices, and we’re always excited to share them 

with you. 

Third, we’ve gotten this far with a little help from our friends. 

More accurately, a lot of help from a lot of friends. It’s those 

people who, over the years, kept us going through thick and 

thin. Those friends have worked hard, bought tickets, donated, 

loaned, volunteered, sweated, helped and supported this 

festival. So many people have given their all, kept the faith, 

exceeded all expectations, carried us on their shoulders. Some 

of those folks are still with us and some have left the park. All of 

them are owed our profound and sincere gratitude. 

Those are just a few of the reasons why I’m able to write you 

on the occasion of our 40th anniversary; why I join you in 

celebrating this special festival and all that it has meant to us. 

It’s changed lives, inspired us, opened eyes and hearts, and 

brought something rich, meaningful and proud to this city. 

To the festival’s founders, my artistic colleagues, the brilliant 

artists who have given us so much - and everyone who has 

supported this festival and made it possible for the past 40 

years - thank you. 

I’m sure you will all join me in dedicating this festival to the 

future - to all that’s still to come, to the discoveries yet to be 

made - to all that’s made possible by those who have come 

before and are here today. To everyone here this weekend, 

thank you for coming. Enjoy the festival! 

Linda Tanaka, Artistic Director 

For an event to survive for 40 years, it has to have deep 

roots in its community. 

I attended my first Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 1983. 

Sure, I loved the music; I can still hear the sweet sound of Bim 

singing I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry carry across the field, 

the celestial harmonies of Sweet Honey in the Rock from the 

Main Stage, the powerful triumvirate of Frankie Armstrong, Roy 

Bailey and Leon Rosselson. I had never heard anything like it, 

but even more impactful was seeing a thousand volunteers 

sharing the common goal of bringing the music of the world 

to their friends, family, and community. It was a powerful 

experience, and I wanted to continue to be a part of it. 

Now, after all those years, I’m honoured to be the Chair of the 

festival society’s Board of Directors and part of the team that 

is working to see that the festival thrives into the future. I love 

being a member of this board. Our team is dedicated, hardworking 

– and every one of us loves the festival. 

On this, the fortieth anniversary, I think it’s appropriate to thank 

the visionaries who helped launch the festival. The City of 

Vancouver Social Planning Department was instrumental in 

getting the project off the ground. Mitch Podolak convinced 

City staff to take a chance on bringing the Winnipeg Folk 

Music Festival model to Vancouver. The first two years were 

organized under the umbrella of the Planning Department until 

a group of dedicated and spirited folks built it into what you 

experience today. Let’s raise a toast to those folks from the 

city: Ernie Fladdel, Lorenz von Fersen, Frannie Fitzgibbons, and 

Chris Wooten. And to the core group who guided the festival 

in the first twenty or so years: Gary Cristall, Anne Blaine, Brent 

Gibson, Dugg Simpson, and Frances Wasserlein. And to Linda 

Tanaka and her team who have led us for the last ten years – a 

gigantic thank you. 

Since we’re in the mood for thank-you’s, a few more: Thanks to 

the Musqueam First Nation for sharing this beautiful park. To all 

the funders who help make this weekend possible: the City of 

Vancouver Cultural Services branch, Department of Canadian 

Heritage, The Canada Council for the Arts New Chapter 2017 

and Beyond, the BC Arts Council, Creative BC and FACTOR. 

Thanks to musicians who’ve shared their incredible talent, the 

crew that builds the site, the thousands of volunteers, and the 

tens of thousands of music lovers who make their way to this 

beautiful park every year. Have a fantastic weekend! 

Jack Schuller, Chair, Board of Directors 


Back Row (Left to right): Anya Keefe, David Kerr, Ann Hepper, Samantha Medina, Linda Tanaka,Jenelle Molyneux, Kerriann Cardinal, Dawn Mollerup, Gwen Kalio 

Front Row (Left to right): John Endo Greenaway, Susan Browne, Emiko Newman, Blanca Alanis, Petrice Brett, Jenn Bywater. 

2017 FESTIVAL STAFF 

OFFICE: Linda Tanaka Artistic Managing Director • Samantha Medina Operations Manager • Jenelle Molyneux Artistic Associate and 

Administrator • Ann Hepper Bookkeeper • Gwen Kallio Marketing & Publicity Manager • John Endo Greenaway Web and Graphic Design 

• Alyssa Brownsmith Sponsorship & Development Officer • Petrice Brett Volunteer Coordinator • Emiko Newman Volunteer Coordinator 

Assistant • Susan Browne Customer Service Manager • Anya Keefe Food & Beverage Manager • Kerriann Cardinal Special Events 

Coordinator • Dawn Mollerup Business Operations Assistant • Jenn Bywater Youth & Community Outreach Coordinator • Sarah Wall 

Media Assistant • Apolline Larhant Programming Assistant • Sophia Trisoglio Operations Assistant • Blanca Alanis Festival Intern • 

Larissa Zeppke Festival Intern. SITE: David Kerr Site Manager • Jeremy Baxter Site Technical Director • Ken Daskewech Production 

Manager • Sabrina LaFrance Folk Bazaar Coordinator. Murray Paterson Marketing Group Social Media and Online Promotion. 

2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Jack Schuller Chair 

Mia Edbrooke Vice-Chair 

Monica Dare Treasurer 

Kathleen Nisbet Secretary 

Anne Blaine 

Jenna Breau 

Bill Hooker 

Chrissy Johnson 

Claire Mohun 

Corbin Murdoch 

Dan Stenning 

(Left to right): Mia Edbrooke, Jenna Breau, 

Claire Mohun, Bill Hooker, Kathleen Nisbet, 

Jack Schuller, Anne Blaine 

Missing: Chrissy Johnson, Monica Dare, 

Corbin Murdoch, Dan Stenning 


Let’s pause to remember some very special people, both past performers and festival volunteers, who left us in the last 

year. We honour their memories and thank them for their valuable contributions. 

Rosalie Sorrels 

con carnes in the world. She had a vast store of questionable 

jokes. She sang one of Malvina’s about what she wanted folks 

to do after she died – plant an apple tree. Some of you might 

want to do that. That would be a lovely way to remember her. 

James Cotton 

Rosalie was one of the generation of folk singers who 

connected the first generation of the folk revival with wherever 

we are now. The second generation – hers, along with Dave 

Van Ronk, Tom Paxton, Jim Kweskin (here at this festival) Utah 

Phillips (a close comrade of Rosalie’s since the mid fifties), 

Bob Dylan, Carolyn Hester, Sylvia Tyson and other names – 

became synonymous with folk music. They knew the Peoples’ 

Songs veterans and influenced a whole mess of kids and 

that’s one big reason why we’re here today. Rosalie started 

recording in 1961 with a collection of traditional folk songs from 

Idaho and Utah on Folkways Records. They described her as a 

“dedicated folklorist and true Idaho icon” and she was. There 

weren’t many songs she didn’t know and know about. She 

was a lot more, though. She left a bad marriage and hit the 

road with a brood of kids, supporting them as an itinerant folk 

singer. 

She was an early feminist and put together one of the first 

collections of songs by and about women. She was an activist 

proud to sing the militant songs of Aunt Molly Jackson. Later 

she started writing her own and singing compositions by other 

contemporary writers. She was a friend of Malvina Reynolds 

and sang and recorded many of her songs. Townes Van Zandt 

appeared at this festival because Rosalie pestered him until he 

finally called. His introduction was simply “Hello. Rosalie made 

me call.” Rosalie performed here solo and with the wonderful 

trio of herself, Terry Garthwaite and Bobby Louise Hawkins. 

She made two fine records on the Folk Music Festival record 

label: Then Came the Children and Be Careful, There’s a Baby 

in the House. She was family. She made one of the finest chile 

James Cotton got his start in an almost mythological way. 

His first gig was as a water boy on a plantation in his native 

Mississippi. After delivering water to the cotton pickers, he 

would entertain them by playing his harmonica. An orphan at 

nine, Cotton was introduced to Sonny Boy Williams, another 

legend. He played Sonny Boy’s signature tunes at him and 

soon was opening for the older player, performing on the 

porches of speakeasies he wasn’t allowed in to. He recorded 

for Sun Records at the age of 15 – yes, the one where Elvis got 

his start. 

By his early 20s, he was Little Walter’s replacement in Muddy 

Waters’ band, recording for Chess Records. In 1965, Samuel 

Charters, blues writer and record producer, made a trio of 

records for Vanguard Records, Chicago, The Blues Today. 

They introduced Chicago blues to a whole new generation 

and demographic and a couple of years later the James Cotton 

Blues Band was touring as blues superstars as well as opening 

for Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Santana, the Grateful Dead and 

other rock super groups. 

Famous for his harmonica pyrotechnics, his bands were 

impeccable, full of great young players who James gave a 

break to, as had been given to him. At the heart of it was the 

music from the Deep South expressed through the aesthetic 

of the urban north. James Cotton – blues master. 


Angus Grant 

Angus Grant died far too 

young. That said, he got 

a lot done in his short life. 

Angus was the leader of 

Shooglenifty, a band that 

brought a high energy style 

of music, sometimes called 

techno ceilidh, to the shores 

of Jericho Beach. His music 

took him everywhere and in 

front of everyone. He played for Nelson Mandela, played with 

Lebanese musicians in Beirut and joined up with Rajasthani 

dhol drummers in Glasgow at the Commonwealth games. Not 

bad for a folk fiddler. 

Born in the Scottish Highlands, his father was a fiddler and his 

uncle gave him his first one at the age of four. Not exactly in his 

father’s tradition, Angus later gave up the fiddle for an electric 

guitar and punk. In the mid-eighties he was asked to dig out 

his fiddle for a jam session and came back. Shooglenifty, 

founded in the early nineties, combined both the energy of 

punk rock with the aesthetics of traditional music. It turned out 

they were siblings not enemies. Angus gave a lot. He will be 

well remembered. 

Harry Paine 

They say an army travels on 

its stomach. If that is so and 

we believe it is, Harry was 

a four star general. Born 

in England and trained as 

a mason, Harry arrived in 

Canada in 1951. 

He soon found his way 

to revolutionary socialist 

politics – a small Trotskyist 

organization as well as the 

CCF. As the organization 

grew Harry became the 

organizer of the food for 

banquets celebrating various events, including the Russian 

Revolution dinners. He also loved folk music and hung around 

the Bohemian Embassy where a young kid named Mitch 

Podolak ran the refreshment stand. 

When Mitch started the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974, Harry 

was recruited to run the kitchen. He made sure the artists 

and volunteers were well fed with imaginative creations. He 

did the same for the first two Vancouver Folk Music Festivals, 

establishing a tradition that continues. It is something the 

Canadian folk festivals became famous for. A true working 

class hero and lifelong activist, Harry was still organizing until 

his last breath. 

Photo: John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press Files 

Henry Charles 

We lost a strong local spirit in 

January. 

Proud elder and historian of the 

Musqueam First Nation, Henry 

Charles was one of five remaining 

fluent speakers of Hul’qumi’num’, 

the Musqueam language. He 

worked regularly as a public 

speaker, storyteller, and Aboriginal 

greeter, welcoming people to the 

traditional Musqueam territories. 

Henry learned the Musqueam 

language as a conscious act to 

help it survive, to ensure there 

was someone to speak for his family. This was in the spirit of 

Henry’s lineage – the Charles family has been working to keep 

the Musqueam culture alive for over a century. 

Five years ago, Henry began leading First Nations history walks 

at the festival. Annually since then, he’s led three treks across 

the back of the park and through the woods in collaboration 

with Celia Brauer. Henry told stories – in the Musqueam 

language and English – about his family, his people and his 

culture. Celia shared her knowledge of natural history. Henry 

also helped open the festival on Friday nights – offering a 

warm welcome to all. 

We will miss Henry very much this year, but we know his spirit 

will still walk the land. 

Meiko (Meikalo) Assoon 

Meiko loved music and dancing, his 

whole body moved to whatever music 

he heard from the time he was born, 

so volunteering at the festival helped 

feed his passion. He first participated 

in the VFMF when his parents started 

volunteering in 1981. He was seven. 

They were in kitchen prep, and when 

old enough, he helped. He loved 

assisting his mom as a “swamper” 

when she started doing food pick-ups. 

Then he volunteered in the Food Area 

– first at the gate then delivering/serving ice so he could listen 

to the nearby stage. 

Meiko studied music, sang with the Cap Singers, played sax 

with the jazz group as well as the Cap band, and performed 

several seasons with TUTS. While music was always in his life 

– playing, deejaying, raving, listening, sharing, performing – he 

actually did his degree in psychology research (with Honours). 

He shared his joy in the experience of music with everyone 

in his life, and they will all feel his presence dancing at Main 

Stage this year. 


John Robert Seifred (JR) 

Born in Winnipeg, John moved to 

Vancouver from Alberta in 1982 to 

work with Canada Post and be closer 

to his family. Everywhere he lived, John 

contributed to the betterment of his 

community. He helped establish the 

first library in Edson, AB, the Stanley 

Noble Housing Co-op in Vancouver – 

and volunteered in soup kitchens, for 

both the VFMF and Children’s Festivals, 

and in recycling and greening initiatives. 

We were fortunate that John found a home at our festival. 

In the nineties, he volunteered with the Access Committee, 

then in the Record Tent where he got special mention for his 

good works, as well as with Security Team G among other 

contributions. 

The deep esteem in which John held the festival and what it 

represents became apparent after his passing in August of last 

year. Members of the VFMF board and staff were honoured 

to attend his service, meet his family, and hear stories of 

John and the values he held. John’s generous bequest to the 

festival prompted us to initiate an Endowment Fund to ensure 

the festival continues long after we are all gone. Thank You 

John – you left us more than money, inspiring us to create 

something that we all hope will last forever. 

Dan Maas 

Dan was a 39 year supporter of the VFMF who attended every 

festival. An articulate advocate for accessibility, you’d see Dan 

everywhere on the site in his electric wheelchair, rain or shine, 

chatting with his wide circle of friends. You’d also find him 

stage-side until the very end of the very last act - a trooper 

in life and at the festival. Dan will miss his first festival since it 

began this year, but his positive influence will live on. 

Bergen Amren 

Called by his daughter Naomi a "Bergen 

of all trades", Bergen Amren had many 

skills and careers and travelled the 

world. One could well add "valued 

festival volunteer" to what is a long list 

of his interests and accomplishments. 

Bergen was an active member of the 

festival's Transportation Committee, doing "prefest pickups" at 

least as early as 2005, and again from 2013-15. He also spent 

four years working on the festival's Administration Committee, 

starting in 2008 - and is remembered fondly and well by those 

who knew and worked with him during his time with at the 

VFMF. 

And, following his daughter's advice, we'll "enjoy a craft beer 

(something dark and/or hoppy)", and "a good black cup of 

quality coffee" and, in toasting Bergen's memory, thank him for 

his contribution to the festival. 

Tony Beasley 

Tony Beasley volunteered for the 

Festival from 2006 through 2016.. For 

nine of those years he was the Crew 

Chief on Main Stage – and in 2015, he 

assumed the role of Stage Manager. 

For a good part of that time, Tony was 

faced with some serious physical 

challenges: diabetes, kidney disease, a heart condition. 

Despite it all, he was a consummate pro, patient, reliable, and 

disciplined in his approach to running his stage. 

Tony passed quietly at his home on the 6th of April this year. 

He always made a point of enjoying his time at the Festival 

- and he put in a lot of hard work so that we could too. The 

Festival, and particularly Main Stage, was better because of his 

contributions. Tony’s great example, and his spirit, will be with 

us this year to help us carry forward. He will be missed. 

Ed Olson 

Ed Olson was a talented and long-time volunteer on the festival’s Photo Committee. He was 

born and raised amid a large and loving family on Kits point – almost within spitting distance 

of the festival site. After studying at UBC, he became a teacher and settled in at Sir Winston 

Churchill Secondary School, spending the next 30 years as an Industrial Education instructor. 

Because of the wonderfully long summer vacations teachers get, Ed eventually stopped 

volunteering at the festival to spend his summers traveling and taking pictures across Canada, 

the US, and around the world. Ed was a wonderful photographer who could capture the 

dynamics of a large crowd as well as the subtleties of our inner selves. He lived life to the 

fullest and enriched and inspired all he knew. We will miss him dearly. 

Note: Ed’s photos can be found throughout this program guide. 


FESTIVAL INFO 

SITE BOX OFFICE 

Thursday 

Friday 

Saturday & Sunday 

GATES THURSDAY 

Gates open 

GATES FRIDAY 

Lottery: 

Gates open 

5:30pm – 9pm 

12:00pm – 10:00pm 

9:00am – 10:00pm 

6:00pm – 10:00pm 

12:30pm 

1:00pm – 10:00pm 

GATES SATURDAY & SUNDAY 

Lottery: 

East Gate open 

THE MUSIC 

Thursday 

Friday 

Saturday + Sunday 

8:30am 

9:00am – 10:00pm 

7:00pm – 10:00pm 

2:00pm – 11:00pm 

10:00am – 11:00pm 

EVENING CONCERT MAIN STAGE 

Thursday 

Friday – Saturday 

Sunday 

7:00pm – 10:00pm 

5:00pm – 11:00pm 

5:30pm – 11:00pm 

Note: All schedules and times subject to 

change without notice. Life happens, eh? 

Check the white boards at the Main Gate and 

Information Tent on site for onsite updates. 

LITTLE FOLKS VILLAGE 

Friday 


THE FRANCOPHONE TENT 

Friday 


FOOD AREA 

Friday 

Saturday 

Sunday 

2:00pm – 5:00pm 

10:00am – 5:00pm 

3:00pm – 6:00pm 

11:00pm – 6:00pm 

1:00pm – 11:00pm 

9:00am – 11:00pm 

9:00am – 10:00pm 

ARTISAN MARKET & COMMUNITY VILLAGE 

Friday 


FOLK BAZAAR 

Friday 


1:00pm – 11:00pm 

9:00am – 11:00pm 

1:00pm – 10:00pm 

10:00am – 10:00pm 

TICKETS AND WRISTBANDS 

One-day tickets and weekend passes are exchanged for wristbands at the East 

and West gates. Your wristband allows you to come and go from the Festival 

site from opening until closing, but only if it’s on your wrist. Your wristband is 

your access to the Festival – please do not remove it. 

Wristbands are NON-TRANSFERABLE 

VFMF Ticket Policy 

Tickets are purchased for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, not for a specific performing artist. Individual artist cancellations are 

not grounds for a refund. All ticket sales are final. 

GATE LOTTERY FOR FIRST ACCESS TO SITE 

A gate lottery will again be in effect to ensure safe first access to 

the festival site – and to the best seats at main stage: July 14, 15, 16! 

• Lottery gates: East (main) gate and access services gate 

• To participate, please arrive during the designated lottery times: 

FRIDAY 

Ballot entry: 12:00pm – 12:30pm 

Lottery draw: 12:30pm 

SATURDAY & SUNDAY 

Ballot entry: 8:00am – 8:30am 

Lottery draw: 8:30am 

Here’s how it works: 

• One lottery ballot per person. 

• Access is for one person/one tarp per ballot. 

• Winning lottery ballot numbers drawn 30 

minutes before gates open. 

Please note: early arrival does not better one’s 

odds and overnight camping is not permitted. 

For full details, see the signs at east (main) gate, 

ask a gate volunteer, or go to 

thefestival.bc.ca/lottery. 

Good luck! 


SHARING COMMON GROUND AT 

WORKSHOP & MAIN STAGES 

• There are essentially two sets of folks at stages: those who 

want sit and watch the music, and those who want to stand 

– and even dance. If you’re standing in front of someone 

sitting, they can’t see the stage. Please either sit down 

as well, or move to a location where you’re not blocking 

someone’s view. Thank you! 

• If you bring your own lawn chair, please be very aware of any 

sight lines you might be blocking. Consider a low backed 

beach chair instead – or locate yourself to a spot where this 

isn’t an issue. 

• Every year, enthusiastic fans arrive early so that they can 

be the first to spread their blankets in front of Main Stage. 

Please respect their claims. At the end of each day, all these 

little homesteads will be taken away – so the fun can begin 

again the next day. Note: Blankets & tarps cannot exceed 8’ 

X 8’. 

PLEASE . . . 

• Do not bring alcohol or controlled drugs onto the site. 

Alcohol is served in the Big Rock Beer Garden. Imbibe 

responsibly: loud, aggressive, or disorderly behaviour 

may result in removal from the festival. 

• Leave pets at home (service animals excepted). Do 

not tie them to festival gates, or leave them in a car. 

• Audio and video recording of performances is not 

permitted. 

• Do not climb the stage or sound equipment. 

• Do not use toilets marked “Universal/Disabled Access/ 

Wheelchair Only” unless you qualify. 

• Allow children and pregnant women first access to 

toilets. 

• Smoking of any kind is prohibited in the park. 

• The Festival reserves special areas for persons 

with disabilities & their companions, seniors, 

and those with mobility challenges. These 

roped-off areas are located at the sides of day 

stages and on a platform at the Main Stage. 

Please keep these spaces clear for those who 

need them. Thank you! 

GET SOCIAL 

VanFolkFest 


INFORMATION TENT 

AUDIENCE SERVICES 

LOST + FOUND • BAG CHECK 

The Information Tent is located near the pond beside the 

Festival Merchandise & CD Tent, west of the Main Stage. 

Helpful volunteers in the Info Tent can assist you with: 

• Reuniting lost kids and loved ones with their families and 

friends 

We suggest: Ensure your children or those in your care 

know the location of the Info Tent (west of the Main Stage, 

near the pond), so you can connect there if separated. 

• Finding your lost items 

• Accepting items you have found 

• Storing your stuff in our bag check ($1/hour or $10/day) 

• Passing along messages to friends and family 

• Helping you find your way around the Festival 

• Providing transit and city information 

• Recording your comments and suggestions 

ONSITE SERVICES 

NEED HELP? 

ASK A VOLUNTEER 

If you need assistance or have any questions not covered 

here – ask a volunteer! We have over 1,400 friendly 

folks ready to help. (Hint: they’re wearing Volunteer t-shirts!). 

Lost & Found Items not claimed during the Festival weekend will 

be held at the Festival office until August 19, 2017. All unclaimed 

lost & found items are donated locally and internationally. To 

find your lost stuff after the Festival weekend, contact us at 

604.602.9798. 

ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES INFORMATION: PAGE 17 

MEDIA 

To set up interviews with artists and organizers, take photos or 

shoot footage, check in at the Media Tent, located near Stage 3 

(see map, page 103). 

If you require medical attention, please visit the First Aid Tent in its new location 

by the Service Gate, at the east end of park by the Food Area. 

First Aid 

NEW LOCATION 

PREVENTATIVE ADVICE: 

• Protect yourself and your loved ones from the sun with hats, sunscreen (SPF 30 

or higher), sunglasses, and protective clothing. 

• Stay hydrated! No bottled water is sold inside the festival, so please bring or buy 

a refillable container. There are water stations located around the park. 

• Keep your shoes or sandals on while strolling or dancing in the park. Be careful of 

uneven ground! 

• Watch out for wasps and bees near the bramble bushes. 


VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL LAUNCHES 

ENDOWMENT FUND 

THIS PAST FALL, THE VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL ESTABLISHED AN ENDOWMENT FUND 

This exciting new development fulfi lls a part of our strategic plan, 

and is destined to become a vital part of the festival’s future. 

As the Fund builds, it will become an important revenue stream 

that will ensure the long-term fi nancial stability and survival of 

the festival - and the continuation of the music and our programs 

for generations to come. All donations to the fund are entrusted 

to the Vancouver Foundation for investment, and the festival 

receives an annual income of 3.5% per year - forever. 

Thanks to the generosity of our friends, we launched the fund 

with nearly $11,000 in individual donations. This was matched 

by the Canadian Culture Investment Program, a federal program 

designed to provide an incentive for non-profi t arts organizations 

to set-up these types of funds. 

It’s a good start! 

In order to make this support enduring, meaningful – and 

substantive – we need to continue to grow this Fund. Your 

support would help us do just that. 

We invite you to be a part of ensuring a brighter future for the 

festival with a donation that will grow! 

THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE: 

AT THE FESTIVAL 

Visit the Donate for Pete’s Sake Tent and make your donation 

payable to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society 

(memo: Endowment Fund). 

ANY TIME OF YEAR 

Visit us online at www.thefestival.bc.ca/endowment-fund 

Write a cheque payable to the 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society, memo: Endowment Fund 

Mail or drop it off: 

#230 – 275 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver BC, V5T 1A7 

No matter how you choose to donate, you will receive a charitable 

tax receipt. The festival is a registered charity. We appreciate any 

contribution, but tax receipts will only be issued for donations of 

$20 or more. 

Questions? Contact board@thefestival.bc.ca 

Thank you! 

A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE ENDOWMENT FUND’S FOUNDING SUPPORTERS 

YOUR GENEROSITY HELPED KICKSTART A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THE VFMF 

Anne Blaine 

Jean Blaine 

Anne Budgell & Gordon Watson 

Gary Cristall 

Monica Dare 

Pat Davitt 

Mia Edbrooke 

Catherine Fallis 

Patty Gibson 

John Endo Greenaway 

Joyce Hinton 

Bill Hooker 

Linda Uyehara Hoffman 


Kris Klassen 

Diane Kadota 

Ernie & Lynn Ledgerwood 

Lucie McNeill 

Rod Mickleburgh 

Amy Newman 

Katie Ormiston 

Paul Richardson 

Leon Rivers-Moore 

Jack Schuller 

Zool Suleman 

John Siefred Legacy 

Dan Stenning 

Linda Tanaka 

PLANNED GIVING 

We invite you to stop by the Donate: For Pete’s Sake! Tent to pick up a brochure about Planned Giving - including the festival 

(including, potentially, our new Endowment Fund) in your will or on your life insurance. 

If you decide this is what you want to do, let us know? 

Joe Perez 

Then we can say “thanks”, and show you our appreciation. 


HELP PETE POWER ON! 

Have you ever thought about how a festival actually happens in a park? 

You see cables running across the ground, enjoy the 

sound and brilliant lights on festival stages. But have you 

ever wondered where the electricity that powers the 

festival comes from – or even what it costs? 

Well, let us tell you! Bringing in temporary power for 

VFMF weekends has been costing the festival upwards of 

$70,000 a year! The math: that’s around $700K over the 

last 10. That’s a lot. 

But here’s some good news. We now have an incredible 

opportunity to make a change for the better. 

Watt?, you might ask. 

By bringing in new, permanent infrastructure, supported 

by BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, we can keep 

the festival fully amped into the future AND save up to 

$45,000 each year. 

We need to get started on this project in the fall, and it 

requires a considerable capital investment. We’re asking 

for your help to make this positive charge happen! 

Please donate to Pete’s Power Fund to bring power 

to the park in a safe, sustainable, and affordable 

way. Your generous and crucial contribution will 

help keep the music playing for years to come! The 

best time to give is now. 

• Any donation over $20 receives a tax-deductible 

receipt 

• Give $40 or more at the Donate for Pete’s Sake! 

Tent onsite on festival weekend and score a limited 

edition 40th anniversary button to proudly sport 

• Goal: $100,000 by September 30, 2017 

Donate today at the Donate for Pete’s Sake! Tent 

on site, or go online to www.thefestival.bc.ca under 

“DONATE.” 

WANT TO SUPPORT THE FEST? LET US TELL YOU THE WAYS! 

Become a Sustaining Donor 

Making a monthly donation to the festival is easy on your 

pocketbook, and means a whole lot of good for the festival! If you 

sign up for a minimum of $10/month or more by noon on Sunday 

July 16, you and a guest will be invited to Pete's Treat: Meet and 

Greet, a donor appreciation social. Just mosey over to the Donate: 

For Pete’s Sake! Tent and you sign up. 

Make a Directed Contribution 

You can choose to direct your support to the Brian Emery Fund, 

established to help bring political artists to the festival. This year, 

the Ramy Essam is here through support from this fund. You can 

also contribute to the Rainy Day Fund so we have money for ... 

you know. 

Buy a Raffle Ticket! Buy a 50/50 Ticket! 

When you buy a ticket (or many tickets) for the Raffle or the 50/50 

draw, you not only support the festival – the festival thanks you – 

you also have a chance to win amazing prizes or cold hard cash! 

Watch for our raffle fairies and 50/50 ticket sellers around the 

site, or stop by the Tent we talk about above. 

Help us find a home! 

The festival moves offices a lot! It’s expensive and time consuming. 

The festival needs a permanent place to call our own. If you have 

a house or condo you’d like to give us, well, what could we say 

except “yes, please”. Leads and suggestions are welcome too! 


STAGE 2 friday 2 pm 

WORKING CLASS 

HEROES 

Working class heroes 

are everywhere. 

RHIANNON GIDDENS 

And we’re proud to celebrate 

every one of them 

on the occasion of 

Woody Guthrie’s 

birthday and the 

40th anniversary 

of the Vancouver Folk 

Music Festival. 

RAMY 

ESSAM 

BILLY 

BRAGG 

Join us for a special tribute 

to the unsung heroes among us 

who are helping build a 

better world. 

GRACE 

PETRIE 

SI 

KAHN 

SPONSORED BY 

BC Government Employees’ Union 

BC Teachers’ Federation 

Canadian Union of Public Employees 

Canadian Union of Public Employees – BC 

Hospital Employees’ Union 

Public Service Alliance of Canada – BC 

HEU 

HESU

FESTIVAL MERCHANDISE 

OFFICIAL VFMF TEES • HOODIES • WATER BOTTLES • MUGS 

CARDS • BAGS • CHAIRS • HATS & OTHER FABULOUS ITEMS 

Take a piece of the festival home or pick up a gift for 

someone you like! 

Shop early and often – some items sell out fast! 

shirts gifts bottles chairs 

CD TENT & PERFORMER 

MERCHANDISE 

CDs • VINYL • PERFORMER TEES 

Buy 2017 performer CDs & merch – some only 

available here! 

Time is short! Stocks are limited and sell out fast! 

By 8:00pm Sunday, only Sunday evening concert 

stage artists’ merch will be available. 

Get your CD’s autographed – see schedule below. 

HOURS 

SIGNINGS 

FESTIVAL 

ARTIST 

CD SIGNING 

SCHEDULE SATURDAY 

BOTH TENTS ARE LOCATED BY THE MAIN STAGE 

THURSDAY 6:00pm – 10:00pm 

SATURDAY 10:00am – 10:00pm 

Musicians will be dropping by the CD Tent 

all weekend to sign your swag. 

FRIDAY 

4:00 Rhiannon Giddens 

5:15 Mélisande [électrotrad] 

6:45 Ellika (Frisell) Solo (Cissokho) Rafael (Sida) 

7:30 Blick Bassy 

8:00 WESLI 

8:15 Ganga Giri 

8:30 John K. Samson & the Winter Wheat 

Noon Alpha Yaya Diallo/Bafing 

12:30 The Mae Trio 

1:45 Korrontzi 

2:00 Jake Morley 

3:00 Nive & The Deer Children 

3:15 Jonah Blacksmith 

3:45 The Slocan Ramblers 

4:15 Luke Wallace 

5:15 Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders 

5:30 Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally Band 

6:00 Corey Harris and Alvin Youngblood Hart 

6:15 Blind Pilot 

6:45 Ramy Essam 

7:30 Aoife O’Donovan & Noam Pikelny 

7:45 ILAM 

FRIDAY 1:00pm – 10:00pm 

SUNDAY 10:00am – 9:00pm 

SUNDAY 

Noon Jim Byrnes 

12:15 Will Varley 

12:30 Si Kahn 

12:45 Cris Derksen Trio 

1:00 Paul McKenna 

2:00 Begonia 

2:30 Emmanuel Jal 

2:45 Roy Forbes 

3:00 Eilen Jewell 

3:45 Matt Holubowski 

4:00 Ferron & her All Star Band 

4:15 Tomato Tomato 

4:30 Jim Kweskin & Meredith Axelrod 

4:45 RURA 

5:30 Grace Petrie 

5:45 Jim Bryson 

6:00 Chouk Bwa Libète 

6:45 Sidestepper 

7:30 Leif Vollebekk 


ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP 

The VFMF is committed to raising awareness about our 

environment, supporting sustainability initiatives, and practicing 

good stewardship. We strive to keep Jericho Beach Park clean 

and keep our impact to a minimum, aiming for a zero waste 

festival. 

We thank our partners in this endeavor: Big Rock Brewery and 

Recycling Alternative. 

BIKE, CARPOOL, TRANSIT, WALK 

Jericho Beach Park is easily accessible by a number of 

ecofriendly options: public transit, carpooling, biking and 

walking. 

Our secure bike lockup service is only $2! 

(and located right at the East (Main) Gate) 

PROTECTING THE PARK 

Jericho Beach Park is home to a variety of wildlife. The sensitive 

marsh area at its centre has many inhabitants: ducks, herons, 

bullfrogs, dragonflies, turtles and lots of plants. 

TO MINIMIZE OUR IMPACT ON THE PARK, PLEASE DON'T 

• pick plants or fl owers or remove plant material 

• enter the pond or pee in the pond 

• feed the wildlife 

ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION 

THE NATURE COMMITTEE 

While you're at the festival, make sure 

to stop by the Nature Committee Tent, 

located by the pond near Stage 3, and learn 

something fascinating about what lives in 

the ocean, feeds in the marsh, and grows 

around our amazing park! Visit the salt 

water aquarium and come face to face with 

creatures native to the waters off Jericho 

Beach. There will be a daily clean-up of the 

marsh. The Nature Committee encourages 

everyone at the festival to enjoy the natural 

beauty of the site and treat it with care. 

16 Vancouver Folk Music Festival 2017 

NO BOTTLED WATER IS SOLD ON-SITE 

• please bring your own container or 

• purchase a refi llable souvenir water bottle at 

the Merchandise Tent. 

FREE Water stations are located throughout the 

park for refilling your containers 

RECYCLING & COMPOSTING 

THERE ARE RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING 

BINS LOCATED AROUND THE PARK, SO 

• please take your waste items to a zero waste station 

• avoid throwing recyclable items in the garbage 

COMPOSTING TABLEWARE 

COMPOSTABLE CUPS, CUTLERY, STIR 

STICKS, AND STRAWS can be composted at our 

zero waste stations. This includes the polylactic 

acid (PLA) cups used by Big Rock Brewery. Please 

remove the lids and put your cups in the cup sucker 

tubes attached to the zero waste stations. 

REFRESH. REUSE. REPEAT. 

We’re partnering with Big Rock Brewery to offer these great re-useable 

double-walled stainless steel beer mugs for sale at the Merchandise & 

CD Tents and the Beer Garden for $15. Your purchase gets you $1 off 

your first beer!

ACCESSIBILITY 

SERVICES 

SERVICES 

At the VFMF we strive to make our idyllic beachside location 

as accessible as possible to every fan of folk music. A variety 

of services are available to patrons with disabilities or mobility 

challenges, including: 

ATTENDANT TICKET POLICY 

Individuals with disabilities or mobility challenges who purchase 

a full-price weekend or day ticket may bring an attendant or 

companion at no charge. 

ACCESS SERVICES GATE 

Located at the east side of Jericho Beach Park at the end of 

2nd Avenue, accessible from the 4th Avenue transit stop you 

will find: 

• Easily accessible pick-up/drop-off area 

• HandyDART service pick-up and drop-off 

• Limited parking available for those with a designated 

Provincial Access Parking Permit 

• Large-print performance schedules and maps listing 

Accessibility Services 

ACCESS SERVICES TENT 

Located next to the First Aid Tent, this location provides a 

private, shaded rest area for personal care needs. If you 

require a manual wheelchair, a limited number will be available 

for loan, and a space to charge electric wheelchairs can be 

found here too. 

THROUGHOUT THE SITE 

• Priority viewing areas can 

be found at most daytime 

stages for elders and patrons 

with disabilities or mobility 

challenges. Limited priority 

viewing is available near the 

front of the Main Stage (stage 

right) for evening shows. 

• For patrons with disabilities and their companions, a raised 

and covered platform (located near the middle of the Evening 

Concert Main Stage) is available for seating. 

• Access corridors and ramp-accessible washrooms are 

located throughout the site. 

• Service animals are welcome on site. 

• Designated Accessibility Volunteers can also be found 

throughout the festival grounds, and are identifiable by the 

Access logo on the back of their shirts. 

FOR HELPING KEEP THE PARK CLEAN. 

Photo CC by You As A Machine 

Accesibility, 1990. Photo: Anji Smith. 


The Vancouver Folk Music Festival & The Wise Hall present 

Amy Helm 

Sunday, September 17 7 pm 

The Wise Hall 

"steeped in Southern gospel-soul as well as a 

pure roots rock immediacy" 

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival presents 

Songhoy Blues 

Friday, October 27 7 pm 

Biltmore Cabaret 

"Music in Exile – A masterpiece of desert blues, 

blending American guitar licks with Malian groove." 

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival & the National Arts Centre 

in Partnership with The Wise Hall present 

David Myles 

Sunday, October 29 7 pm 

The Wise Hall 

" Flawless musicianship and unforgettable stories." 


The Vancouver Folk Music Festival & the National Arts Centre 

in Partnership with The Wise Hall present 

Christmas Show 

with the Good Lovelies 

FRiday, December 29 7 pm 

The Wise Hall 

tickets: www.thefestival.bc.ca 

All Events 19+

Music and Art! What’s not to love? 

Join Buddha Board & Barbara Bernath at an 

interactive, pop-up, art-activation based on the 

world-wide symbol of the sacred circle. 

Look for the round-installation of painting easels 

– and the boards with a magic twist. Get ready 

to be creatively inspired by the incredible music, 

the gorgeous landscape, and the joy of your own 

ephemeral paintings coming and going, emerging 

and fading, using nothing more than the simple 

elegance of water and your imagination… 

A WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS 

AN ART INSTALLATION TO ADDRESS INTOLERANCE 

Artist Burn Terra is recognized for his large-scale art installations on social, environmental, and political justice 

issues. His “Breaking Wave,” introduced to Burning Man in 2012, paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the 

2011 Japanese tsunami. 

Now, Terra asks us the question, “what would a world without borders look like?” It’s a timely and provocative 

query, given the political rumblings in the US and parts of Europe. Terra’s intent is to evoke thought and 

discussion around opening doors between people rather than closing them; to address the current trend of 

intolerance, which is closing doors to new immigrants in many places around the world. 

You’re invited to participate in this exciting, interactive and evolving art piece by writing your name on a wall of 

open doors along with your own and/or your ancestor’s place of origin. Messaging is encouraged! 

More info: burnterra.com 

FREE 

YOGA 

CLASSES 

Yoga classes are available all weekend to put you in a positive and 

balanced frame of mind. 

We have early, mid morning and afternoon classes available. All levels. No mat required. 

Everyone is welcome – if you have a body and can breathe, you can participate. Join our 

team of certifi ed yoga instructors, connect with your fellow festival-goers, move your 

body, tune into the vibe and have some fun! 

MAIN GATE CLASS TIMES FRIDAY 4:15 TO 4:45pm 

SATURDAY 10:15 to 10:45am | 11:15am to Noon | 4:15 to 4:45pm 

SUNDAY 10:15 to 10:45am | 11:15am to Noon | 4:15 to 4:45pm 


VFMF IN THE COMMUNITY 

In addition to presenting a growing number of concerts year-round, the VFMF coordinates two very special community 

engagement programs just prior to, and at, the festival. The Young Artists Program and the Open Arms Initiative both offer 

opportunities for musicians and the general public to make new connections and for the festival to involve, support and 

positively contribute to our community in new and important ways. 

YOUNG 

ARTIST 

PROGRAM 

The VFMF is again excited to present the Young Artists Program, 

a two-day intensive workshop for aspiring songwriters in their 

mid-teens to mid-20s. The workshop, aimed at those with 

demonstrated talents in songwriting, composition and musical 

performance, provides budding talents the chance to hone their 

skills and learn more about their craft from music veterans. 

This year’s mentors are Lisa and John McLaggan from the 

New Brunswick-based band Tomato Tomato, who share 

songwriting and performing talents, knowledge and 

experience. 

OPEN 

ARMS 

INITIATIVE 

The VFMF is once again excited to welcome newly 

settled Canadians to the festival for their first Canadian 

folk music festival experience – an opportunity to 

welcome new arrivals to the country and community, 

show some folkie hospitality, and get to know about them 

and hear their stories. 

Our guests receive entry to the Festival, transportation, an 

orientation around the site and music, meals, a souvenir 

t-shirt, and a program guide. Your generous support of the 

festival makes this important program possible. 

OAI was created in partnership with local 

community service organizations and made 

possible by the following supporters: 

SAY THANK YOU 

Let the good folks at the City of Vancouver’s 

Board of Parks and Recreation know you 

appreciate coming to the Festival at Jericho 

Beach Park each year! 

Why not write to them to express your gratitude? 

Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation 

2099 Beach Avenue 

Vancouver, BC V6G 1Z4 

pbcomments@vancouver.ca 

David Niddrie 


Grant 

EVENING MAIN STAGE EMCEES 

GRANT LAWRENCE 

Grant has long been a leading voice in Canadian arts and entertainment. He is an awardwinning 

CBC personality, columnist for the Westender, and the author of three books: 

Adventures In Solitude, The Lonely End of the Rink, and his latest, Dirty Windshields: the 

best and the worst of the Smugglers tour diaires. Grant is also a Canadian Screen Award 

winner, the lead singer of the Smugglers, and the goalie for the Flying Vees beer league 

hockey team. He is married to musician Jill Barber, and they live together with their children, 

Josh and Grace, here in Vancouver. This is Grant’s seventh year as Main Stage MC. 

Margaret 

Monique 

Tariq 

MARGARET GALLAGHER 

Margaret is the host of CBC Radio One’s 

Hot Air, CBC’s longest running radio 

program. She has also been a regular 

part of CBC Radio One’s The Early Edition 

since 2001, and was the BC host of CBC 

Radio 2’s Canada Live. Actively involved 

in community outreach, Margaret tirelessly 

donates her time and efforts to many 

Vancouver events. She has won multiple 

awards, including three prestigious National 

RTDNA Dave Rogers Awards for Best Radio 

Feature for Fade to Black (2003), Gail the 

Golden Age Goalie (2011) and No Small 

Feet (2012). She also won a Jack Webster 

Award for Best Feature for The Wayfaring 

Stranger: Lost and Found in Vancouver 

(2015). 

TARIQ HUSSEIN 

As a songwriter and recording artist, Tariq 

has released four full-length albums and 

one EP, and is currently putting the finishing 

touches on a new album slated for release 

in early 2018. He is part of the six-piece 

experimental rock band, Brasstronaut, a 

collaborative project that has received 

accolades in both Canada and Europe. Tariq 

is also currently working on a music memoir 

about growing up as a first generation 

Canadian kid with rock n’ roll dreams. He is 

based in Vancouver. 

MONIQUE POLLONI 

Monique has been employed by CBC 

Radio-Canada since 2001 as a host and 

producer of several different national 

and regional programs, as well as special 

features for both French and English radio 

networks. For many years she hosted a 

daily music show on Radio-Canada called 

Ici Musique. Monique has also worked as 

a freelance radio contributor, an emcee for 

many cultural events, and as a voiceover 

artist. She’s currently working on a very 

special way of interviewing musicians for a 

multi-platform project. Monique’s passions 

include good music, fine wine and the 

Italian Art of Living! 

RENAE MORRISEAU 

Renae has worked in music, theatre, film 

and television since the early 80’s in 

Canada, as well as internationally with her 

singing group, M’Girl. She has received 

cultural teachings through social and 

ceremonial songs and stories with the 

Secwepemc, Okanagan, Nlaka’pamux, 

Cree and Ojibway peoples. In between 

professional and community-engaged 

artistic creations, Renae works to cultivate 

social justice, inclusivity and communitybuilding 

through the power of the arts as it 

relates to reconciliation. 

Renae 

Watch for other special guests on the Main Stage throughout the weekend. 


CANADA FAR & WIDE : GRANDS ESPRITS 

Thursday • July 13 • 7:00pm 

Main Stage 

On this special summer evening, we gather together to celebrate the 

opening night of the 40th anniversary Vancouver Folk Music Festival, and 

to honour Canada's 150th year. 

Performing tonight are some of this country's most talented music artists 

from near and far. Together let's celebrate the words and music of Canadian 

composers who have given us a treasure trove of song. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mesdames et Messieurs, we present Canada Far & 

Wide: Grands Esprits. Enjoy! 

VANCOUVER 

FOLK MUSIC 

FESTIVAL 

CANMORE 

FOLK MUSIC 

FESTIVAL 

REGINA FOLK 

FESTIVAL 

CALGARY 

FOLK MUSIC 

FESTIVAL 

WINNIPEG FOLK 

FESTIVAL 

A SUMMER OF CELEBRATING 

CANADIAN MUSIC 

This year, the artistic directors of five western music fests - the Vancouver, Canmore, Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg Folk Festivals 

– teamed up to curate a live touring project that celebrates the Canadian songbook. 

The idea was to select key, even quintessentially, Canadian-composed songs from a broad and diverse spectrum of voices 

– both historical and contemporary. Then have those songs performed and interpreted live at each festival by seasoned and 

emerging Canadian singers and musicians. 

The denouement of each concert is a beautiful shared moment – an audience sing-along of well-loved songs, lead by Choir! 

Choir! Choir! along with a fifty-person choral ensemble brought together over Facebook 

In Vancouver, the performing artists are: C.R. Avery, Jim Byrnes, Choir! Choir! Choir!, Cold Specks, Cris Derksen, The Funk 

Hunters, Katie Moore, Mélisande [électrotrad], Leonard Podolak, and Women in the Round – with Paul Pigat and his band 

performing with various artists over the evening (Cris Derksen and Mélisande and Choir Choir! Choir! are touring to all five festivals). 

The songs and these performing artists commemorate Canada’s exceptional stories, cultures, artists and people. Through the 

power of the songs and the magic of music festivals, this project invites us all to come together, to appreciate our history in all its 

complexity – and the strength of our diversity. 

PMS: 2925 PMS: 3005 


PERFORMER SONG COMPOSER 

Women in the Round O Siem Susan Aglukark & Chad Irschick 

Cris Derksen Testimony Ferron 

Mélisande (électrotrad), Cris Derksen Rebellion Arcade Fire 

& The Funk Hunters 

Leonard Podolak Barrett’s Privateers Stan Rogers 

The Sojourners Sonny’s Dream Ron Hynes 

Katie Moore Heart Like a Wheel Anna McGarrigle 

(Kate & Anna McGarrigle) 

Mélisande (électrotrad) Les Américains Madame Bolduc 

C.R. Avery Sex Kills Joni Mitchell 

Women in the Round Constant Craving KD Lang & Ben Mink 

Katie Moore Song for a Winter’s Night Gordon Lightfoot 

C.R. Avery Bridge Came Tumbling Down Stompin Tom Connor 

The Sojourners If a Tree Falls Bruce Cockburn 

Katie Moore Hasn’t Hit Me Yet Jim Cuddy & Greg Keelor 

(Blue Rodeo) 

Women in the Round Rise Up Billy Bryans, Lauri Conger, Lorraine 

Segato,Steve Webster (Parachute) 

and Lynne Fernie 

C.R. Avery At the Hundreth Meredian Gord Downie & Rob Baker 

(The Tragically Hip) 

INTERMISSON 

Mélisande (électrotrad), Cris Derksen Tshinanu ‘what we all are Kashtin 

& The Funk Hunters 

Cris Derksen Universal Soldier Buffy Sainte-Marie 

Mélisande (électrotrad) J'ai Planté un Chêne Gilles Vigneault 

Carolyn Mark Brand on My Heart Hank Snow 

Jim Byrnes Snowbird Gene MacLellan 

Cold Specks I Feel It All Feist 

Jim Byrnes River Joni Mitchell 

Carolyn Mark If You Could Read My Mind Gordon Lightfoot 

Cold Specks Helpless Neil Young 

Jim Byrnes Four Strong Winds Ian Tyson 

Carolyn Mark Home for a Rest John Mann & Geoffry Kelly 

(Spirit of the West) 

Mélisande (électrotrad), Cris Derksen, Wavin’ Flag K’naan & Philip Lawrence 

The Funk Hunters & The Sojourners 

Choir!Choir!Choir! Hallelujah Leonard Cohen 

Choir!Choir!Choir! Harvest Moon Neil Young 

Choir!Choir!Choir! Ahead by a Century The Tragically Hip 

Paul Pigat and his band will be backing up various performers over the evening. 

Schedule is subject to change. 


C.R. Avery | 27 

Thu: 7:00pm Main Stage 

Concert: Fri 5:30pm Stage 3 

Fri: 2:30pm Stage 1 

Bahamas | 27 

Concert: Sun 8:05pm Main Stage 

Sun: 10:00am Stage 3 (Afie only) 

Barenaked Ladies | 29 

Concert: Sat 9:55pm Main Stage 

Blick Bassy | 29 

Concert: Fri 6:10pm Main Stage 

Sat: 12:25pm Stage 4 


Begonia | 30 

Concert: Sun 12:50pm Stage 4 



Sun: 3:40pm Stage 5 

Belle Game | 30 




Blind Pilot | 31 



Bob Bossin | 31 

Concert: Sat 1:35pm Stage 2 

Sat: 10:00am Stage 2 



Billy Bragg & Joe Henry | 32 


Fri: 2:00pm Stage 2 (Billy only) 

Fri: 3:35pm Stage 4 (Joe only) 

Jim Bryson | 32 

Concert: Sun: 4:30pm Stage 3 



Sun: 10:00am Stage 3 

Jim Byrnes | 33 



Choir! Choir! Choir! | 33 




Chouk Bwa Libète | 35 


Sat 11:10am Stage 6 



Cold Specks | 35 



Eric Scott 


Shawn Colvin | 36 

Concert: Sun: 6:45pm Main Stage 


Delgres | 37 


Sat 4:20pm Stage 6 

Sun 12:50pm Stage 6 


Cris Derksen Trio | 37 


Concert: Sun 11:20am Stage 1 




Alpha Yaya Diallo + Bafing | 38 





Kathleen Edwards | 38 

Concert: Sat: 8:40pm Main Stage 



Ramy Essam | 39 

Concert: Sat: 5:20pm Stage 5 

Fri: 2:00pm Stage 2 (Ramy & Johan only) 




Sun: 6:25pm Main Stage (Ramy only) 

Ellika Solo Rafael | 39 




Ferron and her All Star Band | 41 


Sat 11:20am Stage 3 (Ferron only) 

Sat 2:45pm Stage 2 (Ferron only) 

Sun: Finale Main Stage 

Roy Forbes | 41 





Sun: Finale on Main Stage 

The Funk Hunters | 42 


Concert: Fri: 8:00pm Stage 3 

Ganga Giri | 42 




Rhiannon Giddens | 43 

Concert: Fri: 8:40pm Main Stage 


Noah Gundersen | 43 




Hillsburn | 44 





Matt Holubowski | 44 





ILAM | 45 




Emmanuel Jal | 45 


Sat 10:00am Stage 1 

Sat 1:40pm Stage 6 


Eilen Jewell | 51 





Jonah Blacksmith | 51 





Si Kahn | 52 

Concert: Sun: 11:20am Stage 3 





Korrontzi | 52 





Jim Kweskin 

& Meredith Axelrod | 53 




Paul McKenna | 53 

Concert: Sun: 10:15am Stage 1 



Sat: 8:20pm Main Stage 


PERFORMER SCHEDULES 


The Mae Trio | 54 

Concert: Sat: 11:10 AM on Stage 2 

Fri: 8:20pm Main Stage 




Carolyn Mark | 55 



Mbongwana Star | 55 

Concert: Sat: 7:25pm Main Stage 



Mélisande (électrotrad) | 56 



Tift Merritt | 56 




Katie Moore and Andrew Horton | 57 

Thu: 7:00pm Main Stage (Katie only) 






Jake Morley | 57 







Native North America | 59 


Fri: 3:50pm Stage 2 (Lloyd only) 

Sat: 2:45pm Stage 2 (Duke & Willy Mitchell only) 

Sun: 12:30pm Stage 1 (Willie Thrasher & Linda, 

Gordon only) 

Nive & The Deer Children | 60 





Aoife O’Donovan & Noam Pikelny | 60 


Sat: 11:20am Stage 3 (Aoife only) 

Sun: 11:20am Stage 4 (Noam only) 

Grace Petrie | 61 

Concert: 4:10pm Stage 1 




Sun: 7:45pm Main Stage 

PERFORMER SCHEDULES 

Leonard Podolak | 61 






Also in Francophone Jam Tent 

The Revivalists | 62 

Concert: Sun 9:25pm Main Stage 

Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally Band | 62 

Concert: 4:10pm Stage 4 



RURA | 63 




Clinton & Lorna St. John | 63 

Concert: Sat 11:50am Stage 5 




John K. Samson 

& the Winter Wheat | 65 

Concert: Fri: 7:25pm Main Stage 

Sat: 10:30am Stage 5 (John & Christine only) 

Sat: 1:50pm Stage 3 (John & Christine only) 

La Santa Cecilia | 65 




Andy Shauf | 66 



Nick Sherman | 66 

Concert: Sat 11:15am Stage 4 




Gabrielle Shonk | 67 





Sidestepper | 67 

Concert: Sun: 5:30pm Main Stage 


The Slocan Ramblers | 68 





The Sojourners | 68 



Tomato Tomato | 69 





True Blues featuring Corey Harris 

and Alvin Youngblood Hart | 69 




Will Varley | 70 

Concert: Sun 10:45am Stage 5 





Leif Vollebekk | 70 





Luke Wallace | 71 




Sat: Sun: 12:00pm Stage 5 

Wesli | 71 




Marlon Williams & the Yarra Benders | 73 


Sat: 11:20am Stage 3 (Marlon only) 

Sat: 3:40pm Stage 5 (Marlon only) 

Sun: 11:40am Stage 2 (Marlon only) 

Women in the Round | 73 



Times and listings are subject to change without notice. 

Please check for any schedule updates on the white boards at the East Gate. 


VISIT DAILYHIVE.COM, VANCOUVER’S TOP SOURCE FOR 

NEWS, FOOD, EVENTS, BUSINESS, SPORTS, AND MORE. 

DAILYHIVEVANCOUVER 

VCBUZZ 

HIGHLIFE 

RECORDS 

331/ 3 YEARS ON COMMERCIAL DRIVE 

highliferecords.ca 

E Highlife TYPESETTER trafiq 

E EIGHTH ISSUE DATE 05_05_16 


FEATURE Jazz Guide PUBLICATION WE 

k the attached ad carefully. The WE is not responsible for any errors unless you advise us now.

C.R. Avery | BC 

Bahamas | ON 

“My life is based on a true story,” C.R. Avery sings in 

Hollywood Movie Blues on his most recent recording, 

sounding like Dylan, 1965. All the Angels Didn’t Scare Me, 

Calgary Hotel Room, A Closed Gas Station, St. Catherine, 

Either the Wallpaper Goes or I Do (Oscar Wilde’s last 

words), The Postmodern Anarchist 

Draft Dodger’s Scrapbook, Insufficient 

Funds of Love – just the titles alone 

from the latest are tantalizing. Each 

one conjures up a set of images and 

feelings and tells a tale of one sort or 

another. C.R. Avery is a storyteller who 

uses a variety of artistic disciplines to 

tell them. Check out his paintings – 

and they are real paintings, not one 

of your newfangled “installations.” 

Check out his books of poetry too – 

Some Birds Walk for the Hell of It or 

38 Bar Blues. Spoken word, music – 

that’s what we’ll get at the festival but 

there’s more if you want to go deeper. 

Born in Smith Falls, Ontario, these 

days he lives on the Drive, in 

Vancouver. One quote suggests he is 

the successor to the Beats and Hunter 

S. Thompson. Other bits of info name 

check Tom Waits, who apparently 

is a fan, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 

legendary poet and Beat publisher. 

His own autobiographical essay is like 

reading a Kerouac novel: “I started 

honing my harmonica playing by 

mimicking James Cotton’s phrases, 

Jimmy Reed’s high tone, and Sonny 

Terry’s locomotive and country hoots… 

Little Walter was the poet… But Sonny 

Boy Williamson’s Don’t Let Your Left 

Hand Know What Your Right Hand’s 

Doin’ was what I wanted to grasp… 

CBC had a late night blues program 

Saturday evening which pulled me 

away from the soft porn on the fuzzy 

French channel… I recorded the songs 

I liked so I’d have them all week to 

practice. My fi rst paid gig was playing 

harmonica for the Sierra Club. A Via 

train took unemployed fi shermen to 

plead with B.C. foresters…” 

Described as “a one man hip hop beatbox blues harmonica 

Americana iconoclast,” C.R. Avery is an epic storyteller in 

the Homeric tradition. 

It’s been seven years since Afi e Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, 

graced the stages of Jericho Beach Park. The name conjures 

up the great Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence but that’s 

not what this Bahamas does. He’s more in the tradition of 

Mississippi John Hurt or maybe Bruce Cockburn, gently 

picking a melodic tune while singing a 

poetic lyric about life’s and love’s ups 

and downs. 

Originally from Barrie, an hour north 

of Toronto depending on traffic, 

Bahamas has been a part of the 

Toronto music scene since he played 

guitar for Feist back in the early years 

of the millennium. His fi rst album 

under his own (adopted stage) name 

was in 2008. Pink Strat got a lot of 

attention and a Juno nomination, and 

Bahamas got a solo career. That’s 

when he played this festival in 2010. 

Since then he’s made a couple more 

records, won a Juno and picked up 

some classy nominations for Adult 

Alternative Album and Songwriter of 

the Year for Barchords and Bahamas 

Is Afi e. The songs of that record are 

diverse testimonies and confessions. 

Some are both, like Little Record 

Girl: “Fell in love with someone on 

a jacket sleeve / Found her in a pile 

of old LPs / And I counted the rings 

on her like a tree / She spun around 

forever 33.” Stronger Than That is a 

song of devotion: “If you’re feelin bad, 

wave your hand at a cab/ And hitch 

a ride to the other side of the town/ 

I’d be standin there to pay the taxi’s 

fare/ And lend an ear, dry the tears of 

a friend who’s down.” The video for 

that one is set at the Strongest Man 

in the World competition. Irony? Selfdeprecation? 

Afi e crafts a deceptively 

simple lyric that goes deeper than it 

might seem. The songs have served 

him well. 

These days Bahamas has a more than 

viable touring career in Canada and 

our neighbour to the south. Those who remember Bahamas’ 

festival debut seven years ago can look forward to a whole 

bunch of new songs, while those who missed him at his 

fi rst festival appearance can introduce themselves to a new 

musical destination. 


Vancouver's leading arts source since 1967. 

Celebrating our 50th Anniversary in 2017. 

#straight50 

need update 

Proud Media Sponsor 

40 th Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

Congratulations from all your friends 

at the Georgia Straight! 

STAY CONNECTED AT STRAIGHT.COM 


Barenaked Ladies | ON 

Years ago there was a band that had a great idea for a name: 

Free Beer. However they soon realized that no club owner 

would put it on the marquee. Barenaked Ladies had better 

luck with theirs! 

It’s just shy of 30 years since the band formed in 1988. It 

took a couple of years for the band to fi ll out into a larger 

ensemble and record an eponymous (that means “same as 

their name”) cassette (your grandparents will explain). Thanks 

in no small part to CBC Radio and host Peter Gzowski, that 

cassette had the honour of being Canada’s fi rst independent 

record to go gold. That was in 1990. Two years later they 

released Gordon on a major label. Gordon contained, among 

other things, the band’s anthemic If I Had $1,000,000. “If I 

had $1,000,000 (If I had $1,000,000 )/ I’d buy you a fur coat 

(but not a real fur coat that’s cruel) / If I had $1,000,000 (If I 

had $1,000,000) / I’d buy you an exotic pet (Like a llama or 

an emu)… / If I had $1,000,000 (If I had $1,000,000) / If I had 

$1,000,000 I’d buy your love.” It was a winning combination of 

pathos and tongue-in-cheek humour. They have made more 

than a dozen other recordings since then, the latest being 

a delightful collaboration with the Afro-American a cappella 

ensemble The Persuasions. 

These days there are four “ladies.” Ed Robertson, guitar, 

vocals; Jim Creeggan, bass, vocals; Kevin Hearn, keyboards, 

guitar, vocals; Tyler Stewart, drums, vocals. While various 

members have taken time for side projects, they are a touring 

band whose live shows are fundamental to their art. Cofounder 

Ed Robertson defi nes the secret of their success and 

longevity, “You’ve got to respect each other, you got to give 

each other space, but you also have to support each other… 

This band learned early on to communicate, right from the 

beginning we didn’t want to burn out. We wanted to keep 

making music… We appreciate what we do more than ever… 

We’re not looking for external validation. We’re enjoying 

working together and we’re doing some of the best shows of 

our entire career.” We’re ready. 

Blick Bassy | FRANCE/CAMEROON 

Countries and cultures are complex things. Take Cameroon, 

a country in West Africa, once colonized by Germany and 

both France and Britain. It is home to at least 230 languages. 

One is Bassa, a Bantu language, and it is in Bassa that Blick 

Bassy sings. 

Bassy is accompanied by an unusual ensemble of guitar, 

banjo, cello and trombone. Oddly – we said it is complex – 

the cellist, Clément Petit, and trombonist Fidel Fourneyon, 

along with Bassy are admirers of the legendary American 

blues guitarist and singer Skip James (Devil Got My 

Woman, Hard Times). They were rehearsing some songs in 

homage to him when they were heard by folks at the record 

company No Format, whose office was upstairs. This is in 

Paris where Bassy had moved. They liked what they heard 

and soon there was a record, Akӧ. Fifteen seconds of it was 

chosen by Apple for their iPhone6 campaign. Now there is 

an international tour and Bassy has the opportunity to take 

his Cameroonian culture everywhere. 

Bassy formed his fi rst band in Cameroon at 17, a jazz 

ensemble, The Jazz Crew. They evolved into Macase and 

spent a decade touring Africa using their Bassa language 

to create a modern music. In 2005 Bassy moved to France 

and began a solo career. He made a few records and 

spent time researching the link made by the slave trade 

between his home country and Brazil. Very much a cultural 

adventurer, Blick Bassy writes in Bassa but casts a wider net 

for the music. Heroes and infl uences? How about Tabu Ley 

Rochereau from Congo, one of the leading practitioners of 

rumba, Nina Simone, the great fl amenco singer Camarón 

de la Isla, Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, or Crosby, Stills & 

Nash. This is essential world music, true to its roots but also 

equally true to a broad global vision that allows those roots 

to grow deep and fl ourish abundantly. 


Begonia | MB 

Belle Game | BC 

Alexis Dirks – Begonia – hails from Winnipeg. References to 

home come up here and there in her songs, but she is by no 

means defi ned by where she comes from. Before she was 

Begonia, she was a member of Chic Gamine, a wonderful 

group of women whose harmonies were sublime. Now it is 

both about the singing but also about the writing. Her songs 

describe human experiences that can happen just about 

anywhere and she performs them in a musical style that 

draws from a variety of locales. One song channels a child 

confronted by an alcoholic father. Another celebrates driving 

aimlessly but passionately all night with a friend – maybe 

the prairies but it could be anywhere. In another song there 

is a tribute to Bob Marley as Begonia chants, “Everything’s 

gonna be alright” from No Woman, No Cry. 

Begonia brings to mind the term “blue-eyed soul,” white 

singers who draw from the deep well of Afro-American 

gospel, soul and R&B. Dirks was raised in a religious 

environment and it shows. The fact that Begonia has spent 

the better part of a decade touring explains both the diversity 

of infl uences – she has been listening to a lot of good music 

– and the songs being anchored in the generality of human 

experience rather than in a particular place. There is more, 

though – a bit of Ani DiFranco here and Paul Simon there 

– really good writing. There’s a reference to being in a war, 

“Not a world war but a girl war.” 

With a band, or accompanying herself on guitar with only 

a backup vocalist, Begonia has the voice and the brain to 

create great songs, very much in the confessional style of 

R&B as opposed to the more narrative approach of folk. 

There is not much third-person singular or plural here. The 

mixture of infl uences shows in the gigs Begonia has this 

summer, including the Ottawa Blues Festival and Saskatoon 

Jazz Festival along with a good handful of folk festivals. 

This is a great singer with great songs. One listener summed 

it up neatly in a tweet, “Love at fi rst listen.” 

In the song that has become the go-to reference for 

commentary on Belle Game, Andrea Lo sings, “There’s 

a rhyme / And a case / For the things / You’ve misplaced/ 

I’ve been your giver / I’ve been your giver / Since we were 

kids…” The song is powerful, full of implications of sin, 

sorrow and suppression, but those lines also function as a 

statement or metaphor for the writing and performing of one 

of Vancouver’s more interesting ensembles. 

This is a relatively new band. They came to notice after 

playing the defunct Squamish Festival in 2011, toured with 

Hey Ocean! later that year and did a sold-out show at 

the Vogue a year later. Their fi rst album, Ritual Tradition 

Habit, was released in 2013. That’s a pretty steep climb, 

done quickly. Since then they’ve licensed a song to Grey’s 

Anatomy (not a bad way to reach millions of folks), done 

a residence at The Banff Centre for the Arts, toured North 

America and Europe and generally carved out a career in 

what might be called the art alt pop scene. Their new record 

is just about ready. 

Who are they? Andrea Lo, vocals; Adam Nanji, guitar; Katrina 

Jones, synth/background vocals; Alex Andrew, drums. Andrea 

gets the most attention as is the way with lead vocalists. And 

she has a voice that has been rightly described as hypnotic. 

That said, the other members of the group provide a platform 

for the hypnotist that allows her to work her magic. They 

describe what they do as weaving “ethereal soundscapes 

into blown out, crush pop confessions…somewhere 

between new-age visions and unkempt basements.” Well, 

that’s poets for you. A more sedate description is that they 

have created a sound that doesn’t really resemble much of 

what is out there while crafting lyrics that tell stories that are 

both abstract and suspenseful. Their most recently released 

song, Yuh, is not a linear tale at all, rather it more closely 

resembles an invocation: “Lead me, with possession / Coax 

my numb expression / Feed me just aggression / Hard to tell, 

I’m hard to tell.” It’s hard to tell indeed, but still a compelling 

ensemble blazing new trails in the popular music forest. It’s 

a game worth playing. 


Blind Pilot | OR 

Bob Bossin | BC 

There’s something about Portland. It punches well above 

its weight where music is concerned – bookstores and 

restaurants too, we’ve heard. 

Blind Pilot owes its name to when they were two: Israel 

Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski. It was back in 2008 or so 

when they were planning their first tour by bicycle. That’s 

right. They started their touring career by riding their bikes 

from Bellingham to San Diego, a good 2,162 kilometres if 

you want to know. Israel says, “It seemed fitting for what we 

were trying to do. We hadn’t heard of anyone else who had 

done it and we hadn’t booked that many shows. It was if we 

were flying into the unknown. We couldn’t see what’s going 

to happen.” 

What happened was that they did almost 30 gigs from Port 

Townsend to Coos Bay to Arcata. Folks liked what they were 

doing a whole bunch. They added more members to fill out 

the sound, made a record and played at a number of the 

new indie music festivals, made another record, and got on 

Letterman and Ellen and…basically what happened was that 

they made a career, a blind landing perhaps but a successful 

one. Now they don’t tour by bike anymore and have created 

a full folk orchestra. 

In addition to Israel on vocals and guitar and Ryan on 

drums and percussion, there are also Luke Ydstie on bass 

and vocals; Kati Claborn on banjo, dulcimer and ukulele; 

David Jorgensen on trumpet and keyboards and Ian Krist 

on vibraphone and percussion. It allows the band to do 

just about anything with the songs. Their latest recording, 

which came out last year, is And Then Like Lions. The title 

track is almost operatic in its length and breadth. It poses 

the question “Will they buy even our breathing / A river 

strangled by a dam / Less than one percent are taken / So 

tell me who dries up this land.” It answers it with a clear 

answer, “We are fool enough to fight.” You can take that to 

address relationships between people as well as between 

social forces. 

This plane is not being flown by a blind pilot but rather by 

artists with vision. 

It’s been almost 60 years since a teenage Torontonian was 

snared by the sound of the Kingston Trio on the radio singing 

about Tom Dooley as he was preparing to meet his end for 

killing Laurie Foster. The keen sense of real life in the song, 

compared to the mindless pap of what dominated radio in 

those days of pink carnations and white sports coats won 

Bob to folk music, and for keeps. A few years later he was 

learning the banjo while going to the Mariposa Folk Festival 

and watching The Courriers at the Purple Onion. By the midsixties 

Bob was singing at the University of Toronto, where 

he was studying, and starting to write songs. 

In 1971 he, along with another singer-songwriter, Marie- 

Lynn Hammond, launched an outfit called Stringband, one 

of Canada’s most interesting and influential folk music 

ensembles. It was a good time to do it and Bob has always 

had good timing. English Canadian cultural nationalism was 

in full flood. Canadian Content legislation had opened radio 

to Canadian artists. Independent recording – artists making 

their own records – was coming into vogue and in 1973 the 

Canada Council launched its Touring Office, helping artists 

take their art across the country. Bob wrote songs about 

just about every part of the country from Newfoundland 

(Newfoundlanders) to BC (Tugboats, Union Cowboy) and 

everywhere in between – notably Stringband’s neo-hit Dief 

Will Be the Chief, a left-wing elegy to a Conservative, but 

populist prime minister. Politics was very much a part of what 

the band did and represented, from being pro-postal worker 

to anti-nuclear. For 15 years Stringband toured, wrote and 

recorded. 

In the mid-eighties Bob decided to save the world with his 

anti-nuclear medicine show, selling bottles of Bossin’s Home 

Remedy for Nuclear War, “Guaranteed to prevent nuclear 

war or your money back.” So far, so good! It launched a 

solo career that took him as far as China, produced several 

records of great songs, and various political projects, 

including an award-winning video of his song about the 

defenders of the rainforest at Clayoquot. Lately there has 

been a very successful book and musical about his father, 

Davy the Punk, and other accomplishments too numerous 

to list. Bob is currently working to stop the Kinder Morgan 

pipeline. 

Welcome a veteran of everything this festival has been over 

the last four decades. 


Billy Bragg & Joe Henry 

| UK/US 

Jim Bryson | ON 

At first blush it is an unlikely pairing – British left-wing activist 

and American record producer get together to record a 

collection of mainly traditional and vintage train songs, mostly 

in railway stations. But then again, why not? Both Billy and Joe 

have turned their brains, hearts and hands to a diversity of 

great, but perhaps unlikely projects. 

Billy is a legend, and no stranger to this festival. He just 

published a book about skiffle music, Roots, Radicals and 

Rockers. His love for what is called Americana goes back a 

ways and his collaboration on Woody Guthrie’s lost songs is a 

great prequel for this project. It helps that he is a contender for 

being the reincarnation of Joe Hill, Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs 

put in a blender and pulsed. 

A list of greats in American music that Joe Henry has not 

produced may be shorter than who he has. His ears have 

helped folks from Solomon Burke to Ani DiFranco to the 

amazing Rodney Crowell and Mary Karr Kin project, Salif Keita, 

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Allen Toussaint’s last project. He is 

also an accomplished songwriter. A recent project is his tribute 

to Muhammad Ali. Joe wrote the song and the profits go to Ali’s 

charity. The song begins with a folk song, Take This Hammer, 

and has a train reference as well. 

So Billy and Joe decided to take on a tradition they define as 

“like looking into a silvered antique shaving mirror, both of us 

singing these songs to you now glimpse the ghostly faces of 

our foremothers and fathers in quick flashes…” The songs on 

Shine a Light? Lead Belly’s Rock Island Line – a great skiffle 

hit by the way; Jean Ritchie’s L&N Don’t Stop Here Any More; 

Jimmy Rogers, of course, and a surprise, Gentle on My Mind, 

written by John Hartford. They close with Gord Lightfoot’s 

Early Morning Rain, which compares the challenge of hopping 

a jet plane to the relative ease of a freight train. The songs 

are first rate, the performances equally so. The production is 

minimalist. The whole thing is so clearly a labour of love by two 

masters. To hear it live is as anticipated a performance as has 

ever been featured at this festival. 

Jim Bryson describes himself as a “singer songer.” He lives 

in Stittsville, a sort of suburb of Ottawa. He is both a noted 

writer and accompanist having worked with Kathleen Edwards 

and John K. Sampson of The Weakerthans, both of whom are 

also performing at this festival. He is part of a loose community 

of songwriters who are intellectually-accomplished, sociallyconscious 

and prodigiously-talented, while also being equally 

prodigiously modest. 

Bryson has recorded five albums of his own and produced 

records in his own studio for Oh Susanna, Little Scream, The 

Skydiggers and Kalle Mattson. He tours a lot and advises 

potential bookers that “I forget to invoice people all the time: 

this does not bode well for my senior years. Also means: book 

now, I’ll forget to charge you.” It’s a great come on. 

Jim was once in a rock band called Punchbuggy that functioned 

for about six years in the nineties. In 2000 he released his first 

solo album. He then joined Katherine Edwards’ band. She wrote 

I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory, apparently inspired by 

him. It’s a great song about touring. Jim’s second recording of 

his own work in 2010 was the legendary Falcon Lake Incident 

with The Weakerthans. 

In 2012 he and Jeremy Fisher, no stranger to Vancouver, took 

on an innovative project. They decided to write a song, record 

it and release it…all in one day. The Age of Asparagus was 

their first epic. Bryson is that kind of eccentric artist – unafraid. 

Somewhere We Will Find Our Place is his most recent recording, 

emerging a year or so ago. It features Ontario, a defence of the 

home he loves while others “Say such awful things about you.” 

But then there is the plea “Don’t cut down all the trees just to 

build more things we don’t need.” What exactly is this song? It’s 

a conditional song of praise. 

Jim Bryson is an articulate and honest narrator whose songs 

function as guides to navigate the challenges of modern life. 


Jim Byrnes | BC 

Choir! Choir! Choir! | ON 

Jim Byrnes is as much a Vancouver institution as an artist. 

For almost 50 years, since first arriving in town from St. 

Louis by way of Vietnam, Jim has been a performing artist 

– 65 television series, 20 TV movies, no one knows how 

many live shows and nine records at last count. While he 

is best known as a blues singer, Jim isn’t too fond of the 

restrictions that implies. “My stuff is based in the blues… 

but I love all kinds of music.” The first thing he remembers 

doing was singing the country classic Wabash Cannonball. 

His favourite artist as a child was Jimmy Durante, as far from 

blues as you can get! In high school he did Shakespeare 

and musical theatre. He might never have focused on 

music if it hadn’t been for the accident. 

In 1972, on the Malahat Highway on Vancouver Island, 

Jim was in an accident and woke up in hospital with both 

legs amputated. Acting wasn’t an option in those days, but 

music was. The institution part of Jim Byrnes begins with a 

benefit at the Commodore Ballroom that friends organized 

to get him a new set of prosthetics. “Vancouver’s been very 

good to me and I wanted to give back.” He has. There is the 

Face The World Foundation, Odd Squad Productions – an 

anti-gang project, Variety, the Children’s Charity and more. 

You are more likely to catch Jim’s music at a fundraiser 

than a straight-ahead gig. 

On stage Jim is a masterful singer, guitarist and raconteur. 

The songs range from blues classics to his compositions 

in the tradition. His latest recording is a tribute to his 

hometown, St. Louis. Jim first played this festival in 1980. 

He was already great then. Now? Even better. Many of us 

look to blues as the source of lessons in living. A lot of the 

blues greats from Ma Rainey to Fred McDowell passed on 

some solid advice. Jim is no exception. 

His reflection on his life? “I got dealt a really bad hand, and 

I made something of it.” Words to live by. 

Choirs are, and have been, one of the most popular 

forms of artistic expression. In Canada there were scores 

of Ukrainian choirs starting in the twenties. In the same 

decade, in Germany there were the workers’ choruses that 

Bertolt Brecht and Hanns Eisler wrote for. Church choirs 

are everywhere and over the last decade or two there has 

been a renaissance of the tradition with diverse goals and 

infl uences from the Lesbian and Gay choir movement to 

new left-wing labour choirs. The Vancouver Men’s Chorus 

and Solidarity Notes are local examples of the former and 

latter. In fact British Columbia boasts the greatest number 

of choirs per capita in Canada, according to an article in the 

The Province by veteran music journalist Tom Harrison. 

People like to sing, and massed voices is a great way to 

democratize the form. Choirs, no matter how democratic, 

need organizers. To that end, Daveed Goldman and Nobu 

Adilman (aka DaBu) started a drop-in choir in Toronto in 

2011. It was supposed to be a one-off for a birthday party. 

Now they meet weekly in the back room of Clinton’s Tavern 

and have become one of Toronto’s cultural treasures. 

Under DaBu they have accompanied Patti Smith at the Art 

Gallery of Ontario, worked with Tegan and Sara at the Junos 

and mobilized 1,500 singers to accompany Rufus Wainright 

in Hallelujah – Lennie’s not Georg Friedrich’s. They also do 

team-building workshops, teach arrangements in schools 

and have begun to work at festivals by connecting with 

local choirs and holding workshops. That’s what brings 

them to town and this event. On July 13, they’ll lead singalongs 

of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, The Hip’s Ahead by a 

Century and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, and will continue 

to invite you to join them in song in gatherings on Friday and 

Saturday. 

It’s an a-choired taste! 


FREE CONCERTS! WEEKDAYS AT 12PM 

JULY 7 – AUGUST 25 

CBC Vancouver Outdoor Stage, 700 Hamilton Street 

CBCVancouver | cbc.ca/bc | #musicalnooners 


Chouk Bwa Libète | HAITI 

The name means “roots of 

freedom” and is attributed 

to Toussaint Louverture, 

leader of the slave rebellion 

that freed Haiti from French 

colonialism. Speaking about 

his own fate, Louverture said 

that if they killed him it would 

only chop down the trunk; 

the roots would grow new 

fighters. Chouk Bwa Libète 

is in the tradition of other 

Haitian ensembles that base 

themselves in the African-rooted religion known as Vodou. 

Vodou or Voodoo, has had a bad rap, like most other non- 

Western religions. The images of zombies and dolls with 

pins stuck in them were, and remain, racist caricatures of the 

religion that Africans, stolen from their homes, created in the 

countries them found themselves in. In one song, Moun Yo 

Pale, Chok Bwa Libète confronts this head on. “Friends, they 

speak badly about us. They say our culture is the devil… Let 

them talk!” 

Chouk Bwa Libète differentiate themselves from groups we 

have had the pleasure of hearing. “We continue the tradition 

of groups like Boukman Eksperyans, Boukan Ginen and 

Racine Mapou de Azor. 

However, in comparison 

with our predecessors, we 

have chosen not to add any 

other instruments in order 

to stay closer to the original 

elements of Vodou culture 

and music. Our repertoire is 

one of songs full of Vodou 

spirituality, but whose form 

is also very distinct from 

ceremonial music.” 

The repertoire of the ensemble is a combination of improvised 

songs by drummer and conch player Riscot Cedieu, traditional 

songs, some adapted by Sanbaton Dorvil and songs Dorvil has 

written in the tradition. The group has been in existence for five 

years, released an album, Se Nou Ki La, and has performed 

at a number of important music festivals. Using voice, dance, 

percussion and the conch shell that was the instrument used 

to call on slaves to rise up, Chouk Bwa Libète has fashioned 

a repertoire that pays tribute to the Vodou religion while also 

incorporating the history of the people who created it. The last 

song on their record, Neg Ayisyen, is a proud declaration of 

identity: “We are the children of Nago and Dawomey, children 

of all Haiti’s Ancestors. Their religion is Vodou.” 

Cold Specks | ON 

Cold Specks hails from the 

Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, the 

place that gave the world the 

Ford Brothers. She was born into 

a Somali-Canadian family and her 

father played the oud. She got 

her first performing experience 

at the Tranzac Club, mainly a folk 

venue. Her first record garnered 

a place on the Polaris short list. 

That was I Predict A Graceful 

Expulsion, the result of a demo 

that somehow got into the hands 

of a British producer who invited her to come over. That was 

in 2010. They made a record. It took two years. The record 

caught the ears of journalists, other artists and audiences. 

She played this festival in 2013. Now there is a second 

record, Neuroplasticity. It came out in 2014. The Wall Street 

Journal picked it as a hit. Strange. Her label, Arts and Crafts, 

describes it as “a Gene Clark-meets-Alice Coltrane in the 

company of Pharaoh Sanders variety of drugged southern 

gothic.” Many of you won’t have any idea of who those folks 

are but look ’em up. They did important stuff in music. 

The artist herself is no stranger to honouring influences. 

The nom de career, Cold Specks, comes from James 

Joyce’s Ulysses: “Born all in the 

dark wormy earth, cold specks 

of fire, evil, lights shining in the 

darkness.” That “lights shining 

in darkness” resonates when 

you listen to the creations of Ms. 

Specks. This is not light-hearted 

music in any sense. Neither is it 

totally dystopian. There is more 

of a gospel feel than the classic 

singer-songwriter approach. It is 

surprising that she was invited to 

perform with Joni Mitchell at her 

70th birthday. More predictable is her collaboration with 

jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire’s Blue Note release. 

Now in her late twenties and working on her third album, 

Cold Specks is interesting and compelling. Her live 

performances, either as a solo artist or with a few friends, 

including Ambrose Akinmusire’s trumpet and the voice of 

Swans’ Michael Gira, are strong. While the songs might 

suggest a lack of faith in humanity, she reveals quite the 

opposite in Blank Maps: “I am I am, I am I am a goddamn 

believer.” 


Shawn Colvin | TEXAS 

Shawn Colvin is the product of at least two generations 

of folk music afi cionados and performers. First is the 

so-called “revival” generation of the fi fties and early 

sixties. Ms. Colvin’s father was a member, listening 

to Pete Seeger and the Kingston Trio. Young Shawn, 

born in 1956, listened to Dad’s records and caught the 

bug that got so many others. By ten she was playing 

guitar. Having lived in South Dakota and Illinois as well 

as London, Ontario, Colvin moved to Texas where she 

joined a western swing band and then on to California 

where she hung out in the Berkeley folk scene. 

Strained vocal chords forced her to take some time 

off and she then moved to New York where she got 

involved with the Fast Folk crowd. Fast Folk was a group 

of emerging songwriters and performers who held 

court in a small coffee house and put out a magazine 

that included a record. On Volume #1 Issue #8, October, 

1984, the Women in Song edition, there is a lovely song 

about a brief encounter called Stranded, by Shawn 

Colvin. She is also heard on various other recordings 

backing up John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky amongst 

others. Fast Folk was where a whole new generation of 

songwriters cut their teeth. On the fi rst issue, January, 

1984, a young songwriter named Suzanne Vega offered 

up Tom’s Diner. Vega was one of the fi rst of the Fast 

Folk crowd to get “signed” and she asked Shawn Colvin 

to sing on a song called Luka. It became a hit and 

made Vega an important fi gure in the new folk scene. 

It also got Colvin a record deal with Columbia which 

released Steady On in 1989. It won a Grammy for Best 

Contemporary Folk. Not a bad debut! 

The almost 30 years since then have been a long string 

of successful shows, recordings and collaborations. Her 

latest is Colvin and Earle, with Steve. Their friendship 

goes back to the late eighties when nobody thought 

much about either of them. Colvin is both a talented writer 

and masterful coverer. Just like when she started, whether 

it’s her own songs or somebody else’s, she is a vital talent 

who remains at the forefront of contemporary folk music. 


Delgres | ON 

Part of the counterrevolution led by Napoleon in the first years 

of the 19th century was the reestablishment of slavery in the 

French West Indies. The “Law of 20 May 1802” revoked the 

“Law of 16 Pluviôse” passed on the 4th of February 1794, which 

had ended slavery in all French-held territory. Louis Delgres 

was a mulatto leader of the resistance to both the restoration 

of slavery and French occupation of the island of Guadeloupe. 

Unable to defeat the French forces, Delgres and several 

hundred of his followers blew themselves up, and a goodly 

number of French troops, with their munitions. His statue sits 

opposite that of Toussaint Louverture (see Chouk Bwa Libète) 

in the Pantheon in Paris. 

A living testimony to his memory is a trio of French musicians 

who have taken his name. Pascal Danae on guitar, Rafgee 

on sousaphone and Baptiste Brondy on drums have built a 

musical bridge between Guadeloupe, home of Danae’s family 

and New Orleans, home of jazz, blues, funk and more. The 

sousaphone, which looks like a tuba but ain’t, may seem like 

an odd addition but it represents the brass band tradition that 

came from the French army bands. The guitar and drums you 

know. The music sounds nothing like what we expect from 

Guadeloupe, New Orleans or France but rather a mixture of 

elements from all three plus more from heavy metal to John 

Lee Hooker. The French element is there in the writing and 

singing. 

In the fifties Boris Vian wrote a song, Le Deserteur, against the 

war in Algeria that began, “Monsieur le president.” Pascal has 

written another one. In Mr. President he writes, “Mr. President, 

me I don’t know shit I’m just a musician, all I can do is sing. 

But I did vote for you, put my trust in your hands / Now could 

you please explain what you gonna do for me / Cause I’m still 

struggling, struggling, struggling / Fighting fighting fighting / 

Trying to survive, survive, survive...” It is a universal sentiment 

in a musical setting that is equally universal and only one of 

many strong and compelling songs that pay tribute to the roots 

of resistance going back to General Delgres and beyond. 

Cris Derksen Trio | AB 

Half-Cree, half-Mennonite, composer and cellist Cris 

Derksen lives in at least two musical worlds. Passionate 

about traditional aboriginal music, she is also adept at 

contemporary orchestral music, and electro acoustic music 

as well. Think Philip Glass meets Jorane. Originally from 

Northern Alberta, her people come from the Tallcree First 

Nation and the Mennonites who settled nearby. She grew 

up in Edmonton. 

In 2010 Cris released her first record, which won the 

Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for instrumental album. 

Three years later her second explored her more electronic 

music while her third and latest, Orchestral Powwow, picked 

up a Juno nomination for Best Instrumental Album. She has 

performed around the world from Norway to Mexico and 

across Canada. 

Cris obtained a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance at 

the University of British Columbia and shared the title of 

principal cellist of the UBC Symphony Orchestra. She was 

also curator in residence at the Vancouver East Cultural 

Centre. Then there are the soundtracks for dance, theatre, 

film and television. 

She is conscious of the oddly diverse facets of her work. “I 

have a whole bunch of different audiences. I have an almost 

specifically aboriginal audience, an indie queer audience 

and an older art-folk audience. As a musician, it’s super 

helpful ― I can play a lot of different venues in the same city.” 

This year at this festival Cris will appear with her trio. The trio 

combines Cris’ cello and the various transformative toys she 

uses to enhance it with percussionist Jesse Baird and master 

hoop dancer Nimkii Osawamick. Twenty-two hoops is a lot! 

Together the trio incorporates the key performance aspects 

of the Plains tradition – dance, rhythm, voice and melody as 

well as a postmodern fusion of diverse traditions. It allows 

her to take it from Ottawa’s Chamberfest to Calgary’s High 

Performance Rodeo to here. Does it work? Heck yes! Smart, 

and young! There will be a lot more to listen to and celebrate 

from this exceptional artist, but here and now bask in the 

creativity of one of this country’s most interesting artists. 


Alpha Yaya Diallo | BC/GUINEA 

We tend to think of countries as having uniform cultures, e.g. 

“French music.” Sometimes we even embrace continents: 

“Latin music.” To describe what Alpha Yaya Diallo plays as 

Guinean doesn’t really do justice to it, even though that is 

where he grew up. Guinea, like most countries, has a number 

of regional cultures rooted in a variety of ethnic traditions. 

As a child Alpha was exposed to many of them. 

His father worked as a doctor-surgeon, frequently on the 

move with his family. Growing up in a number of regions 

of Guinea, Diallo was accordingly exposed to a variety of 

cultures. He absorbed musical traditions from the Malenke, 

Sousou and his own Foulani people. In addition he spent 

time in neighbouring Senegal, where his mother has 

relatives, and picked up the popular and powerful mbalax 

rhythm there – as well as influences from Cape Verde and 

the Caribbean. Like most self-taught artists, Alpha picked 

up what pleased him and was a sought-after guitarist while 

at university. 

Immigrating to Europe, Alpha became a member of Fatala, 

one of the first African ensembles to come to prominence in 

the eighties as something called world music came to the 

fore. Based in Holland, Fatala came to Canada to perform 

and Alpha decided that this was a good place to settle 

down. The last stop on the tour was this festival and Alpha 

stayed behind, becoming one of the first African artists in 

town. That was 1991. A couple of years later his first solo 

album came out and Alpha hasn’t stopped performing, 

touring, composing and recording since. 

A quarter century after his arrival, Alpha remains in the 

forefront of African music in Canada. In addition to his own 

ensemble he was part of the African Guitar Summit. He’s 

picked up Junos, Juno nominations and won the first Best 

World Artist – Solo at the first Folk Music Awards. With his 

band, Baffing, this year Alpha is taking his music from Lac 

Cruces, New Mexico, to Paris, France, to Montreal along 

with, of course, a return visit to the shores of Jericho Beach 

where he first decided to make Vancouver home. 

Kathleen Edwards | ON 

“I’ve written some songs. I play them live. I record them. 

Some haven’t been awesome. Some I still really like.” That’s 

modesty. It’s perhaps like Picasso saying, “I paint some 

pictures. Galleries show them. Some I still like.” OK, Kathleen 

Edwards is not Picasso but she is one of the best songwriters 

this country of songwriters (something we do really well) 

has produced. Like many of our best she is able to square 

the circle in the sense that she writes songs of truth and 

conviction that still reach big audiences and sell. She is also 

a tonic for anyone fed up with massive pop egos. Her first 

album (2003) was called Failer and featured One More Song 

the Radio Won’t Like. When she stopped her music career 

with a 2014 Facebook post – “I don’t want to make music 

anymore” – she opened a coffee shop in Stittsville, just 

outside Ottawa and called it Quitters. 

She used her reach to encourage folks to sign the letter 

crafted by Focus on Creators: “Fellow Canadian musicians 

and creators: Read this letter and tell me it doesn’t ring true... 

Every company from Spotify to Rogers and Bell Media enjoys 

the benefit of an outdated Copyright Law that fundamentally 

doesn’t appropriately compensate the creators of the 

content they use to make money. SIGN this letter. I did. If 

you know people in the creative arts in Canada, share it. 

It’s important that Canadians know and appreciate that 

artists contribute to the economy in this country and their 

intellectual property deserves to be protected. This isn’t a 

‘please give us a hand out’ letter. It’s a ‘please implement 

policy that protects our copyright’.” 

She and Jeffrey Jay Staley wrote Bullets Blood and Bones 

“for Frank Meyers, an Ontario farmer who was forced 

off of his land by the Canadian Forces! Protest singers 

and songwriters are still here, we just don’t get heard as 

often anymore because no one gives a damn about their 

neighbours anymore.” Happily she gave up on giving up 

and is back performing. Happily we give a damn about 

our neighbours and their neighbours and are looking for 

songwriters and protest singers of similar inclination. 

Welcome back Ms. Edwards. 


Ramy Essam | SWEDEN/EGYPT 

Whenever masses of people gather to change the way 

things work, the songwriters are there. This was true during 

the French Revolution, and The Marseilles became the 

national anthem of France. It was true in the work of Woody 

Guthrie and Phil Ochs as well as with Gilles Vigneault’s 

Gen de pays. Now, we have Ramy Essam, who was in 

Tahrir Square in Cairo when tens or hundreds of thousands 

of people gathered to bring down the Mubarak regime. 

Thanks to YouTube you can watch him do it: www.youtube. 

com/watch?v=-rEKmTBKiBM 

Irhal (Leave!) is the song he wrote, made up of various 

chants that Essam heard in the demonstrations against the 

regime. Written in a few minutes, it gained Ramy both public 

adulation and a beating and tasering at the hands of the 

police. He has now changed it to fit new circumstances to 

demand the military leave power and that there be a return 

to civilian government. 

Essam is in the tradition of other generations of political 

singers using their songs to support movements for basic 

human rights in Egypt and the Arab world and was not alone 

in Tahrir Square. The decades old words of the late poet, 

Najib Surour, were set to music and sung by Ahmad Ismail 

al-Sayyed in the square but Irhal, and Ramy, became the 

best known. Irhal is not his only song. There are now dozens 

of his compositions denouncing the new dictatorship. It is 

a long way from where he started at 17. “For two or three 

years, I was just singing silly love songs.” He laughs. “My 

dream was to be a rock star.” 

Well, a star he has become, but not the way he imagined. For 

his music, he has had to leave the country. From his Swedish 

base he is touring various countries, communicating what 

is going on in Egypt and rallying support for the spirit of 

a spring that so quickly turned back into winter. One of 

his latest compositions, El Gahsh Wel Homar (available on 

YouTube) features generals with donkey heads. The words 

were written by Ahmed Fouad Negm. It is a political satire 

about Hosni Mubarak and his son Gamal Mubarak . You can 

see why they get annoyed and why his popularity grows and 

grows. 

Ellika (Frisell) Solo (Cissokho) Rafael (Sida) 

| SWEDEN/SENAGAL/MEXICO 

It sometimes seems that the underlying connection between 

different folk traditions makes possible combinations that 

might otherwise seem impossible or unwise. Certainly the 

collaboration between Swedish folk fiddler Ellika Frisell and 

Senegalese kora player Solo Cissokho worked like a charm 

for almost 20 years since they met in 1998. Then, about four 

years ago, they added Mexican percussionist Rafael Sida 

Huizar to the mix to make “three’s company.” This ensemble 

a trios mixes the traditions of three continents and serves up 

a sound that belongs to all, while at the same time creating 

a music that transcends all. 

An example is Dolo/Porque Se Fue. It’s both a serious song 

and a musical delight. Solo wrote it as a warning against 

alcohol. It is dominated by a West African aesthetic, except 

it also incorporates the chorus of a pop song of days gone 

by – not Swedish, not Mexican and not Senegalese but the 

1962 American tune about a car crash, Last Kiss, better 

known as Where Oh Where Can My Baby Be? Recorded 

by J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers. It’s those kinds of 

creative, show no fear, choices that makes this trio’s music 

work. Of course the fact that all three are virtuoso players 

helps a bit. The term world music was invented for groups 

like this. They bring their own cultural traditions and add 

whatever pleases them, having the ability to know what 

works. Flamenco, yes, they do a few. Afro-Cuban? Si, senor. 

After a sabbatical from active performing due to Solo’s health 

problems the trio is back on the road. Earlier this year they 

visited India where they performed at festivals in Kolkata and 

Goa and worked with the local organization Banglanatak. 

Last fall they showcased at Montreal’s Mundial, which has led 

to their first Canadian tour. A criticism sometimes levelled at 

world music “fusion” outfits is that as they blend traditions, 

they can dissolve what makes them special. This trio is the 

antithesis of that. Each supports the essence of where they 

come from and, when they go beyond all borders, they 

create a culture all of their own. 



Ferron & her All Star Band | BC 

Ferron first performed here in 1979 and again the following 

year. If you can find a copy of the record issued by the festival 

that year (1980) you can hear a stellar version of 

Ain’t Life a Brook, one of the finest break-up 

songs ever written. So… Ferron as a part of 

the life of this festival and this city goes 

back a while. 

Raised in Richmond, Ferron attended 

the alternative school for wild 

children, Total Ed. She has been 

writing songs since she was 10 

and keeping them since she was 

18. Mainly she kept them to herself 

until in 1975 she was asked to 

perform at a fundraiser for another 

Vancouver institution, Press Gang, 

a feminist printing and publishing 

operation. She knocked everybody out 

and two years later recorded her first selfproduced 

record, Ferron, on her own Lucy 

label. Another, Ferron Backed Up, followed and 

then Testimony with better sound and better production hit the 

deck in 1980. It brought Ferron to the attention of the women’s 

music network and opened up a world of gigs and audiences 

who fell in love with a collection of wonderful songs and their 

singer. The title track was from an NFB documentary on rape 

and became an anthem. Misty Mountain was an ode 

to the joy and Ain’t Life a Brook a sad song with 

a hint of humour. Together Testimony and 

her next record, Shadows on a Dime, set 

the standard for songwriting on both 

the women’s music and folk scene 

in the eighties. Both were released 

by Holly Near’s Redwood Records, 

which made Ferron a star on the 

American women’s music circuit. 

Since then there have been a slew of 

songs, records, books of songs and 

poems, time off when she worked 

at carpentry, textile art with her lyrics 

woven into them, extended stays in the 

United States, teaching and more – a full 

life and a productive one. 

Almost 40 years since she first moved the festival 

audience to tears and laughter, Ferron returns with a 

bunch of helpers to remind us of how very blessed we are to 

have her in our midst. 

Roy Forbes | BC 

We’ve got lots of award winners of various hues and stripes on 

the festival site – Grammy folks and Juno folks and honourary 

this’s and that’s. But Roy Forbes is probably the 

only person who has a street named after 

him in his hometown. That’ll be Roy 

Forbes Drive in Dawson Creek, British 

Columbia. It’s ironic in its way as Roy 

has been living in Vancouver – well, 

mainly North Vancouver – since 

1971 when he drifted south. 

1971 was a pretty interesting 

year for Vancouver. Greenpeace 

was founded, 1,000 folks 

demonstrating for legal marijuana 

led to the so-called Gastown Riot. 

Robert Altman directed McCabe 

and Mrs. Miller up in North Van. Roy 

remembers, “I was 18, fresh out of high 

school, that summer of ’71. I believe my 

first gig in the city was at People’s Park, near 

the entrance to Stanley Park. First coffee house 

gig that summer was a pass-the-hat affair at the Gastown 

Saloon. By November, I’d played the QE Theatre, opening 

for Rita Coolidge. Did a short prairie tour in December with 

Chilliwack and did a snowy blizzardy January ’72 tour with 

John Lee Hooker, all of us crammed into a station wagon.” 

Roy Forbes is mainly a songwriter, crafting brilliant little stories 

that can be told in under five minutes. They have received 

the ultimate songwriter’s tribute – other artists have 

covered his songs. Roy is also a singer whose 

distinctive sound can convey a Jimmie 

Rodgers yodel or jazz standard or blues 

ballad with equal conviction, making it 

his own. Roy’s guitar chops have seen 

him as hired guitar slinger in legendary 

rock band Chilliwack, led by Bill 

Henderson, with whom Roy also 

collaborated in a magnificent threeway 

partnership with Shari Ulrich in 

an ensemble called UHF. Add some 

songwriting workshops, a bunch of 

record producing and the occasional 

movie/TV soundtrack…Oh yeah, he’s 

working on the first songs for a new album 

now. 

In a business known for short-lived careers, Roy 

Forbes has figured out the secret of survival. Nothing 

highlights this more than Roy’s live performance. Here you see 

what thousands of shows have taught him. Audiences melt in 

his hands. They sing, they clap, they laugh, they cry, they think. 

Roy Forbes, almost 50 years on, is a consummate artist, still as 

sensational as the kid full of dreams who hit town in 1971. 


The Funk Hunters | BC 

Sometimes juxtapositions create 

interesting revelations. The Funk Hunters 

following Roy Forbes in this program guide 

are a case in point. They couldn’t be more 

different in most ways – age, musical genre 

– but this only underlines the diversity of 

what’s on offer at this festival. Both draw on 

musical traditions from south of here. 

Nick Middleton and Duncan Smith look to 

classic funk and hip hop with a bit of added 

disco. They work with four turntables and 

are able to squeeze a 16-piece band out of 

them. It’s a remarkable piece of legerdemain 

and you get why they have been invited to 

some of the most prestigious gathering 

spots for the young and young at heart – 

Coachella, Burning Man, Shambhala among 

them. They’ve performed in 16 countries. A 

lot of EDM (electronic dance music, don’t 

you know) lacks creative edge. It’s a beat. This is to EDM 

what Spike Jones was to jazz – out there on the edge 

taking absurd chances to come up with unforgettable mixes 

that go back to the golden age of Parliament Funkadelics, 

Sly and The Family Stone, Ohio Players and other Afro- 

American visionaries who blew the roof 

off popular music in the late seventies. 

Some of it is rude, some poetic. It’s not 

about the poetry as much as it is about 

the movement, the inspiration that drags 

folks out of their seats and “gets their 

back fi elds in motion” as they say in New 

Orleans. 

Middleton and Smith met almost 10 years 

ago in what might seem an unlikely 

spot for funk, Galiano Island. They were 

working at Gulf Islands Film and Television 

School and DJing at local house parties. 

Shambhala, the Kootenays festival of 

contemporary music, has had an infl uence 

as well, allowing them a spot to both learn 

and practise their craft. Starting as a duo, 

The Funk Hunters have become an elastic 

proposition incorporating other musicians 

including Peter Bowles (keyboards), Steven Beddall (guitar), 

Cole Graham (trumpet), Chris Wilson (saxophone), Tonye 

Aganaba (vocals) and Chali 2na (vocals). In some settings 

they begin to resemble the bands that won them over to funk 

in the fi rst place. 

Bring on da funk! 

Ganga Giri | AUSTRALIA 

“Tribal dub fusion didgeridoo” It has a ring to it. Let’s start 

with the didgeridoo. It has at least 1,500 years behind it, 

based on rock paintings in its Northern Australian home. It 

may go back as far as 40,000 years. It is a long, hollowed 

piece of wood that is played by circular breathing. Exactly 

where the name comes from is a mystery as the instrument 

has many local names, none of which are even close to 

didgeridoo. That said, it is the traditional instrument of 

Australia’s indigenous peoples. It began to travel around a 

few decades ago when innovative and adventurous artists 

from around the world began using it to interpret their own 

creations. 

One of them is Ganga Giri (gun-gah gear-ree). Ganga Giri 

is both an individual didgeridoo virtuoso and an ensemble 

of musicians led by him. Based in Melbourne, he is an 

Australian festival institution. Ganga Giri has taken the 

didgeridoo and his/their exploration of combining it with 

electronica to at least four continents – his own, Europe, Asia 

and North America. He has performed at some of the world’s 

leading festivals, including Glastonbury (UK), Womad (UK), 

Burning Man (USA), Winnipeg Folk Festival (Canada), BOOM 

(Portugal), Shambhala (Canada), Szieget (Hungary), Rainbow 

Serpent (Australia) and Woodford Folk Festival (Australia). 

He also does intimate workshops for small groups. Arriving 

in Canada in June, he promptly went to Gabriola Island for 

an intimate show. 

What does it sound like? You really need to listen. There is 

a lot going on. It is not anything like traditional Aboriginal 

music. Its creator describes it as “a unique Australian 

bass music sound; deep earth didg-step fused with world 

elements and cranking electronic beats.” Mashup Babylon 

has a reggae beat as its title suggests. In the Lounge could 

almost be hip hop. There is a New Age element in some 

of it. Peter Gabriel, no slouch at fi nding interesting artists, 

described Ganga Giri as a “wonderful musician…I loved 

the mix of his ancient and primitive instrument with a wide 

range of great dance grooves. Ganga is really taking the 

didgeridoo to places it has never been before….” Giri himself 

is ready for whatever. 

His motto on the booking page of his website? “Have didg, 

will travel.” 


Rhiannon Giddens | NC 

Rhiannon Giddens made her debut at this festival a few 

years back as a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. 

That ensemble was devoted to claiming Afro-American 

stringband tradition. As a solo artist Rhiannon has devoted 

herself to reclaiming other traditions, black and white, folk 

and contemporary. 

Her most recent recording, her second, 

is both a look back at the classics and 

as current as today’s news. Freedom 

Highway was written by Pop Staples 

in 1965 for and about the civil rights 

movement. Perhaps the most notable 

march was on the highway between 

Selma and Birmingham. It became 

an iconic representation of the 

movement and of police brutality. 

Rhiannon’s version, recorded just 

after the American elections last year, 

makes it feel as if it could have been 

written then. Rhiannon writes about 

the song and herself, “I am a daughter 

of the South of the white working 

class, of the black working class; of 

the Democrat, and the Republican; 

of the gay, and the straight; and I 

can tell you one thing – we are far 

more alike than we are different. We 

cannot let hate divide us; we cannot 

let ignorance diminish us; we cannot 

let those whose greed fi lls their every 

waking hour take our country from 

us. They can’t take U.S. from US – 

unless we let them. I recorded this 

with Bhi Bhiman, all-American singersongwriter 

from St. Louis, whose 

parents are from Sri Lanka. America’s 

strength are her people, whether they came 4,000, 400, or 

40 years ago, and we can’t leave anyone behind. Let’s walk 

down Freedom Highway together.” Point made. 

Rhiannon also uses her amazing vocal capabilities to reclaim 

other jewels of great songwriters and singers – Elizabeth 

Cotten’s Shake Sugaree, or I’ve Got Your Photo, associated 

with Patsy Cline. She covered Odetta’s Water Boy on the 

soundtrack for Inside Llewyn Davis. She followed it with 

two Gaelic language songs. Her latest recording features 

a Mississippi John Hurt number as well as Richard Fariña’s 

Birmingham Sunday, another sixties song about the murder 

of black children in a racist bombing. Ms. Giddens knows 

her stuff. She is both entertainer and oral historian – gospel, 

folk, blues, country, a little hip hop and dixieland. 

Her assertion that “we are far more alike than we are 

different” refl ects her music, as well as her politics, and her 

music is a powerful brew of human emotions from protest 

to passion. 

Noah Gundersen | WA 

One of the great things about this festival is that by North 

American standards it is a short drive from San Francisco, 

Portland and Seattle. This allows for access to three centres 

of great music, the latter being the home of Noah Gundersen. 

Born in Olympia and raised in Centralia, where his parents 

took their brood of eight to homestead and home school, 

Noah started on piano at 13. By 18, 

having picked up the guitar as well, 

he moved to Seattle and started 

his fi rst band. As with any selfrespecting 

young person (he isn’t 

30 yet), Noah was smitten with the 

grunge rock scene that put Seattle 

on the musical map. How he found 

his way to being an acoustic guitarpicking 

solo singer-songwriter is a 

mystery but we’re glad he did. He 

defi nitely can live in both worlds. 

Listen to Gundersen’s great solo 

cover of Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like 

Teen Spirit, the biggest song to 

come out of Seattle. 

In 2008 Noah released an EP. He 

also formed a band, The Courage, 

with his sister. A couple of songs 

on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, 

including an Emmy nomination for 

Day Is Gone helped a heap. In 2014 

Noah released his fi rst full-length 

recording, Ledges. There are a lot 

of great songs but Cigarettes might 

be the best example of Noah as a 

really interesting songwriter, able 

to grasp a bunch of metaphors and 

inhale deeply. “You remind me, of 

cigarettes / The way I hold you, in my chest / The way you 

kiss me, with your fi lter breath / I keep thinking, I’m getting 

over this... But honey, you’re smooth.” The title track is 

autobiographical, confessing “but I drink a little too much… 

I take a little too much” and “If blessed are the meek, then 

I’m cursed.” 

The courage it takes to say to a crowd of 10,000 or two 

dozen “listen to ME!” is not for the meek. In that sense 

Noah Gundersen is blessed – with the ability to write great 

songs, to sing great songs written by others and to perform 

them. Not to beat the term to death but we too are blessed 

with the opportunity to listen to a young artist of many 

accomplishments and many more coming. 


Hillsburn | NS 

Matt Holubowski | QC 

Matt Holubowski hails from Hudson, Quebec, a bedroom 

community of Montreal and just about in Ontario. It’s a 

border town in several ways, lying between English Canada 

and Quebec and rural and urban life. The name of his most 

recent album, Solitudes, reminds you of the classic Canadian 

novel, Two Solitudes, Hugh MacLennan’s tale that gave a 

capsule description of this country. Holubowski knows the 

book and the solitudes. 

His fi rst recording, Ogen, Old Man, was released to mainly 

thunderous silence, but it caught the ear of the folks who run 

La Voix, one of Quebec’s most popular TV shows, a contest 

show. Matt was one of the four fi nalists and overnight 

he was a vedette (star). The fi rst album began to move, 

Hillsburn is both a small town in southern Nova Scotia and a 

bigger band based in Halifax. The connection is that after a 

health scare, Paul Aarntzen spent a month writing songs in 

his home in Hillsburn. He showed some of them to Clayton 

Burrill, who brought his sister Rosanna and a friend, Jackson 

Fairfax-Perry, down to Hillsburn to meet Paul and listen to 

the songs. Next thing, Paul sold the house in Hillsburn and 

moved to Halifax to work full time on the band. What to call 

it? That was sort of logical. 

The whole thing started three years ago in the spring of 

2014. A lot has happened since then. The fall of that year 

the band had one of its tunes in CBC radio’s top 10 in the 

Searchlight competition. People paid attention. The band 

evolved from a folkie string band to a more plugged-in 

operation and the addition of a drummer, Clare Macdonald. 

Clare, Rosanna and Jackson all went to school together in 

Dalhousie’s music program. The next logical step would be 

signing with a label and making a recording but no, that 

is not the story. The band decided that this was going to 

be a wholly owned subsidiary of their creative juices. They 

produced it themselves and took their time. Paul writes 

the songs and does much more, from taking the band’s 

photos to doing their graphic design. One song is clearly 

both refl ective and expressive of their approach – “Cause I 

don’t want to waste my life / bleeding for the phantom year 

/ when money up and saves us / and everything is painless.” 

Rosanna puts it less poetically but equally articulately, “We 

all want this really badly. We’re going to keep fi ghting for 

it.” The release of the record, In the Battle Years, has won 

the band a number of regional award nominations and New/ 

Emerging Artist of the Year at the Folk Music Awards. 

With a new recording on the way, and an impressive touring 

schedule, Hillsburn is attracting the kind of attention that 

greeted the Atlantic Canadian musical upsurge of 20 years 

gone by when Great Big Sea, The Rankins et al came up. 

You never want to throw the curse of “the next big thing” 

but there is a lot of promise in Hillsburn and, for sure, a lot 

of great music. 

folks recognized him in the street and he got a deal with 

Audiogram, one of Quebec’s biggest labels. 

His second record, Solitudes, is mostly in English. One of the 

few French songs is about an impostor: “I took your place… 

I took your job at the last minute…” Is he? Heck no, but he is 

a talented enough observer of the human condition to get 

the joke, the irony of his big break and a literate enough 

fellow to use MacLennan’s novel as a conscious source of 

the album title. 

Matt is fl uent in both French and English – his father is a 

Polish immigrant and his mother a Quebecoise. He went to 

school in both languages. Oddly his winning song on La Voix 

was not his own but a cover of Bob Dylan’s Girl of the North 

Country. So a songwriter, more anglo than franco identifi ed, 

wins a fi nalist spot on a French TV show with a cover of 

an American ballad. Now his career is mainly in French. 

“Nobody in English knows about my work… Everyone who 

comes to my shows, 99 percent of them, are francophone… 

Now I fi nd myself writing a little more in French.” Given the 

150th anniversary of Canada, at least in the eyes of the 

powers that be, it seems perfect to bring to a 99 percent 

English audience an artist whose identifi es as part of a third 

solitude, who says, “I grew up in this context where I’m in the 

middle.” Let’s hear what that’s about. 


ILAM | QC/SENEGAL 

Originally from Senegal, ILAM is now well ensconced in 

Montreal, an organic presence in the African diasporic 

community that has been producing some of the country’s 

most interesting music for more than a couple of decades 

now. His roots are in the Fouta culture but he started his 

career in a hip hop group, Beneen Squad, which mixed 

traditional sounds with rap. He also attended the National 

School of Fine Arts. That said, he taught himself the guitar 

and that allowed him to pursue a solo career. 

Arriving fairly recently in Montreal in 2014, ILAM has been 

welcomed into the city’s cultural life and has received some 

fairly impressive attention from the biz and arts bureaucracy 

too. He won the Public’s Favourite and Equipe Spectra’s 

Favourite at a Montreal showcase of local multicultural 

music. He received support from the Montreal Arts Council, 

the Quebec Arts Council and Musicaction for recording 

projects and the 2017 World Music Revelation award from 

Radio Canada (CBC). Folks are paying attention. Why? 

Backed up by a groovy trio of guitar, drums and bass, ILAM 

serves up a delightful buffet of African-rooted but globally 

influenced songs. They range from a reggae tune, Ecoute 

Bien/Listen Well, to a rocky tribute to African women to a 

ballad that would not be amiss in a Memphis soul tribute, 

while Yela is very much in the West African groove. ILAM 

sings in French, Peul and Wolof and we caught a few English 

words as well. Someone called it Afro-folk but it is a lot more 

diverse than that. 

ILAM draws from the varied musics that have been created 

by African, Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean artists. He 

creates in the tradition and appears to be perfectly adapted 

to each style and genre. He has obviously been accepted by 

his adopted country. One gig of note was a tribute to veteran 

singer-songwriter Jean Leloup at the Granby Song Festival 

last August. In June he was performing at the World Guitar 

Festival in Abitibi-Temiscamingue in Northern Quebec. At 

this festival he will make his Vancouver debut. 

It’s a long way from Dakar, but ILAM’s music makes him at 

home wherever good music is to be found. 

Emmanuel Jal | ON/SOUTH SEDAN 

There are hundreds of answers to the question “Previous occupations?” tossed 

at performers at this festival. Baristas, waiters and cab drivers are numerous. 

Doctors and lawyers would be sparse but present. It is a pretty safe guess that 

there is only one artist who could answer “child soldier” and that would be 

Emmanuel Jal. The South Sudanese-Canadian artist/activist wrote a book about 

it, War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story, St. Martin’s Press, 2009. He also sings about 

it. One song in particular, Emma, honours the British aid worker who adopted 

him, smuggled him into Kenya, and got him into a school. There’s a lot more 

to the story but that is how Emmanuel started on his evolution into a talented 

performing artist who has used his music to pay back the kindness of strangers, 

including former Guardian journalist Madeleine Bunting. Best you read the book. 

Emmanuel’s music started when he began singing in a church choir in Kenya. 

He went on to form numerous musical groups. The title track of his first album 

became a No. 1 hit in Kenya. On his second record in 2005 Jal collaborated with 

Abdel Gadir Salim, a Sudanese Muslim musician. Since Jal was from the south of 

Sudan, and Salim was from the north, and civil war was raging between the two, 

the collaboration of the two musicians symbolized the kind of unity many hoped for in the Sudan conflict, and Ceasefire 

was a major plea for peace and sanity. That plea came to Canada with Jal and has remained at the very centre of his work. 

A rapper and hip hop artist, Jal has expressed himself about the content of those musical genres: “American hip hop is 

still entwined with gang culture, drugs, sexual violence, and greed.” Jal’s art and advocacy are totally entwined. Both have 

taken him around the world and offered him a stage to express himself from. It has also led to some great collaborations. 

A fairly recent one was a co-write with Nelly Furtado – Scars. It contains autobiographic verses of both artists and a shared 

chorus. “My scars are what got me this far / And now I can touch the stars.” It’s a beautiful song and an equally powerful 

thought. 

Jal first performed here in 2011. Welcome back. 



HEAD OFFICE SUITE 310 – 650 WEST GEORGIA ST, VANCOUVER BC

FRIDAY SCHEDULE 

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 

2:30-3:30 

Tune Travelllers 

Carolyn Mark 

C.R. Avery 

Will Varley 

2:00-3:30 

Working Class Heroes 

Billy Bragg 

Rhiannon Giddens 

Grace Petrie 

Ramy Essam 

Si Kahn 

2:00-3:15 

Building on Traditiom 

Ganga Giri 

Wesli 

Alpha Yaya Diallo 

STAGE 5 

3:50-5:00 

Duos and Duets 

Clinton and Lorna St John 

Tomato Tomato 

Katie Moore 

& Andrew Horton 

3:50-4:50 

Sweet Grass and Sage 

Lloyd Cheechoo 

Nick Sherman 

Women in the Round 

Cris Derksen 

3:45-4:50 

Taking the Tradition 

for a Ride 

Mélisande [électrotrad] 

Ellika Solo Rafael 

Korrontzi 

3:35-4:45 

I Could be Your Man 

Joe Henry 

Jake Morley 

Roy Forbes 

4:00-5:00 

Choir! Choir! Choir! 

MAIN STAGE 5:00-11:00pm 

4:50 First Nations Welcome 

5:05 Cold Specks 

Luke Wallace 


Will Varley 

7:25 John K Sampson & The Winter Wheat 

The Mae Trio 


Jake Morley 

9:55 Billy Bragg & Joe Henry 

5:30-6:25 

CR Avery 

6:45-7:40 

Ganga Giri 

8:00-9:00 

The Funk Hunters 

5:20-6:15 


6:35-7:35 

Wesli 


10:00 

11:00 

12:00 

1:00 

2:00 

3:00 

4:00 

5:00 

6:00 

SATURDAY SCHEDULE 

Subject to change without notice 

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 STAGE 5 STAGE 6 

10:00-10:50 

Canadian Identities 

Hillsburn 

Matt Holubowski 

Emmanuel Jal 

11:10-12:10 

Writing Wrongs 

Grace Petrie 

Ramy Essam 

Paul McKenna 

12:30-1:20 

Jake Morley 

1:40-2:35 

Bold New Voices 

Gabrielle Shonk 


Nick Sherman 

Begonia 

2:55-3:45 

Luke Wallace 

4:05-5:00 

Porch Songs 

Katie Moore & Andrew 

Horton 

Eilen Jewell 

Tift Merritt 

5:20-6:20 

Choir! Choir! Choir! 

10:00-10:50 

The Fight for Tomorrow 

Si Kahn 

Bob Bossin 

Luke Wallace 

Will Varley 

11:10 - 12:00 

The Mae Trio 

12:20-1:15 

Countrified 

The Slocan Ramblers 

Nell Robinson 

& Jim Nunally Band 

Eilen Jewell 

Leonard Podolak 

1:35-2:25 

Bob Bossin 

2:45-3:40 

Grit and Wisdom 

Cris Derksen Trio 

Ferron 

Duke Redbird 

Willy Mitchell 

4:00 - 5:00 

Been There, Done That, 

Wrote This Song 

Leif Vollebekk 

Will Varley 

The Mae Trio 

Jim Bryson 

10:00-11:00 

Hardly Strictly Blues 

Cold Specks 

Jake Morley 

Corey Harris 

& Alvin Youngblood Hart 


11:20-12:20 

Right After My Heart 

Roy Forbes 

Marlon Williams 

Ferron 

Aoife O’Donovan 

12:40-1:30 

Tift Merritt 

1:50-2:50 

Songs About Where I’m From 

John K Samson 

Christine Fellows 

Jonah Blacksmith 

Blind Pilot 

3:10-4:00 

Noah Gundersen 

4:20-5:45 

Indigenous Trailblazers 

Duke Redbird 

Willie Thrasher 

Linda Saddleback 


Lloyd Cheechoo 

Gordon Dick Sr. 

11:15-12:05 

Nick Sherman 

12:25-1:20 

Improvisors 

Cris Derksen 

Ganga Giri 

Blick Bassy 

6:10 La Santa Cecilia 

7:25 Marlon Williams & the Yarra Benders 

8:40 Alpha Yaya Diallo & Bafing 

10:00-10:55 

Lift Off Singing 

Jim Bryson 


Katie Moore & Andrew Horton 

1:40 - 2:30 

Nive Nielsen 

and the Deer Children 

2:50 - 3:50 

Simply Folk 

Bob Bossin 

Jim Kweskin 

& Meredith Axelrod 


4:10 - 5:00 

Nell Robinson 

and Jim Nunally Band 

10:30-11:30 

Songwriter’s Cafe 

John K Samson 

Christine Fellows 



11:50-12:40 

Clinton & Lorna St. John 

1:00-2:10 

Transatlantic Session 

Tomato Tomato 

RURA 

Paul McKenna 

Hillsburn 

2:30-3:20 

Concert 


3:40-4:50 

Avant Bards 


Begonia 

Belle Game 


10:00-10:50 

World Junket 



11:10-12:10 

Fêtes Haïtiennes 

Wesli 

Chouk Bwa Libète 

12:30-1:20 

Korrontzi 

1:40-2:40 

Singing Truth to Power 

Si Kahn 

Ramy Essam 

Emmanuel Jal 

3:00-4:00 

Forces of Nature 

La Santa Cecilia 

Korrontzi 

4:20-5:20 

Le Cocktail Dynamique! 

Blick Bassy 


Delgres 


6:20 ILAM 

7:30 True Blues: Corey Harris & Alvin Youngblood Hart 

8:45 Delgres 


10:00 

11:00 

12:00 

1:00 

2:00 

3:00 

4:00 

5:00 

6:00 

SUNDAY SCHEDULE 

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 STAGE 5 STAGE 6 

10:15-11:00 

Paul McKenna 

11:20-12:10 

Cris Derksen Trio 

12:30-1:30 

Northern Lights 

Nick Sherman 

Willie Thrasher 

and Linda Saddleback 

Nive and the Deer Children 

Gordon Dick Sr. 

1:50-2:40 

Eilen Jewell 

3:00-3:50 

Tomato Tomato 

4:10-5:00 

Grace Petrie 

10:00-11:20 

Morning Glory 

The Sojourners 

Jim Byrnes 

Nell Robinson 

& Jim Nunally Band 

Eilen Jewell 

11:40-12:50 

The Songs of Leonard Cohen 

Katie Moore 




1:10-2:05 

Roy Forbes 

2:25-3:25 

Ferron and her All Star Band 

3:45-5:00 

Old Fashioned, 

New Fangled 


The Mae Trio 

Si Kahn 


10:00 - 11:00 

KIndred Spirits 

Kathleen Edwards 

Jim Bryson 

Bahamas 

11:20 - 12:10 

Si Kahn 

12:30 - 1:30 

Sisters in Song 

Shawn Colvin 

Tift Merritt 

Kathleen Edwards 

1:50-2:50 

Tending the Flame 

Jim Kweskin 

& Meredith Axelrod 


Bob Bossin 

3:10-4:10 

RURA 

4:30 - 5:20 

Jim Bryson 

5:50 Hillsburn 



10:00 - 11:00 

Everything’s Better 

with You 

Tomato Tomato 


The Mae Trio 

11:20 - 12:30 

Fret House 

Noam Pikelny 

Jake Morley 


12:50-1:40 

Begonia 

2:00 - 3:00 

Keep Calm & Carry On 

Jake Morley 

Will Varley 

Grace Petrie 

3:20 - 4:10 

Jim Kweskin and 

Meredith Axelrod 

4:30 - 5:30 

Bluesified 

True Blues-Corey Harris 


Delgres 

Roy Forbes 

10:45-11:40 

Will Varley 

12:00-1:00 

The Best Coast 

Belle Game 

Hillsburn 

Luke Wallace 

1:20-2:10 


2:30-3:20 


3:40-4:40 

Prairie Poem Companions 

Begonia 


Andy Shauf 

5:00 Katie Moore 

& Andrew Horton 


7:20 Belle Game 

8:30 Andy Shauf 

10:00 - 11:10 

Africentric 


Mbongwana Star 

ILAM 

11:30 - 12:30 

Europa 

RURA 

Paul McKenna 

Korrontzi 


12:50-2:00 

A Song of Exile 

Emmanuel Jal 

Delgres 

Ramy Essam 

2:20-3:20 

Fiesta Fuego 

La Santa Cecilia 

Sidestepper 


3:40-4:40 

An Eclectic Congress 

ILAM 

Mbongwana Star 

Nive and the Deer Children 

5:00-5:50 



EVENING CONCERT STAGES 

FRIDAY JULY 14 SATURDAY JULY 15 SUNDAY JULY 16 

MAIN STAGE 

5:00-11:00pm 

4:50 First Nations Welcome 

5:05 Cold Specks 

Luke Wallace 


Will Varley 

7:25 John K Sampson & The Winter Wheat 

The Mae Trio 


Jake Morley 

9:55 Billy Bragg & Joe Henry 

STAGE 3 AT SUNDOWN 

4:00 – 9:40pm 

3:45-4:50 

Mélisande [électrotrad] 

Ellika Solo Rafael, Korrontzi 

5:30 C.R. Avery 

6:45 Ganga Giri 

8:00 The Funk Hunters 

STAGE 5 AT TWILIGHT 

5:20 – 7:35pm 

5:20-6:15 Ellika Solo Rafael 

6:35-7:35 Wesli 

MAIN STAGE 

5:00-11:00pm 

5:00 Blind Pilot 

Tomato Tomato 

6:10 Aoife O’Donovan & Noam Pikelny 

Nive Nielsen 

7:25 Mbongwana Star 

Paul McKenna 

8:40 Kathleen Edwards 


9:55 Barenaked Ladies 


6:10 – 9:35pm 

6:10 La Santa Cecilia 

7:25 Marlon Williams & the Yarra Benders 

8:40 Alpha Yaya Diallo & Bafing 


5:10 – 9:45pm 


6:20 ILAM 

7:30 True Blues: Corey Harris 


8:45 Delgres 

MAIN STAGE 

5:30-11:00pm 

5:30 Sidestepper 

Ramy Essam 

6:45 Shawn Colvin 

Grace Petrie 

8:05 Bahamas 

Raffle Draw 

9:25 The Revivalists 

40th Festival Finale 

led by Ferron and Roy Forbes 

see lyrics page 84 


5:50 – 9:30pm 

5:50 Hillsburn 




4:40 – 9:30pm 

5:00 Katie Moore & Andrew Horton 


7:20 Belle Game 

8:30 Andy Shauf 

Times and listings are subject to change without notice. Please check for any schedule updates on the white boards at the East Gate. 

At the end of each evening, join the magical Lantern Procession that will guide you out of the park. 

At 11:00pm, the site goes silent. As you leave, please keep noise to a minimum out of respect for our neighbours! 


Eilen Jewell | INDIANA 

The music of Boise, Idaho’s Eilen Jewell is very much 

in the spirit of outlaw country. Think Willie and Townes 

and Mr. Earle. That is the name for a genre of music that 

brought honesty, integrity and relevance to country music 

when it was in danger of drowning in a pit of its own selfindulgence 

and pomposity. It’s usually guys, so it is all the 

more delightful to encounter a talent as great as that of 

Eilen Jewell. She clearly knows the landmarks. Sea of 

Tears is a brilliant rockabilly tune that could have been 

recorded 60 years ago at Sun Records. Rio Grande 

has the neo-mariachi horns and the border vibe 

that made Marty Robbins a household name 

back in the day. Where They Never Say Your 

Name is a ballad featuring a companion who 

“Kept me up all night with your coke and gin 

/ Left me the next morning and turned me 

in…” 

There are lots of great songs on the seven 

albums she has recorded, the latest being 

Sundown Over Ghost Town, an evocative 

title for a country record. She is as adept with 

covers as with her own creations and has an 

embrace that goes far beyond country, Shakin’ All Over 

and Paint It Black 

being only two examples. Her writing 

goes further too. A recent creation, Mavis, celebrates both 

the legendary singer as well as Jewell’s daughter named in 

honour of her. As Eilen describes it: “Every word is 

true, no pretense, no fictitious characters to tell 

a story. There is no story, only emotion.” 

Eilen’s co-conspirators, a collection of fine 

musicians, allow her to deliver the musical 

goods in a variety of vehicles. There is 

hot pickin’ along with the great singin’. 

Eilen started her career busking in 

Santa Fe, New Mexico, when she was 

in college. She kept busking when 

she moved to Los Angeles – Venice 

Beach, where else? Her demo caught 

the ears of Signature Sounds back 

east and the rest is a career that has 

taken Eilen around the world. 

Finally she is coming to the 

Festival. 

Jonah Blacksmith | DENMARK 

It’s a great itinerary. Rosenholm, Tyholm, Nibe, then Canada 

three times and then Tisvildeje and on. It looks like a great tour 

but where the heck is Jonah Blacksmith playing? Who is Jonah 

Blacksmith? Well, in the corporeal sense there is no Jonah 

Blacksmith! Jonah Blacksmith is the creation of two Danish 

brothers, Simon and Thomas Alstrup. 

A half dozen years back they brought together a few musician 

friends and invented/created Jonah. Jonah sounds like he has 

listened to some classic rock. Won’t Back Down starts with a guitar 

riff that Keith Richards wouldn’t have turned down. Dandelion 

has a more acoustic feel and references to nature that underline 

the fact that Jonah’s creators come from northwestern Denmark. 

This is not urban. It is moors and wind and forests and the North 

Sea. They come from a place called Thy. Jonah Blacksmith is a 

translation of Johannes Smed, the Alstrup brothers’ grandfather. 

They paid tribute to their part of the world with a concert in a 

national park at Thy and a song called In the Middle of Nowhere. 

By and large, Jonah Blacksmith write in English. Over the last 

few years they’ve made a couple of records and have become 

very popular at home. Happily there are scads of music festivals 

in Denmark and this is where the itinerary comes in. They 

are playing many of them this summer from the small ones 

mentioned above to Tonder, one of the big ones, to Roskilde, the 

biggest. In 2015, they won musician/composer of the year at the 

Danish Folk Awards. It seems to have launched them at home. 

Jonah Blacksmith creates an international sound. The steel 

guitar suggests Nashville, the vocals could be from anywhere 

in the world and the songs are about human beings and the 

trouble they make for themselves. 

This blacksmith has forged a compelling sound and we suspect, 

nay, predict, that this first visit to Canada, which this festival is 

lucky to be part of, will not be their last. 


Si Kahn | NORTH CAROLINA 

Si Kahn first came to this festival in 1979, the 

second edition. In the program book for that 

year we wrote: “There are some performers 

that come to a folk festival from far away, 

totally unknown, and leave you with the 

feeling that they are old friends… We think 

that Si Kahn is going to be one of those 

people this year….” He was, and he is! It was 

his first folk festival! Si has been here a few 

times since then and each time he brings 

news, songs, and stories and reinvigorates 

the passion, very much a part of the folk 

music tradition, to change the world. 

When Si first came here he had released 

his first album and had a modest hit with 

Aragon Mill, a song about the death of 

the textile industry. A lot of folks covered 

it and it seems like a prescient prediction 

of what has happened to a lot of towns 

in a lot of countries. Over the years other 

songs, some as current as today’s news, others more personal 

stories and insights, have whetted an appetite for more of Si’s 

oeuvre. Back then Si was a labour organizer. He even wrote a 

book called Organizing that’s well worth the read. He’s written 

another one about community organizing 

that reflects what he’s up to these days. 

Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay 

MusiciansUnited.info is where you can go 

to learn about the campaign to stop a mine 

in Alaska. 

Si has been an activist and performer for 

52 years. This year he received the Folk 

Alliance 2017 “Spirit of Folk Award.” He’s 

won a lot of awards, and also wrote a 

musical about legendary organizer Mother 

Jones. Then there are the songs, 18 albums 

full of them. The penultimate, Aragon Mill: 

The Bluegrass Sessions, has a sampling of 

some of his old songs featuring Si and the 

Looping Brothers. The latest, Bristol Bay, is 

full of new ones about Si’s work in Alaska. 

The others? From class struggle fighting 

songs to a lovely tribute to his grandfather’s 

flight from Russia to America to…. 

Si Kahn is a living embodiment of something the Roman poet 

Terence wrote in 154 BC: “I am a human being; I consider 

nothing that is human alien to me.” That’s what Si Kahn is about. 

Korrontzi | BASQUE COUNTRY – SPAIN 

Korrontzi are four musicians from a 

part of the world known to its citizens 

as Euskadi. It is better known in 

these parts as the Basque Country 

and currently exists in the countries 

of Spain and France. This situation is 

debated by the Basques and you can 

look up some of the history. The band 

take their name from an old trikitixa 

player who used to go down from 

his farm by donkey every Sunday 

to the town they are from, Mungia, set up in the main square 

and cheer up the villagers who gathered there to listen to his 

songs. His hat was filled up by all the coins the happy listeners 

who enjoyed the music dropped into it. It is every musician’s 

dream! 

What is a trikitixa, you are probably wondering. We call it a 

diatonic button accordion in these parts. At the centre of 

Korrontzi is Agus Barandiaran and his trikitixa. His purpose 

in founding the band was to give Basque Country folk music 

and Basque ancestral and traditional sounds a contemporary 

aspect, but always within the scope of a music based on the 

trikitixa tradition. There are regional traditions in Euskadi as 

everywhere else. Agus learned the Guipuzcoan repertoire 

and the Biscayan, where his family is from. Eleven years later 

that is still what Korrontzi are doing, adding strings, pipes, 

voices and more to the accordion. Agus and his associates 

have branched out to embrace the creations of other places 

and peoples, integrating them into their repertoire. Perhaps it 

can be called “the world according to Basques.” In 2013 the 

band released Tradition 2.1 featuring flamenco merging with 

fandango, Portuguese fado with Italian music, Galician sounds, 

Sicily, Sardinia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Scotland, Asturias, 

Catalonia, France…. Tradition 2.1 is a crossroads for a multitude 

of cultures. It is less an album and more a monument to human 

creativity. Since then they have composed a symphony and 

are working on new surprises. At the heart, however, is the 

music of Euskadi, a music, which, like all Basque culture, 

was supposed to be dissolved and assimilated but, like their 

language, Euskara – which is not connected to any other – 

endures and flourishes despite all. 


Jim Kweskin and Meredith Axelrod | CALIFORNIA 

Jim Kweskin is a legend, icon, rumour and veteran of the 

golden age of the folk revival, as it is known. There were two 

East Coast centres of the revival, Greenwich Village in 

New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Jim held sway in Cambridge where he led 

The Jim Kweskin Jug Band. Among its 

alumni are Geoff and Maria Muldaur. 

The band popularized a whole lot of 

music from 30 or 40 years before, 

i.e. music from the twenties and 

thirties. They were to live music what 

Harry Smith’s collection was to old 

records – a treasure trove. Jim has 

never stopped doing what he does, 

although he became less visable for 

a while. He teamed up with Geoff a 

few years back and they came through 

town. It was a delight to see how good 

they still were. Jim is coming back to town to 

play this festival and he is coming with a musical 

partner who shares his love for, and the ability to 

perform, early twentieth-century American music. That would 

be Meredith Axelrod. 

One reviewer has described Meredith as “an original out of the 

era and time-travelled.” Maybe. The photo she features on her 

website looks like it was taken by Margaret Bourke-White, the 

classic photographer of the thirties. Meredith plays guitar and 

other stringed instruments and she sings. Better put SHE 

SINGS! Her voice is steeped in tradition. Apparently 

she learned her craft by listening to old cylinder 

and 78 rpm records. She is an organic part 

of the West Coast scene, peopled with 

folks she has sung with, including David 

Grisman, Jack Elliot and Geoff Muldaur. 

Meredith and Jim share a repertoire of 

songs, some standards, some longforgotten 

gems, that go back to the 

invention of popular vernacular music 

at the dawn of radio. They do a cowboy 

medley of Old Chisolm Trail, Get Along 

Little Dogies and Back in the Saddle 

Again. They do honour to Mississippi 

John Hurt with a neat cover of My Creole 

Belle, cover Moonglow, made famous by 

Benny Goodman, and restate the Kweskin Jug 

Band classic Blues My Naughtie Sweetie Gives to Me. 

For those who were there the first time around this is a treat. For 

those who weren’t, this is a chance to listen to an exceptional 

duo performing some of the best songs in the world. 

Paul McKenna | SCOTLAND 

Paul McKenna has two musical personalities. One is the leader 

of what the New York Times called “The best folk band to have 

come out of Scotland in the last 20 years.” The other 

is Paul McKenna, singer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist, 

i.e. who he is as an artist when 

he is not leading the band that bears his 

name. The band has been around since 

2006. They came through Vancouver 

to play The Rogue Folk Club in 2011. 

Paul has a love of Scottish traditional 

music, an almost equal love of 

contemporary popular music, i.e. 

rock, and a desire to add his own 

ideas and sensibilities to the tradition 

through writing his own songs. In the 

vein of many fine Scottish songwriters 

Paul deals with the history of his country 

and its people. An example is a fine song 

about a little-known failed attempt to settle 

Scots in Panama called The Darien Scheme. 

In the 1690s Scotland attempted to establish a trading 

colony, Caledonia, on the Isthmus of Panama. A total disaster, 

this cost the lives of settlers and helped destroy Scottish 

independence. Backed by 25-50 percent of all the money 

circulating in Scotland, its failure left the entire Lowlands 

almost completely ruined and was an important 

factor in weakening their resistance to the Act 

of Union in 1707. 

That’s what a great songwriter does; she/ 

he gives a people back their history, 

uses their art to tell an unknown tale 

that helps make sense of life today. 

Paul is in that league. He is also adept 

at singing traditional songs, including 

songs of the terrible conditions that 

faced fishermen and sailors like The 

Banks of Newfoundland. There are 

songs that Paul has learned from his 

elders. His version of Song of Choice, on 

the band’s latest recording, Paths That Wind, 

written by Peggy Seeger and best known as 

sung by Dick Gaughan, is a strong example. All in 

all Paul McKenna is a wonderful singer, well anchored in the 

tradition but equally adept at creating a new one. 


The Mae Trio | AUSTRALIA 

Three young women from Melbourne, 

Australia, make up this ensemble and 

not a one is named Mae. Maggie Rigby 

(banjo, ukulele, guitar and vocals), 

sister Elsie Rigby (violin, ukulele and 

vocals) and Anita Hillman (cello, bass 

and vocals), grew up steeped in music. 

Elsie and Maggie played in their family 

band and spent their childhood going 

to music festivals and camps, choir 

rehearsals and concerts, while Anita, 

with her classical pianist mother and 

folk enthusiast father, grew up playing 

in orchestras, string quartets and jazz 

ensembles. The Rigby sisters met Ms. Hillman at a recording 

session in 2011, tossed in their jobs, studies and other 

pursuits, and went off to conquer the world. 

So far so good. 

They bring their own version of the “triple threat.” They have 

gorgeous harmonies, strong instrumental skills and are 

accomplished songwriters. Put it together and you begin 

to see why they have become Australian folk favourites. 

They have toured Australia from Woodford Folk Festival 

to Port Fairy Folk Festival, won the Maton Class Act Award 

and the National Film and Sound 

Archive Award for Folk Recording of 

the Year. They have toured the UK 

three times, including appearances 

at Celtic Connections (Glasgow) and 

Cambridge Folk Festival; performed 

at Nashville’s prestigious Americana 

Festival and were the break-out act of 

Folk Alliance International in Kansas 

City. They have made three recordings. 

Their debut, Housewarming, is full 

of great originals, including a lovely 

tribute to William Morris, designer and 

socialist. The second, September, an 

EP, is a unique project, capturing the month of September 

2015. Equally unique on that record are two love songs, to a 

girl and her banjo. Their most recent is the antithesis of the 

second. Where September was recorded by just the trio in a 

living room, Take Care, Take Cover was recorded in a snowy 

Nashville, Tennessee, by producer and engineer Erick 

Jaskowiak (Crooked Still, Tim O’Brien, Darrell Scott, The 

Waifs). It features a whack of guests. Nashville is present in 

the record in both the countrified vocals and instrumentals. 

This is a trio in the middle of a creative growth spurt, a great 

time to catch them on their first Festival visit. 

GRANTS AVAILABLE NOW FOR BC’S MUSIC INDUSTRY! 

$15 MILLION 

BC MUSIC FUND 

SUPPORTING 

LIVE MUSIC 

EVENTS ACROSS 

BRITISH COLUMBIA 

Learn more bcmusicfund.com 


Carolyn Mark | BC 

You can tell folks by the company they keep; it’s an old folkwisdom 

saying. By that measure judge Carolyn Mark is a great 

singer-songwriter with a social conscience and an iconoclastic 

approach. Why? Well, she just finished a tour with Vancouver 

troublemaker Geoff Berner and Calgary rabble-rouser Kris 

Demeanor. Both are known as superior songwriters with their 

own personal style and a fearless approach to the craft of 

songwriting. Ms. Mark enjoys a similar reputation. 

She is a genuine farmer’s daughter from Sicamous, near Salmon 

Arm. Her father was a violinist who taught a young Carolyn 

the piano so they could entertain visitors with duets. After 

moving to Victoria Mark co-founded a four woman band, The 

Vinaigrettes. Their style was self-described as “pop-surf- punkart-country-rock.” 

They made a half-dozen records and toured 

a bunch before breaking up due to “nervous indifference” 

and “creative exhaustion.” Then came a whole series of other 

groups until Carolyn started performing under her own name. 

“I’m not married to any one style of music, I can play solo or 

with a band depending on the money or my mood, and it’s 

almost impossible for me to break up with myself.” It seems to 

have worked. Take a look at her touring schedule and you’ll 

see the evidence. From The Sunday Afternoon Hootenanny 

in Victoria when she’s home, to Spences Bridge, BC, to being 

part of the ON BOARD entertainment that Via Rail presents 

(she’s doing the Winnipeg to Toronto stint) to The Black Sheep 

Inn in Wakefield, Quebec, Ms. Mark is in demand. Why? Check 

out Baby Goats, or her singalong, You’re Not a Whore (If No 

One’s Payin’), or Get It Up! (Song for the Calgary Stampede), 

a provocative little number about joyless sex. She has cited 

Loretta Lynn as a heroine and this is one Ms. Lynn might have 

enjoyed singing if she had been born a few decades later. 

Mark is a country singer with lyrics that are much closer to 

real life than most country songs these days. She challenges 

stereotypes the way Jerry Jeff did back when he started. 

The songs have sharp elbows but at their core are essays in 

humanism. That’s what makes them and their author/interpreter 

something special. 

Mbongwana Star | DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO 

Four words on the cover of the Mbongwana Star CD say a 

whole lot: “From Kinshasa” and “World Circuit.” Kinshasa, 

capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is the source 

of a long string of great artists. Its music has had a profound 

influence on Africa and the rest of the world. World Circuit is 

a British label that is renowned for putting out great records. 

They helped get Ali Farka Touré to this festival almost 30 years 

ago. They unleashed the Buena Vista Social Club on the world. 

If they are going to record a band, you give them the benefit of 

the doubt that it is going to be a great band. And Mbongwana 

Star is a great band. 

Two key members of the band come from a remarkable 

Congolese ensemble, Staff Benda Bilili. The members of that 

ensemble are a combination of street children and paraplegics 

who suffered from polio. The central singer and songwriter 

of Mbongwana Star, Coco Yakala Ngambali is one of the 

Bilili veterans as is singer, Theo Nzonza. Both perform from 

wheelchairs. They and another five musicians, some with 

equally unlikely histories, have put together one of the most 

iconoclastic African ensembles to emerge in a long time. The 

UK’s best newspaper, The Guardian, reviewed the band’s 

debut recording saying, “Mixing punk attitude and spacey 

electronics with frantic rhythms and weaving soukous guitar 

lines, it messes with your preconceptions of what Congolese 

music is/can/should be. It frequently sounds as if it arrived from 

another planet….” 

Mbongwana means “change” in the Lingala language, and that 

is the goal of the band musically and otherwise. The opening 

track on their record sums it up, From Kinshasa to the Moon. 

With the production and other support of the Irish artist Doctor L, 

Mbwongwana Star both transcends and keeps the music of their 

home. As you listen it is clear this is an African band. But as you 

listen you are also aware that this is an African band that sounds 

unlike any other. The rave reviews for both their recorded and 

live work begin to make sense. The band has an ambitious 

touring history in Europe. Their July visit to festivals in Winnipeg 

and Vancouver mark their Canadian debut. Lucky us. 


Mélisande [électrotrad] | QC 

The archives of universities and museums are full 

of traditional songs lonely and languishing, 

waiting and hoping to be rescued and 

brought back to life by a lover. It is 

almost like one of the old folk ballads 

where the prince is turned to stone, 

etc. and finally brought back to life 

by a kiss from the princess. Well, 

think of the songs as the frozen 

prince and think of Melisande as a 

very modern princess. 

This resuscitation is compliments of 

Melisande, the main vocalist of the 

project and Alexandre “Moulin” De 

Grosbois-Garand whose instrumental 

charms join her voice. Together they 

have engaged in bringing many songs back 

to life, interpreting them in a very modern style 

while keeping the essence of the tradition. Their first 

record won a Canadian Folk Music Award and an Independent 

Music Award as well as being nominated at ADISQ (the French 

language record awards) in two categories. Their latest, Les 

millésimes (Borealis Records, Feb 2017) is a return to the 

archives and a new collection of “electrotrad” masterpieces. 

The duo has lots of help here. Some of Quebec’s best players 

are there to help. However it is the songs themselves 

that shine through. 

There is a woman positive/feminist aesthetic 

in Melisande’s work and it shows in song 

choices. Quand Les Hommes Sont Aux 

Vignes/When the Men Are Working the 

Vines is a great example. It’s a song 

about women drinking le bon vin 

(the good wine) while the boys are 

out working and forced to drink la 

piquette, a very inferior drink made 

with water and grape pomace. Another 

wine song, Le Vin et L’eau/ Water and 

Wine, is an example of the great work 

Melisande and Moulin do. They took a 

version by Louise Anna Pouliot recorded in 

1969 and added verses collected by Quebec 

folklorist Marius Barbeau. The arrangement is an 

original one by Moulin. They are keeping the tradition 

alive on the one hand and creating new music on the other – 

new branches on old stocks, to keep the wine metaphor. Not all 

songs are about wine but they are all in the same spirit, kissing 

the sleeping prince/princess to bring them back to life anew on 

the shores of Jericho Beach. 

Bienvenue Melisande. 

Tift Merrit | NORTH CAROLINA 

“What I hate most about bios is that they trade the 

small virtue of the writing life for pretending that 

artists and albums spring forth fully formed, 

trimming the tale to fit the spotlight.” In 

a recent interview she amplified this 

statement: “If you’re making a record 

it should hurt a little.” Tift Merritt is 

an artist who is prepared to share 

at least some of what goes on 

behind the curtain. Perhaps this has 

something to do with the seemingly 

overnight success that greeted her 

debut album, Bramble Rose. There 

is the music biz joke about overnight 

success after 10 years. Tift Merritt’s 

came after more than that. 

Her dad taught her her first guitar chords. He 

was a folkie and she sang along with him. Joni 

Mitchell and Emmylou Harris were both inspirations. 

She studied creative writing at the University of North Carolina. 

Between her dad, Joni and Emmylou and her studies, Tift 

emerged as a pretty good singer, guitarist and songwriter. In her 

early twenties she joined a band called the Two Dollar Pistols, a 

country rock outfit with songs like Hangovers and Heartaches. 

The gun metaphor carried over to her next band – one 

she formed with a few musical friends – The 

Carbines. They still back her up. 

In 2000 she won the Chris Austin 

Songwriting Contest at MerleFest in 

North Carolina. That sparked interest 

in her writing and led to a record deal 

and lots of gigs and more records. 

Along the way Tift has taken time 

to work on a project of diverse folk, 

classical, pop and jazz songs with 

classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein. 

She worked with Andrew Bird for a 

while and took some time for another 

type of creative endeavour – a child. A 

lot of her song creation takes place on 

walks and driving, and on those walks and 

drives she put together her most recent batch 

of songs. They’re fully-matured reflections on life. On 

Love Soldiers On she writes, “Lock it out and don’t return its 

call / Swear you don’t know its face at all / Throw it in the river, 

lose it in the storm / It will show up in its bandages tomorrow at 

your door.” That’s the kind of thing we can look forward to, the 

result of decades of hard work and hurt. 


Katie Moore & Andrew Horton | QC 

Katie Moore and Andrew Horton hang their hats in Montreal. 

Sharing a love for old time, country, bluegrass and related 

genres, they won the sobriquet of “one of the strongest 

Americana releases by a Canadian this year” from No 

Depression, the journal of record for this kind of music. Odd, 

but Montreal has always had a strong folk and country scene 

going back to other great duos, Fraser and Debolt or Cathy 

Fink and Duck Donald 40-odd years ago. 

Katie Moore is an award-winning songwriter who is very much 

in that city’s tradition of poetic writers from Cohen to the 

McGarrigles. In addition to strong originals Katie has added 

her voice to the work of Montreal artists including Socalled 

and Patrick Watson and lots of other folks. In fact we heard 

a great cover of fellow Montrealer Anna McGarrigle’s Heart 

Like a Wheel. She’s been making records under her own 

name for more than a dozen years now and is very much at 

the centre of the Montreal scene. Andrew Horton has a broad 

range of musical abilities and credits. He is a product of the 

music program at McGill. He has played bass in the Montreal 

Symphony, one of the best anywhere, as well as in the country 

folk rock band The Firemen. He is a fine guitarist, bassist and 

singer. 

As a duo Katie and Andy have recorded their first album Six 

More Miles. They toured it this winter on the Prairies, a truly 

Canadian act of bravery and determination. They went from 

the charms of Winnipeg to the lesser-known communities of 

Buena Vista, Saskatchewan and Hausa, Manitoba. Six More 

Miles is full of great new songs that sound like classics. A 

Couple of More Years features an older fellow talking to a 

younger woman about the virtues of experience: “It ain’t that 

I’m wiser, it’s just that I spent more time with my back to the 

wall.” Having tried the songs out in a prairie winter, we’re sure 

that Katie and Andrew will equally enjoy the warmer climate of 

Jericho Beach. 

Jake Morley | ENGLAND 

North London-born Jake Morley started writing songs while 

in high school. He started performing after three years of law 

studies at Nottingham University. Does this mean he is a singing 

lawyer? It must have some influence, positive or negative. 

Initially Jake worked the open mic scene in London, the way 

most artists start. Good, if impecunious, training. A decade 

ago he was getting some attention and started recording. His 

first full length album, Many Fish To Fry, was co-produced by 

Calum MacColl, son of folk legends Ewan MacColl and Peggy 

Seeger. It gives a sense of how good a writer and performer 

Jake is. Around the same time, Morley got a residency at 

Ronnie Scotts, playing once a month at the legendary London 

club. This, too, is impressive. 

His latest recording, The Manual, is also produced by Calum 

and funded by a Pledge Music campaign. The sound of the 

record is very English and very interesting – almost operatic 

on a cut like Watch Yourself, atmospheric on Ghostess, or 

poppy on Allegorical House. Lyrically Jake’s songs tend to 

be narratives full of insights and self-reflection. He possesses 

a very individual guitar style, perhaps the result of many, 

very many, club shows, often for folks who weren’t, at the 

beginning, there to see him. The new songs are the best yet, 

and the product of a long writing process. In an interview he 

describes the process: “I’ve never thought about anything as 

hard as these new songs before. Every detail of every single 

one means something to me, sometimes many things, and 

nothing is an accident. It was a crucifying method of writing 

that sometimes drove me close to the edge.” So much for the 

“it came to me all at once and I had it down in ten minutes” 

school. 

Jake has been to Canada before – “I’ve actually only toured the 

UK, Ireland, one coast of Canada and a tiny corner of Europe” 

– but this time he’s got a bunch of festivals in the western bit. 

Sometimes described as a cult artist, Jake Morley looks set to 

expand his ever increasing cult following this summer. 



Native North America | BC/NT/ON/QC 

Duke Redbird, Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback, 

Willy Mitchell, Lloyd Cheechoo, and Gordon Dick Sr. 

The world in general, and Canadians in particular, owe an 

immense debt of gratitude to Kevin Howes. His passion for 

music, and particularly lost music, led him to unearth the 

recordings that form the basis of Native North America, a two- 

CD set with 120 pages of notes! It documents the better part 

of two decades, 1966-1985, of aboriginal folk, rock and country 

music in Canada. Over a decade and a half, Kevin went looking 

for and found obscure recordings issued by CBC, the University 

of Alaska, Sweet Grass Music, La Federation des Cooperatives 

du Nouveau-Quebec and more. Kevin selected samples of 

a couple of dozen artists. It is a thrilling journey through a 

musical landscape that most folks have no knowledge, let 

alone experience, of. Perhaps, even more thrilling is the fact 

that the artists whose work Kevin resuscitated from old vinyl 

are still active. Some of the artists on Native North America 

have performed here before – Shingoose, David Campbell 

and Lawrence Martin are three. This weekend features 

the presence of Duke Redbird, Willie Thrasher and Linda 

Saddleback, Willy Mitchell, Lloyd Cheechoo, and Gordon Dick 

Sr. bringing songs and traditions from BC, Northwest Territories, 

Ontario and Québec. 

Willie Thrasher comes from Aklavik, NWT. His family lived off 

the land. At five he was sent to residential school. You know the 

rest of the story. The radio helped him survive, as did forming 

the first Inuit rock band. 

Willy Mitchell started writing poetry in hospital recovering 

from a bullet wound in his head inflicted by a cop. His first 

song? Big Police Man. He got some compensation and used 

the last $500 to buy a guitar. 

Lloyd Cheechoo is the son of James, well-known James Bay 

Cree fiddler, and Daisy, master of the spoons. He started on 

Led Zeppelin and has become an important writer of songs 

documenting the history of his people. 

Duke Redbird, filmmaker, political activist and more, was 

first influenced by the beat poets of the fifties. He became a 

travelling poet himself, moving to Toronto in the mid-sixties 

and working the coffeehouse circuit. 

Gordon Dick is from Mount Currie, B.C., Lil’wat Nation. Another 

residential school survivor, he ran away three times. An old 

Stella guitar found in a priest’s basement, covers of Louie, Louie 

and House of the Rising Sun launched a long involvement with 

music. 

These brief bits of bio are teasers. There is so much history, 

tragedy, joy and sorrow in their music. Don’t miss a rare 

opportunity to hear these veterans of the aboriginal music 

scene. 

Gordon Dick 

LLoyd Cheecho 

Duke Redbird 

Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback 



Nive & The Deer Children | GREENLAND 

A little cumbia, guitar, string bass, musical saw, sax, trombone, 

great voice and compelling lyrics describes these folks well. 

Catching a live performance of Still the Same by Nive Nielson 

and the Deer Children is a fine experience but confusing too. 

Where are they from? Greenland? Really? Well, Nive, anyways. 

That’s where she’s from but not where she’s going. These days 

she’s touring everywhere – Europe, Asia, North America. Her 

first gig was for the queen of Denmark on TV. Then she acted 

in a film with Colin Farrell. That was over a decade ago. What 

is “still the same” to mention one of her great songs, is the red 

ukulele she started out with. What she has picked up since 

she left her hometown of Nuuk, is a fine ensemble of “deer” 

(not dear) children. The Deer Children add a sound that could 

come from a cabaret – sort of jazzy, sort of poppy, sometimes 

folk rocky. 

Mainly she sings in English but sometimes in her mother 

tongue. On her Nive Sings! recording there is Tuttukasik “for 

children but not really but still. There´s awesome drumming 

and weird horn stuff. Me, I sing about grandmothers. And 

naughty reindeer, too.” Now you know. Her latest batch of 

songs, featured on Feet First, were recorded over three 

years in Greenland, Denmark, Belgium and England as well 

as in Tucson, Arizona, Athens, Georgia, Lexington, Kentucky, 

Nashville, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina. Nive says, 

“I just wanted these songs to grow with me on my travels and 

they did just that.” The “all over the world” part is accurate. Her 

current itinerary takes Ms. Nielsen from Poland to Vancouver, 

Whitehorse and Dawson to Denmark to Finland to Iceland to 

the Czech Republic. That’s just between now and the fall. This 

really is world music, created and recorded everywhere with 

help from a multinational force. There’s even a song, Space, 

that goes beyond this world to explore others – “to see and 

feel things I’ve never seen and felt before.” That’s exactly what 

we’re in for as we get to listen to Nive and her children and we 

don’t even have to travel very far. 

Aoife O'Donovan and Noam Pikelny | NEW YORK/TENNESSEE 

Aoife, pronounced EE-fuh, (it’s Irish and means radiant and 

joyful) first appeared at this festival with Crooked Still, one of 

the best “new timey” string bands around. Two years ago she 

was here with friends Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz. Now she 

returns with another friend, one of the finest banjoists around. 

Together they are about as good as acoustic old timey/ 

bluegrass music gets. 

Aoife comes from Boston. She picked up a degree at the New 

England Conservatory and then co-founded Crooked Still. 

Her voice became that band’s trademark. She writes great 

songs too. A couple of years back she put out her first album 

under her own name with a bunch of songs she’d written. A 

fairly new announcement tells us that Aoife will be featured 

with the National Symphony Orchestra on the West Lawn of 

the American Capitol in Washington, DC. Big stuff, though 

it’s not the first symphony she’s played with. Oh and there is 

work with Yo Yo Ma and the jazz album with Dave Douglas. 

Last year she put out her second solo album. Basically Aoife 

is an uncommonly talented artist with diverse abilities from a 

traditional ballad to something she wrote herself to just about 

anything. 

Noam is a founding member of the hugely successful bluegrass 

group the Punch Brothers, and recently won Album of the Year 

and Banjo Player of the Year at the International Bluegrass 

Music Awards. He is widely regarded as being in the very 

forefront of a new generation of banjo pickers. In 2010 he won 

the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass 

and has never looked back. The thing is, he knows where the 

music comes from. The title of his album Noam Pikelny Plays 

Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe gives that away. He’s even got 

the hat! His latest, Universal Favorite, is simply Noam playing 

covers and originals and introducing the world to his voice in 

every sense. 

Put Aoife and Noam together and you have the finest examples 

of the future of American acoustic traditional and traditionally 

based music. Enjoy! It doesn’t get better. 


Grace Petrie | ENGLAND 

Leonard Podolak | MB 

Grace Petrie made quite an impression when she made her 

Vancouver debut a couple of years back. She has been the 

junior member of the Anticapitalist Roadshow, and in England 

appears alongside Leon Rosselson, Peggy Seeger and Roy 

Bailey among others. Her fourth album, Whatever’s Left, has 

just been released to raves. In the afterglow of the June British 

election where the youth vote went decidedly left, squelching 

Teresa May’s “hard Brexit” plans, you might call Grace the voice 

of her generation. She is young, just 30 now, which means she 

was born the year Billy Bragg first played here. 

She is from Leicester in Central England. A little more than ten 

years ago she began performing and, shortly after, recording. 

The election of the Tories in 2010 shifted her songwriting 

towards politics. She caught the ear of the aforementioned 

Bragg, who invited her to perform on the Leftfield stage he 

curates at the Glastonbury Festival. She arrived an unknown 

and left a heroine, in no small part as the result of her song 

Farewell to Welfare. It became something of an anthem, 

describing the assault on social programs the Conservative 

government was unleashing. She was still a teenager when 

she wrote “And we’ve got a recession to beat / So let’s put 

more money into the Jubilee and a millionaire in Downing 

Street / And we’ve all got to pay the bills / But when we all 

work for free I don’t see how we ever will / And if I keep my 

receipts, can I claim back the mistakes / And the lives ruined by 

this government? / Or in another 18 years of budget cuts and 

tear s/ Will the people pay for those, just like we pay your rent? 

/ And say farewell, farewell to welfare.” The words still ring true 

there, and here, and lots of other places besides. That’s what 

makes it a folk song – what Aunt Molly Jackson called a song 

about the lives of the people. There have been many more 

since then, some more personal and some incendiary calls to 

action. A GLBT activist as well as a lefty, Ms. Petrie is a standard 

bearer for a new generation of political songwriters making an 

old tradition new again. Welcome back. 

Leonard is proof that you can grow up surrounded by the 

sound of banjos without living in Appalachia. He grew up in 

Winnipeg in the midst of folkdom. Father Mitch played banjo 

and organized the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Houseguests 

included banjo greats. Tommy Thompson of the Red Clay 

Ramblers, Cathy Fink and banjo wunderkind Daniel Koulack 

were friends and teachers. Yes, the lad came by it honestly. 

Trips south of the border to old timey camps and classes 

refined his Appalachian claw hammer style. 

Not just a brilliant exponent of traditional music from the 

American southeast, Leonard has used his instrument and 

abilities to go further. The group he cofounded, The Duhks, 

created a repertoire from the string traditions of Appalachia, 

Ireland, Scotland, England, Quebec and Louisiana, while 

bringing in influences of gospel, blues, rock, Afro-Cuban and 

Africa. After a break they came back to record a few years later 

and, to their surprise, raised $20,000 on IndieGogo. Seems 

they were missed. 

Leonard has also done a stint behind the glass, producing 

the great debut record by Ten Strings and a Goatskin, a PEI 

ensemble that was out this way last year. He has won some 

pretty big awards too, including a Grammy and Juno. However 

the biggest accolade came from his hero Doc Watson, who 

told him that his banjo playing on the first Duhks CD, Your 

Daughters and Your Sons, was as fine a claw hammer pickin’ 

as he’d ever heard! It doesn’t get better than that. 

These days Leonard has a bunch of projects on the go, a 

collaboration with fiddler Matt Gordon and work with some 

folks in the UK too. Then there is Dry Bones who were out this 

way a few years back. Leonard has formed some wonderful 

musical partnerships as he has travelled the country, continent 

and the world. This year, however, Leonard will show up in a 

very different format – by himself. The various other versions 

and visions are all just fine, but this time we get to hear the 

musical personality of Leonard on his own – tunes, songs and 

who knows what else. Stay tuned. 


The Revivalists | LOUISIANA 

New Orleans is a city that has given the world a lot of music, 

from jazz to soul to second line funk. Louis Gottschalk and 

Buddy Bolden, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Nevilles, Dr. 

John…and The Revivalists. Thank you, New Orleans! 

The Revivalists are the product of a bike ride by guitarist 

Zack Feinberg. He was passing David Shaw’s house and 

heard David singing. He stopped to chat, stayed to play. They 

picked up a drummer, Andrew Campanelli, who Feinberg 

had met at Tipitina’s, where Professor Longhair once held 

classes. A week later the earliest version of the band played 

their fi rst show, and at Tipitina’s a few weeks later the name 

“The Revivalists” appeared on the bill for the fi rst time. 

That was a decade or so ago. Since then The Revivalists 

– Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar, guitar), David Shaw (lead 

vocals), Zack Feinberg (guitar), Rob Ingraham (saxophone), 

George Gekas (bass guitar), Andrew Campanelli (drums, 

percussion), and Michael Girardot (keyboards, trumpet) – 

have become another New Orleans musical success story. 

They don’t have a sound that screams Crescent City but 

they have the back beat that New Orleans is famous for. The 

rest is more rock with some R&B sprinkled on top for spice. 

Oddly enough, despite its name, the band is not in the 

“revival” tradition. They don’t try to channel The Neville 

Brothers or any other discernible New Orleans icons, 

and certainly not Lee Dorsey. They tend to have more 

originality than a band with their moniker. That originality 

has propelled the band into the forefront of American roots 

rock. They’ve been on the road a lot. A recent blog from 

saxophonist Rob Ingraham describes their current schedule: 

“…this is our fi rst tour where we’re fl ying everywhere. And I 

do mean ‘everywhere.’ In one 5-day span we’ll be traveling 

from Toronto to Los Angeles with a brief stopover in the 

northeastern United States. In another, we will go from 

Indiana to Michigan by way of southern California. Note that 

this means we’ll be making two distinct trips to California in 

the next three weeks.” It’s the curse. May you get what you 

want – every band’s dream – lots of gigs and fl ying to them! 

Happily that means that they can drop in to this festival. 

Nell Robinson and Jim Nunally Band | CALIFORNIA 

Nell Robinson’s voice is magnificent. Whoever described her as 

a “modern day Patsy Cline” was not wrong. Jim Nunally comes 

from 13 years of guitar playing and singing with mandolin whiz 

David Grisman. He has picked up a couple of Grammys and 

is a two-time Western Open Flatpicking Guitar champion. He 

defines what they are up to as paying homage “to great artists 

like George Jones, Buck Owens, Tammy Wynette, while our 

original songs take folk music in an entirely new direction. We 

aren’t just following a path; we are paving a new one.” With 

Pete Grant on pedal steel, Jim Kerwin on bass fiddle and Jon 

Arkin on percussion, they breathe new life into covers and 

provide superb backing for originals. 

Nell has a few other projects that suggest her abilities. One was 

a PBS special, The Rose of No Man’s Land. The song is about 

nurses in the First World War. Nell’s project was to document 

the relationship between war and her family over 250 years. 

“Over the years, I have accumulated many stories of how 

wars have impacted the lives of my family and friends.” Some 

of the musical friends who helped her out include producer 

Joe Henry, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Kris Kristofferson. Jim is a 

third-generation guitar player who learned from his father who 

learned from his. 

In both Nell’s and Jim’s cases, family is important and their roots 

go deep. This shows in what they write and who they cover. 

The rest of the band is equally accomplished, and astounding. 

Peter Grant’s first record was the Grateful Dead’s Aoxomoxoa. 

Jim Kerwin spent 30 years playing bass for Grisman, including 

the wonderful collaborations with Jerry Garcia, speaking of the 

Dead. He also hit the stage of Carnegie Hall with Stéphane 

Grappelli and Yo-Yo Ma. Drummer/percussionist Jon Arkin is 

the son of Bill Monroe alumnus Steve Arkin. He has performed 

with jazz legend Lee Konitz and has his own solo electroacoustic 

percussion repertoire. 

“All-star band” is an oft-overused phrase but in this case it is 

merely stating the obvious. The songs, the sounds – this is as 

good as it gets. 


RURA | SCOTLAND 

Silly Wizard, Tannahill Weavers, Ian and Mary Kennedy, 

Battlefield Band – there have been a few great Scottish 

traditional music ensembles that have piped their way into 

the heads and hearts of the folk music festival audience over 

the last four decades. Here comes another one. Winners of 

the Live Act of the Year at the 2015 Scots Trad Music Awards 

tells us something. The accomplishments of the group 

members tell us more. Bodhran and flute player Dave Foley 

comes out of the Irish traditional music scene, Comahltas, 

in Glasgow. He won the All Ireland Bodhran Champion title. 

He met fellow band members Jack Smedley and Steven 

Blake at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he 

was accepted at 16! Jack is as fine a Scottish fiddler as has 

been heard around here since Aly Bain. He was raised on 

the northeast coast and is a lifelong devotee of folk music. 

He was a Young Traditional Musician of The Year finalist 

back in 2009. That’s when he teamed up with fellow finalist 

Adam Holmes and Steven and David to form RURA. Steven, 

on pipes and whistles, also was a finalist. His was in the 

BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 

2008. He has worked with Irish super group The Chieftains 

and has also taken the stage as a soloist with orchestras 

including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the 

Royal Northern College of Music’s Symphony Orchestra. 

Those are the basics. 

There’s more, but it is enough to say that the members of 

RURA are all virtuoso young players of traditional Scottish 

music. The trick is whether the sum is greater than the parts. 

From bits of live performances – thank YouTube – it appears 

that it is. The classical training is evident, as is the passion 

for tradition. They also write their own. Add seven years of 

performance and you see where the polish comes from. 

They first came to notice at the 2010 Celtic Connections 

festival, where they have now appeared on a remarkable 

seven consecutive occasions. It’s about time they shared 

the band with us! 

Clinton & Lorna St. John | AB 

Watching a video of Clinton St. John singing a sad song at 

a Calgary café, we couldn’t help but notice the John Deere 

patch on his jean jacket. It is a badge of the Canadian 

Prairies. Named after the man who developed the first 

commercially successful, self-scouring steel plow in the mid 

1800s, it is part of the history of how and why the prairies 

were settled. These days they make tractors among other 

things. Clinton St. John is a multi-instrumentalist Canadian 

singer-songwriter, visual artist, and graphic designer from 

Alberta. Carstairs, to be exact. He documents both the 

internal and external landscapes that he lives in, the former 

with songs, the latter with images. Both his songs and visual 

art break from any notion of realism while not abandoning 

narrative. 

He got his start as lead vocalist in a Calgary duo, The Cape 

May, around 2003. Later they morphed into The Pale Air 

Singers, as they merged with a Victoria ensemble, Run 

Chico Run. In both cases it was John’s voice and poetry that 

seemed to define the bands. Both these projects have left a 

recorded legacy behind them. Another legacy, one that has 

come to life recently, is the time John spent with producer 

Chad VanGaalen. “The last time we tried to record anything 

was in his mom’s house, in his tiny little bedroom on a fourtrack.” 

John’s most recent collection of songs, The Minor 

Arkhana, was more successful. He calls it two decades in 

the making. It’s his second album under his name and in 

collaboration with wife and bandmate Loma. This is a family 

band in every sense. We couldn’t help but notice a picture 

of infant daughter Sydney wearing headphones while being 

held in Loma’s arms as she and Clinton performed at the 

Regina Folk Festival a few years ago. 

A reviewer called his recent work “songs that drip with a 

sense of helplessness, but not necessarily hopelessness.” 

Clinton mentions John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, an epic 

about the dust bowl in the thirties, which perhaps bringing us 

back to John Deere and an art that paints pictures and tells 

tales; songs about people and places he knows. Together 

Clinton and Loma bring these stories to life in the tradition 

of folk music – a couple of voices and a guitar. 


Ciwko & Cristall present 

Ani DiFranco 

BINARY 

on tour 

Monday November 6 8pm 

Vancouver Playhouse 

New Record New Songs Same Great Artist! 

ticketstonight.ca 

anidifranco.com 

Season Sponsor 

TICKETS $ 21 

FROM 

Howard Family Stage 

On Stage Now! • All Seats Reserved 

bardonthebeach.org • 604-739-0559 

Season Brochures 

at outlets 

Media 

Sponsors 


John K. Samson & the Winter Wheat | MB 

Winter wheat (usually Triticum aestivum) are strains of wheat 

that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop 

into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during 

the winter and resume growth in early spring. For winter 

wheat, the physiological stage of heading is delayed until 

the plant experiences vernalization, a period of 30 to 60 

days of cold winter temperatures (0-5°C; 32-41°F). 

Vernalization is a wonderful term. It can be wheat or songs, 

we assume. Winnipeg certainly provides the winter. And 

Winnipeg has been both John K. Samson’s home and 

muse. Last fall was harvest time and Winter Wheat, the 

album/song collection, was released. According to John, 

sources of inspiration for these songs owe much to fellow 

Winnipeggers. There is Neil Young and Miriam Toews, for 

openers. More specifi cally there is Neil’s album, On the 

Beach, the last section of Toews’ book A Complicated 

Kindness and the fi rst section of her new one, All My Puny 

Sorrows. There is also a fi lm a friend is making about her 

mother and grandmother and great-grandmother and their 

story of immigration from Iceland to Winnipeg and the oldest 

oak tree in Winnipeg’s Brookside Cemetery. Add a fi lm about 

the impact of the oil industry and a book about Anthony 

Blunt, the Queen’s art adviser who was also a member of 

the Cambridge Five group of British upper-class students 

who joined Soviet military intelligence in the thirties, and 

that should be enough to explain the varied sources of 

inspiration that move one of the country’s fi nest songwriters. 

The whole explanation is on a CBC website. But you’d be 

better off listening to the songs. They mark another step 

forward for the founder of The Weakerthans. The writing 

is simply superb. The performances on the record are 

recorded so the words come through loud and clear. As he 

writes in the title track, “This crop withstood the months of 

snow / The scavengers and blight / Tuned every ear towards 

a tiny lengthening of light / And found a way to rise.” This is 

his best work yet. 

La Santa Cecilia | CALIFORNIA 

Santa Cecilia is the patron saint of music in the Catholic 

tradition. La Santa Cecilia is a group of Mexican-American 

musicians from “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de 

los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula” (in English, “town of our 

lady the Queen of Angels of the River Porciúncula”) – Los 

Angeles’ original name when it was part of Mexico. Their 

identifi cation with Mexico shines through. They do a duet 

of José Alfredo Jiménez’ El Ultimo Trago (The Last Drink) 

with great Mexican singer Eugenia Leon that does honour 

to its most famous interpreter, Chavela Vargas. They 

recorded another, Leña del Pirul, in Mexico City’s Plaza 

Santo Domingo. One is bolero, the other norteño. Both are 

wonderful. Both feature the extraordinary voice of Marisol 

“Marisoul” Hernandez, perhaps the heart of the group. But a 

singer doesn’t make a group, and accordionist and requinto 

José “Pepe” Carlos, percussionist Miguel “Oso” Ramirez 

and bassist Alex Bendana build the platform that allows Ms. 

Hernandez to rise above the rest. 

They started a decade or so ago. The members already 

knew one another, whether from playing in the same bands, 

attending the same schools, or showing up at one another’s 

events. “We talked; we jammed. Someone played jazz or 

mariachi; someone else brought in the Afro-Latino rhythms. 

Some rock,” Marisoul says. “It’s like being in the kitchen. If I 

put a little bit here, a little bit there, something good might 

come out.” It did – fi ne music that embraces a variety of 

Latin American musical styles. What also came out was a 

proud sense of identity and a commitment to that identity 

and the challenges it faces. They have worked with the 

National Day Laborer Organizing Network, releasing a song 

and video – Ice (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) / El 

Hielo addressing the problem of illegal immigration from the 

perspective of undocumented immigrants. They have also 

worked with the Nature Conservancy, urging their fans to 

conserve water and other natural resources in a video that 

is part of the Conservancy’s All Hands on Earth campaign. 

Water, like illegal immigration, is not a small issue in Los 

Angeles. But most of all, they have created a great body of 

music, paying homage to their tradition. Santa Cecilia would 

be proud. 


Nick Sherman | ON 

Andy Shauf | SK 

Andy Shauf is from Saskatchewan, “small town 

Saskatchewan,” he says. He was born in Estevan but grew 

up in miniscule Bienfait, 14 kilometres east of Estevan, 

perhaps best known for the murder of miners by the RCMP 

back in 1931 (sorry, Estevan and Bienfait). His folks owned 

a music store so he had his pick of instruments and gear. 

He started out playing drums in a Christian music band 

with his folks. In 2009 he released his first record. He was 

now living in “big town Saskatchewan”– Regina. On his 

2016 Polaris-nominated collection of songs, The Party, he 

describes life in “a city the size of a dinner plate.” There are 

some great vignettes – you’re dancing with someone who 

bears an uncanny resemblance to your ex and later you start 

slagging your best friend as a way of endearing yourself to 

his recently dumped ex. It’s a small town, there are not that 

many options and lots of exes. Andrew’s characters at this 

particular party either reveal life-changing secrets (To You) 

or trying their hardest to reveal nothing at all (The Magician). 

The sound might remind you of late Beatles but the stories 

are pure classic Dylan. 

Shauf is a writer. For his earlier LP he started with 100 songs. 

Who knows how many he’s got tucked away? Clearly there 

are enough good ones to have caught the attention of the 

high end of the music biz, folks who have heard a lot of songs 

and know the great ones from the merely good. The album 

started life with a band in Germany. It didn’t work, so in the end 

it was Andy and a friend, who handled the strings, in a CBC 

studio in Regina. It worked. He’s on a good record label and 

tours a bunch. His song Wendell Walker, from The Bearer of 

Bad News, was shortlisted for the 2016 SOCAN Songwriting 

Prize, the same year The Party made the Polaris list. 

He’s moved to Toronto, we hear. Given what he was able 

to squeeze out of a small town, we are waiting to see what 

songwriting inspirations will come from his move to “the big 

smoke.” Meanwhile we are looking forward to the festival 

debut of a first-class gossip. 

At a festival that features veteran aboriginal songwriters, 

it is a testimony to their impact that we can welcome Nick 

Sherman, a young songwriter working in the same tradition. 

Nick is from Northern Ontario; Sioux Lookout is the nearest 

town of substance but Nick spent much of his youth out on 

the land, moving between his hometown, the small First 

Nation community of Weagamow Lake, and his family’s 

trapline on North Caribou Lake. It was here, in the depths of 

the Northern Ontario forest, that his family members would 

play guitar as they tended their trapline, and Nick found 

himself soaking in songs and lyrics. It gives new meaning to 

the idea of “the voice in the wilderness” or, rather, the voice 

from the wilderness. 

Nick’s songs are not only inspired by his memories of those 

early trapline sounds – the timeless hymns of celebration 

and lamentation on his reserve – but by great songwriters 

including William Elliott Whitmore, Ray LaMontagne, Sam 

Cooke, and Elvis Costello – a varied mix, to be sure, and 

four songwriters who cover at least six decades. Nick 

has recorded with a band but usually performs solo. He 

epitomizes the old definition of rock ’n’ roll – three chords 

and the truth. 

Nick describes his most recent collection of songs as being 

about “the best and worst days of the last four years.” Some 

are autobiographical, some descriptive. One of the most 

powerful about the worst was written for a documentary film, 

Survivor’s Rowe, about Ralph Rowe, an Anglican minister 

and Boy Scout leader, revered and trusted by community. 

He had the perfect cover for a pedophile. Rowe abused an 

estimated 500 native boys throughout the 1970s and ’80s. In 

Find My Way, Nick sings, “I tore this house down a thousand 

times in my mind / Watched it burn into the same ground / I 

crawled this far by myself, without your help…” These songs 

are inspired by the lives of people in his community, his own 

upbringing and life experiences as he now raises his own 

family in Canada’s North. Lately he has taken them far from 

the forests where they were created. He showcased last 

year at both Folk Music Ontario and Montreal Mundial. He’s 

getting out there with his own unique music. He calls it “the 

boreal forest blues.” 


Gabrielle Shonk | QC 

Gabrielle Shonk is a reminder that the first instrument that 

homo sapiens invented was the voice. Whether covering 

the soul classic Ain’t No Sunshine, or Drake’s One Dance, 

or something of her own, in English or French, Quebecoise 

chanteuse Ms. Shonk, can sing the birds down from the 

trees, as the saying goes. 

Never heard of her? No surprise; she is new on the scene 

and this is her West Coast debut. She first garnered some 

attention on La Voix, the French Canadian version of The 

Voice, in 2014. Her first album is coming out this year. Like 

many, her “discovery” by the world came after years of hard 

slogging refining her craft. Her father was a blues musician, 

a member of Blues Avalanche. He met Gabrielle’s mother 

in Quebec City. They moved to the US but returned when 

her mom, a graphic designer, got a job at Laval University. 

Fluently bicultural, Gabrielle has a degree in jazz and has 

been singing on the club circuit for almost a decade. In 2008 

she founded a jazz ensemble, the Gabrielle Shonk Quartet. 

The jazz is certainly there, but these days folk and soul are 

predominant. By then she had already been part of the punk 

rock scene. A songwriter since she was 14, she remarks 

about her debut recording, “… there’s a lot of influences, it’s 

not an album that was composed in six months ....” Habit, a 

song she wrote and released as a single, brought her a lot 

of attention. 

Most of her own songs are in English although she has 

three in French on her record. “Everybody said to me, ‘Well, 

a bilingual album, why? Choose one of the two’, but my 

life is bilingual… I wanted it to be a really introspective and 

authentic album that represents me.” Habit certainly does. 

It is a letter to “a self-centred jerk” who has “no sense of 

respect … You cheat and lie, causing pain with no thought or 

regrets / To change your mind then you drink ….” It is not just 

a heartbreak song. It has a happy ending: “When it all comes 

crashin’ down / Don’t you come to me and cry / I’ll be gone 

and moving on ….” Moving on indeed. That is what Gabrielle 

is doing and part of her movement is bringing her music to 

Vancouver this year. Bienvenue. 

Sidestepper | COLOMBIA 

Colombia is best known for cumbia, the infectious dance 

music from the Atlantic coast. Like most places, Colombia has 

a lot of musical styles and Sidestepper plays many of them. 

Colombia is the northern-most extension of the Andes so it 

is no surprise that they are at home with that music – flutes 

and percussion. Colombia is also an Afro-American country 

and Sidestepper features that music, some of it almost 

calypso. There’s jazz in there too. In fact they are a tour of 

many of their country’s musical styles, filtered through their 

own take on the world. It is a thoroughly remarkable blend. 

Their strength is that unique vision, coupled with great vocal 

abilities and an instrumental approach that always supports 

but never dominates the singing. 

The band has been around for over 20 years. Oddly enough 

it was initially formed by a British DJ/producer, Richard Blair. 

He was working for Peter Gabriel’s Real World label and was 

captured (metaphorically) by the music he found there. He 

put together a bunch of musicians and a band was born. 

They have evolved from their initial “electro cumbia” sound, 

and have gone through personnel changes as well. In fact 

they took a long break before reforming a couple of years 

ago as a more traditional ensemble replacing the electronic 

sound with instruments such as hand drums, shakers, flutes 

and acoustic instruments. They crowdfunded money to 

make a new record reflecting their reincarnation. It’s on Real 

World, their first for the label that was, in a way, responsible 

for their formation. 

They are out and about in the world, performing at major 

festivals from Rudolstadt in Germany to Toronto’s Luminato 

along with more intimate club shows. The band describes 

what they are doing now, “This feels like we’re starting afresh, 

and what you’re hearing this time has come from here, from 

Colombia, from a small community in the Candelaria. We’ve 

tried to put a sound and a voice to how we live here …. Most 

of all we’ve tried to put a call out to love in all its forms, and I 

guess we started with our love of music itself.” Love of music 

– say no more. 


The Slocan Ramblers | ON 

The Sojourners | BC 

By any sense of justice these guys should not be this good. 

OK, they’ve got the instruments – Frank Evans on banjo, 

Adrian Gross on mandolin, Danny Poulsen on guitar and 

Alastair Whitehead on bass.. They may not have a fiddler – 

the original Bill Monroe band did – yet the basics are there. 

But they are not from Kentucky or Tennessee or West Virginia 

or anywhere else that organically sends forth bluegrass. 

They are not even from Slocan, a valley in eastern BC where 

many Americans settled when they escaped the Vietnam 

War. These guys are from Toronto, as near as we can tell. 

Somehow they have grafted themselves onto the true vine 

and are able to serve up a mess of bluegrass that is pretty 

good, to say the least. 

Their repertoire does honour to the tradition, with a twist. 

Groundhog is an old timey tune that is often performed by 

bluegrass bands. Guitarist Danny Poulsen can both pick and 

write. His instrumental, Down in the Sugar Bush, can more 

than hold its own in any pickin’ parlour around. Pastures 

of Plenty, Woody Guthrie’s tribute to migrant workers, is 

as relevant today as when it was written almost 80 years 

ago. Woody wrote it before Bill invented bluegrass. The fact 

that Slocan Ramblers do a fine cover of it with a bluegrass 

sensibility shows they have been doing some listening and 

thinking. Maybe they’ve heard the Seldom Scene, one of 

the first bluegrass bands to start covering modern songs. 

Whatever and wherever, they have assembled a great 

collection of songs that pay respect to their elders while 

reflecting what is happening now and writing some of their 

own. 

There are few bands that can win an Emerging Artist Award 

at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, which they did in 2015 

and an endorsement from Don Cherry, yes that one, the 

hockey guy, for a rendition of the gospel tune Abide With 

Me. They also picked up Best New Artist from the Toronto 

Jazz Festival, which shows they can swim in many pools. 

There is no question these guys have earned the excitement 

they are generating. The only question is what it has to do 

with Slocan. Ask ’em. 

There used to be a kind of joke among folk festival organizers 

about the “triple S club” – sensitive singer-songwriters. The 

Sojourners have created a new triples definition – “seriously 

spiritual sounds.” And it’s true. That is exactly what you get 

with this ensemble, whether it be a song from the religious 

tradition or another kind of spirituality in a song like Bob 

Dylan’s I Shall Be Released. It’s Jim Byrne’s fault! Jim called 

Marcus Mosley to see if he could round up some friends 

to sing on a new album he was making. Marcus called Will 

Sanders and Khari McClelland. 

Marcus hails from Ralls, Texas, Will is from Alexandria, 

Louisiana, and Khari is from Detroit. They all grew up singing 

in church. When they came to Canada they brought the 

real thing with them. That thing was part of pop music with 

groups like The Golden Gate Quartet, others that worked the 

gospel circuit like The Blind Boys of Alabama and the singers 

that gave their voices to the Civil Rights movement like the 

Freedom Singers and The Staple Singers. The members of 

The Sojourners knew that history and those songs but in 

Vancouver they used their voices elsewhere until Jim made 

that call. Marcus had sung throughout North America, Europe, 

Asia, Africa and the South Pacific, owing to 10 years of service 

as a missionary. When he settled in Vancouver 30 years ago, 

he performed in various highly successful stage productions 

such as Ain’t Misbehavin’, Black and Gold Revue and Show 

Boat, while conducting gospel workshops. Will won a starring 

role in the Arts Club production of Ann Mortifee’s tour de 

force, When the Rains Come. He was even nominated for a 

Jessie Richardson Award for Best Performance in a Musical 

that year (1994). He also went on to star in the Arts Club 

production of Five Guys Named Moe. Khari is the most recent 

arrival, having formed Cornerstone, a gospel quartet, with 

Frazey Ford, Ora Cogan and Matt Anderson. 

These three were ready when Jim called and have not looked 

back. On stage and on record from Parliament Hill to the Time 

Life history of the music of the civil rights movement, The 

Sojouners bring their tradition and culture to diverse audiences 

– “seriously spiritual sounds” indeed. Say Amen, somebody! 


Tomato Tomato | NB 

Whether it is “to-may-to, to-mah-to” or vice 

versa they, or somebody, described what this 

duo does as “cool new folk music” and it is no 

lie. One of John and Lisa McLaggan defi ned 

themselves as a “washboard infused folk band” 

while the other said they were “an old timey 

roots band.” They hail from Grand Bay/Westfi eld, 

not far from Saint John, New Brunswick. They 

got started in their current persona fi ve or so 

years ago. They were playing jazz then but 

were hired to lead a parade of kids around a 

zoo. They needed some kind of instrument so 

John got out his guitar and they were launched, 

playing second on the bill to a llama, apparently. 

It’s all been uphill since then. 

Now, in truth, Lisa says, they had been singing folk music 

around the house for years. It was a matter of convincing 

John that what had been their private pleasure should be 

their public persona. The guitar was there from the beginning. 

The percussion evolved from cabasa to tambourine to the 

now ever-present washboard. The washboard goes back 

to the 1920s, the golden age of stringbands. Their music, 

however, is distinct. While the sound may pay tribute to old 

timey music, they are more contemporary folk. Most of their 

repertoire is original songs. Some is close to bluegrass, 

especially when they work with a band, which they 

sometimes do. We caught a cover of Dylan’s Don’t Think 

Twice It’s All Right, one of Bob’s cynical masterpieces about 

love gone wrong. Their originals tend to more affirmative 

and celebratory. Perhaps what they have inherited most 

from the tradition is a sense of fun. They clearly want the 

audience to have a good time. 

They’ve made a couple of records and toured to a bunch 

of festivals from Lunenburg to Winnipeg to Australian 

Music Week. They’ve picked up heaps of East Coast Music 

Awards nominations, won three in 2015 and got Songwriter 

of the Year this year. Clearly things are on the move for an 

ensemble whose written name doesn’t capture the humour. 

Let’s defi nitely not call the whole thing off. 

True Blues featuring 

Corey Harris & Alvin 

Youngblood Hart 

| VIRGINIA/CALIFORNIA 

It takes a certain amount of moxie to call yourselves the ‘true 

blues.’ These guys can back it up. 

It started a few years back as a touring show with a fl oating 

group of folks. The version we get is a duet of Corey Harris 

and Alvin Youngblood Hart. Harris has been the emcee of 

the live show. Maybe he started it. He is very much in the 

forefront of a revival of interest in traditional country blues 

by a generation too young to have been around when the 

fi rst revival hit the stages 

of Newport, Ann Arbor 

and even Vancouver 

where audiences might 

remember Johnny Shines, 

J.C Burris, Roosevelt 

Sykes, Memphis Slim and 

Brownie McGhee. 

Hart has been regarded 

as one of the fi nest 

contemporary bluesmen 

for a while. Both Harris 

and Hart were featured 

in Martin Scorsese’s The 

Blues: A Musical Journey, 

which followed Harris to West Africa, where he explored his 

familial and musical roots. Harris began his career as a New 

Orleans street singer and lived in Cameroon, West Africa, 

for a year during his early twenties. He is the recipient of a 

MacArthur Fellowship, that’s the one you have to be a genius 

just to be considered. Hart was born in Oakland, California, 

a major destination for folks leaving the south. As a child he 

spent time in the Mississippi Delta with relatives, listening 

to their stories about Charlie Patton and soaking in the 

country blues. He spent time with Henry “Mule” Townsend, 

one of that fi rst generation. Harris and Hart have been on 

the scene both as live and recording artists since the midnineties 

when Harris’ album Between Midnight and Day and 

Hart’s Big Mama’s Door made waves. 

Ever since Skip James, Fred McDowell and Mississippi John 

Hurt were “discovered” in the early sixties, folks have been 

surprised that the country blues was, and is, a living tradition. 

Hart and Harris are two of a signifi cant group, that 60 years 

after that fi rst wave brought us the music, are insuring that 

the magnifi cent creation of poor Afro-American agricultural 

workers and entertainers and poets is going to be here, in 

the fl esh, for a long time to come. 


Leif Vollebekk | QC 

Will Varley | ENGLAND 

Will Varley seems like the reincarnation of the protest 

singer, as they were called, from back in the day, that day 

being maybe the teens, the thirties, the sixties …. Young 

and English, he got his start in the honourable way busking 

around South London, armed with fake ID, and playing at 

open mic nights in clubs while writing hundreds of songs. 

Different times but very much in the tradition of Ewan 

MacColl, Leon Rosselson or Billy Bragg over there and the 

Greenwich Village songwriters over here, Varley describes 

what he sees around him from a critical perspective, writing 

songs with few chords and lots of words – the hallmark of 

the political songwriter. 

King for a King is as eloquent and articulate a dystopian tale 

of life from birth to old age as any that we have heard. We 

Don’t Believe You is an equally articulate and compelling 

denunciation of politicians and the media and all the rest of 

“them.” Its chorus of “We don’t believe you … any more” can 

be sung by mass choruses from Varley’s home in the UK to 

right here. Heck, he has managed to write a history of human 

evolution and British imperialism in under four minutes – 

Weddings and Wars. Check out the animation accompaniment. 

In 2011 Varley made his first record on Smugglers, a label he 

cofounded with other musicians who gravitated to Deal in 

Kent; rents are cheap and it’s near the sea. 

To launch his first record, Will set out on a walking tour 

starting at London Bridge, sleeping rough, as the Brits say, 

reaching an audience and refining his performance skills. 

Not content or comfortable to merely comment on the world 

around him, Varley has taken his music to places where 

people confront demons, including the Occupy London 

protests. Not content to merely write songs he also has 

written a novel, Sketch of a Last Day. His second album was 

launched with a 500-mile walking tour in the UK and gigs on 

the continent as well. Finally he took the stage at the Royal 

Albert Hall, a long way from either busking or pubs. Now, 

four albums and countless gigs and songs in, he has made 

it to Vancouver. We hope he didn’t walk but he’ll be well 

received even if he did. 

Ottawa-born Montrealer Leif Vollebekk doesn’t live in 

Vancouver but he has written Vancouver Time, a song 

inspired by the contradictions and inequities of love and life 

here. He’s also written one called Michigan, with a chorus 

of “never been to Michigan,” another story about another 

place. When The Subway Comes Above Ground was 

inspired by the Montreal transit system. Cairo Blues, one of 

his first recorded efforts is a bluesy story that does not seem 

to be about Cairo. This guy is a storyteller. Maybe he’s hired 

by the tourism departments? 

Tom Waits, Van Morrison and others may have been sources 

of inspiration, but Leif has made his own way as lyricist and 

performer. He credits Bob Dylan’s Simple Twist of Fate as the 

song that took him from composer to lyricist but he doesn’t 

write like Bob. He also name checks Sigur Ros and Allen 

Ginsberg but you wouldn’t know it to listen to him. That’s 

the skill of an artist – to absorb but not imitate. He’s got it. 

He is also a traveller, it would appear. As mentioned above, 

a number of his song titles are places. He went to Iceland 

looking for his back story, having learned to play music on 

instruments inherited from his grandfather. He came back to 

record his first album in 2010. 

It hasn’t all been a roaring success. One gig in New York 

(“if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere”) was 

cancelled because only one ticket was sold. At another gig, 

much better attended and thus not cancelled, Leif asked if 

his single diehard fan was there. No, but the sold-out crowd 

laughed and clapped. 

Mainly a performer of his own creations, Vollebekk is also 

capable of paying tribute to another Canadian storytelling 

troubadour with a cover of Neil Young’s Cowgirl in the Sand. 

He’s got three records out and has toured to both the U.S. and 

Europe as well as closer to home. In a fairly short time, Leif 

Vollebekk has accumulated a vital and vibrant body of work – 

sonic stories of places and people well worth listening to. 


Luke Wallace | BC 

Wesli | QC/HAITI 

Listening to Luke Wallace’s latest recorded collection of 

songs was a refreshing experience. Sometimes veterans of 

the folk wars of years gone by express their dissatisfaction at 

the lack of current political activist singers and songwriters. 

The media, too, writes about the death of the protest singer, 

not without relish, it seems. We know that ain’t true. There 

are at least half a dozen young committed artists at this 

festival this year, roughly the same number that were at 

the classic Newport or Mariposa or Winnipeg or Vancouver 

festivals of years gone by. 

Pick two of Luke’s songs, one somewhat serious, the other 

firmly with tongue in cheek. Opportunity, the title track of 

Luke’s latest, is about the weather. You might have heard it’s 

changing. You might have noticed. “We’re in the middle of a 

crisis on a climactic scale / Storms getting stronger / Wind, rain 

and hail / Politicians lie / We’re all set to fail / Unless people 

rise up and love prevails / Demand an end to the bombs and 

invasions / To oil, gas and coal and corporate persuasion 

/ Where the wealthy stay rich cause of tax evasions… turn 

this fight into an opportunity.” Don’t Tell The Taxman is a cry 

to collaborate in tax justice. “People put their money in my 

guitar case / I give it all away to make the world a better place 

/ I can’t give it to the government they’ll put it in the tar sands 

/ But shush, quiet, don’t tell the taxman.” 

Wallace identifies his place of residence as Coast Salish 

Territory and his vocation as ”folktivist” – a great term. “I 

spend my time touring the coast and planet using my 

music as a platform to amplify the voices of communities 

threatened by unjust resource extraction and to contribute 

to the growing revolution spreading across the earth.” He 

was in Paris for the big show last year, the one that Trump 

just pulled out of. Current projects include a fundraiser tour 

for RAVEN’s Pull Together Campaign in support of First 

Nations’ court challenges of the Kinder Morgan pipeline 

expansion, and continued work addressing the Site C Dam 

proposal in the Peace River Valley. 

Armed with folk, a little rap, call and response, a poet’s gift 

and a voice to deliver it all, Luke is both an artist to listen to 

and a hope for the future. 

Wesli (Wesley Louissaint), multi-instrumentalist, singer and 

producer, comes from Montreal’s Haitian community. Babel 

Med Music Award France 2010, CBC Revelation Award and 

Galaxy Rising Star winner 2011, Wesli was born in Port-au- 

Prince, Haiti. He built his first guitar out of an old NGOprovided 

oil can and nylon shoelace when he was just eight 

years old. He started singing in the gospel choir of his local 

church and while still in his teens took part in serious projects 

such as the afro-roots Jazz 4ever quartet and SoKute. 

Arriving in Montreal, Wesli was fearless in his embrace of 

a variety of collaborations. Acadian rappers, Radio Radio, 

Nomadic Massive, Socalled, Dramatik, Tiken Jah Fakoly, 

Mes Aïeux, Paul Cargnello, Boogat and Karma Atchykah 

and many more feature on his albums. Rap, hip hop, reggae, 

merengue and many other Afro-American musical genres, in 

the hemispheric sense, populate his work. Alain Brunet, La 

Presse music critic and probably the most acute reviewer in 

Quebec, calls Wesli “the strongest world creation Montréal 

presently has to offer internationally.” No faint praise. 

His latest repertoire reflects a certain return to his roots. 

Ayiti Étoile Nouvelle, released in 2015, is an acoustic album 

which comprises of original compositions as well as remixes 

and traditional Haitian songs. Proceeds will contribute 

to the financing of the Ayiti Étoile Nouvelle Music School 

that Wesli created in Haiti to give back to the kids of Fort 

Bel Air ghetto, where he grew up. Rara, the opening song 

on his latest release, is traditional Haitian carnival music 

used for street processions, typically during Easter Week. 

The music centres on a set of cylindrical bamboo trumpets 

called vaksen (which may also be made of metal pipes), 

but also features drums, maracas, güiras or güiros. Though 

predominantly Afro-based, Rara also has some Taino 

Amerindian elements to it as well as vodou. Mama Africa 

pays tribute to…well, the title says it…with varied African 

musical styles, including Congolese soukous. Varied and 

infectious, it seems M. Brunet is not amiss. Wesli serves up 

a spectacular musical buffet of delicious sounds, a delight 

for the ears. 


The Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

and Timbre Concerts Present 

Pokey Lafarge 

with Special Guests 

American country blues singer , songwriter and 

multi-instrumentalist , on tour to support his 

latest release Manic Revelations 

Thursday, August 24 

Imperial Theatre 

Tickets available at 

timbreconcerts.com 19+ 


Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders | NEW ZEALAND 

Marlon Williams made a lot of friends when he appeared 

here for the first time two years ago. His covers of the 

traditional song When I Was a Young Girl and 

Ewan MacColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your 

Face along with his own ballads like Dark 

Child, where he constructs a parent’s 

grief in a kind of twisted lullaby – “My 

little blond haired blue eyed boy / One 

day you’ll grow up and be distressed 

/ One day you’ll grow up and reject 

everything / I’ve set out for you”– or 

The Ballad of Minnie Dean made him 

one of the ones to remember for many 

festival goers. Well, he’s back and he’s 

brought company with him in the form of 

the Yarra Benders, a rockabilly outfit that 

does justice to the reputed Australian love of 

country music. Once again Marlon is adding some 

great covers to his own songs but, with a band, he can drive 

down a rockier road. One of note is his take on Screaming 

Jay Hawkins’ Portrait of a Man. His own, Hello Miss Lonesome, 

is one you need to check on the authorship to make sure it 

wasn’t written by Carl Perkins or Johnny Cash. “Hello Miss 

Lonesome, I see you’re back in town / It’s funny how I lose my 

mind when you come around / Papa thinks, that he knows 

you / Mama knows you more / She knows where to 

hide when you come knocking at the door” is 

pure country but it goes to a darker place and 

that is pure Williams – Marlon, not Hank. 

At least one other songwriter is paying 

attention. Marlon and band were chosen 

as the opening act for a couple of Bruce 

Springsteen shows in the land of Oz. 

Born in New Zealand, transplanted to 

Australia, where he and the band are 

now well established, Marlon and the 

Yarra Benders have made some pretty 

good inroads into the North American 

scene as well. After his festival appearance 

in 2015, Marlon returned to North America with 

the Yarra Benders in the spring of 2016 and made 

their US TV debut on Conan O’Brien’s late night show. Things 

are going well enough that Marlon is able to tour this year 

with the band, a treat we are looking forward to. That said, a 

reprise of an a cappella version of When I Was a Young Girl 

would do no harm. 

Women in the Round | BC 

In 1988 at the Bluebird Café, a 90-seat Nashville club, Amy 

Kurland decided that there were a bunch of great 

women singer-songwriters who needed to be 

put together on stage. The idea was a success 

and spread. In fact this festival hosted a 

travelling version in 1989, including Pam 

Tillis and Karen Staley. The idea kind of 

franchised itself and has been going 

on in various places ever since. One of 

those places is Vancouver. 

The version on offer at this festival 

is made up of Dalannah Gail Bowen, 

Andrea Menard, Renae Morrisseau and 

is hosted by Sandy Scofield. Together they 

have over 150 years of musical experience 

among other things. They have come together 

to sing traditional First Nations and original songs. 

Downtown Eastside’s own award-winning Dalannah Gail 

Bowen has been music-making for over 45 years, and has been 

an integral part of the DTES Heart of the City Festival. She is a 

blues powerhouse who also uses her voice to move forward a 

long list of progressive enterprises. Andrea Menard is a multitalented 

Métis performer, a true renaissance woman; she is 

an actor, a singer, a writer and an ambassador, excelling in the 

four creative areas that make up her own personal medicine 

wheel. She may be best known for her Gemini-nominated 

roles in various TV shows. She has also released four 

records and has sung her song, Peace, to a gang 

of NATO generals. Renae Morrisseau is from 

Peguis First Nations Reserve in Manitoba. 

She too is a multidisciplinary artist. She 

goes back to a major role in North of 

60. She has a long history of activism. 

In 2000 she co-directed, produced 

and wrote a presentation for the World 

AIDS Group of British Columbia entitled 

Thinking: AIDS – Theatre Project which 

was performed at various highs schools 

across the cities of Greater Vancouver 

to educate teenagers about the HIV/ 

AIDS virus. Last year she was named the 

Vancouver Public Library’s 2016 aboriginal 

storyteller-in-residence. She too is a singer, who 

founded M’Girl, a group of First Nations singers. Sandy is 

Cree/Métis and a Vancouver musical icon. She has been part 

of the city’s scene for a long time and has lent her brain and 

heart to a variety of projects from recordings and shows of her 

own creations to the Iskwew Singers, a trio of First Nations 

women creating songs in the Plains tradition. 

Along with Native North America, Women in The Round offer 

the feminine, not to say feminist, side of the First Nations 

traditional and contemporary musical picture. 


THREE DAYS IN ANOTHER WORLD 

I am not sure exactly what the intentions of 

Mitch Podolak, Colin Gorrie and Ernie Fladell 

were when they agreed to produce the fi rst 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival. I entered 

the picture in late 1977 once the deal had 

gone down. I think Mitch and Colin wanted to 

move from Winnipeg to the west coast. Ernie, 

Senior Social Planner at Vancouver City Hall, 

was looking for additions to his Heritage Festival 

that had emerged from the UN Habitat conference on 

housing’s cultural program. 

The Children’s Festival and the Folk 

Music Festival were sort of turnkey 

operations. They had both existed 

for a few years in Winnipeg and Colin 

and Mitch came with experience, a 

plan and, in the case of the Winnipeg 

Folk Festival, an experienced cadre of 

committee coordinators. Ernie had his 

own team – Lorenz, Lesley, Patrick, 

Trudi and Frances. It seemed like a 

great partnership. 

Me? I was the outsider. I came from the 

far left. My experience was organizing 

conferences and demonstrations. Mitch 

and I shared membership in a small 

Trotskyist organization and radical 

socialist politics. It was Mitch who 

brought me in as a fait accompli. “This 

is the guy who will organize it,” he told 

Ernie. That was it. I was hired. 

Mitch booked the artists. My job was 

to build a volunteer organization, do grass roots marketing 

and publicity, fi nd accommodation for the artists, create the 

audience services components – food and crafts area – and 

generally make it all work. 

I didn’t need to know much about folk music but, happily, 

I did. I was raised in the same Toronto neighbourhood and 

cultural milieu as Mitch. Folk music was an organic part of my 

life. The Weavers, Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, 

The Travellers; Paul Robeson held me in his arms and sang to 

me to stop me from crying. True. 

I had just fi nished a university degree in history and Latin 

American studies and was planning on a Masters. Mitch 

recruited me several years before the festival was confi rmed 

but I never thought it was real. Now this sounded like fun and 

I agreed to take a year off. But if I was going to do it, I was 

going to do it in a way that refl ected my beliefs. That meant 

that I would put as many of my cockeyed ideas into the thing 

as I could. Mitch in Winnipeg and Estelle Klein at Mariposa 


HOW 

THE FESTIVAL 

WAS RAISED 

by Gary Cristall 

and the folks at Newport before had laid the 

foundations. 

At folk festivals in those days everyone was 

paid the same. Names were in alphabetical 

order. There were no ‘stars.’ After all, in the 

late 70s folk music had been pronounced 

dead by the music industry and media. Folk 

festivals were products of ‘the people,’ run mainly 

by volunteers. That was the model that we used in 

Vancouver. To help with this I hired two ‘comrades’ from my 

Trotskyist organization, Susan Knutson and Bruce Russell. 

This meant that there was a common 

vision. It was important and was 

refl ected in a variety of ways. 

The food area was made up of small 

cooperatives and ‘indie’ operators. 

Bruce curated a crafts area that 

was full of innovative creations as 

opposed to schlock. The festival 

program had a dedication to Malvina 

Reynolds, recently deceased writer 

of Little Boxes, and What Have They 

Done to the Rain. Local songwriter 

Vera Johnson’s Women’s Liberation 

Blues was published. There were no 

corporate logos. I wrote a fundraising 

letter in the program that started “Folk 

music is people’s music… You don’t 

need a Lear Jet full of equipment to 

play it… It’s also not commercially 

viable.” It went on to tell the audience 

that they should give the festival 

money, get on its mailing list and volunteer because “we can 

fi ght the tendency to choose music on the basis of what sells 

good as opposed to what sounds good.” 

From the get go we were being pretty clear about where 

we stood. It refl ected the ideas of signifi cant chunks of 

the audience and volunteers. That was vital. Many of the 

volunteers came from social and political movements 

fl ourishing in Vancouver and environs. They came from 

Greenpeace to international solidarity movements to the 

women’s movement. 

The audience, too, included many politicized veterans of the 

‘sixties.’ They were drawn to the festival because the content 

of the music resonated with their beliefs; artists who wanted 

to use their music to change the world. Some thought that the 

festival was a continuation of the Stanley Park Be-ins that had 

run from the late sixties through the mid seventies. We had to 

fight the notion that we were the reincarnation of those events, 

and we definitely were not, but a similar ‘feel’ was there.

We had an annual fight at the Park Board where we would 

get permission to use Jericho Beach Park by four votes to 

three! Scary. Yet the best of the ‘sixties’ was to some extent 

present in the festival – mass dancing of no definable style, 

a ‘family’ sense of alternative culture. In the fall of 1979 the 

festival left the Heritage Festival and we registered as our 

own non-profit society. 

Looking at a picture of the staff, I am reminded of what a world 

changing crew they were. Most were involved in some form 

of political activity. Working on the festival was both a way 

to earn some money but also a way to put into practice what 

they believed in. The audience was not shy about telling us 

how to make it better and neither were the volunteers. We 

listened.The security committee was comprised mainly of 

women, removing the image of bulky guys with a swagger. 

A massage committee was set up back stage for performers 

and volunteers. A Disabled Access committee was formed 

that began providing a range of services to those with 

special needs. An Environment Committee not only kept 

the park clean but began giving tours and explaining the 

bird habitat, etc. The food area continued to grow with 

not a junk food outlet in site. Some booths were run by 

nonprofit organizations raising funds for housing in Chile 

or single South Asian mothers in South Vancouver. Others 

offered information about how to change the world. The site 

Photos: Left – first program guide cover, 1978. Above – first VFMF staff photo. 

became more and more territory occupied by an invasion 

force establishing a beach head of an environmentally and 

socially conscious regime. 

The notion that the festival was a three day example of the 

world that we would like to see became an oft-mentioned 

reason for coming, along with the music. Women felt 

comfortable taking their shirts off. Parents felt comfortable 

letting their kids roam. Same sex couples could hold hands 

without glares and stares. Perhaps my favourite anecdote 

was the guy who came to Lost and Found and, shamefaced, 

asked if anyone had turned in a roll of twenty dollar bills with 

elastic around it. It seemed unlikely. Not batting an eye, the 

volunteer asked what the colour of the elastic band was. 

“Blue” was the reply. “Here’s your money,” said the volunteer. 

The music was both a reflection and promoter of the views 

of the audience and volunteers. As a socialist activist I was 

determined to put those ideas into practice in both the 

production of the festival and in its programming. The latter 

meant using the festival stages as platforms for ideas that 

suggested the transformation of society into something 

beyond capitalism. 

Through the women involved in the festival I had become 

aware of a genre of music called ‘women’s music.’ In 1980 

Holly Near, Betsy Rose and Cathy Winter, Sweet Honey in 

continued on page 76 


BUY ME 

A BEER! 

SUPPORT THE 

FESTIVAL 

get your button 

at the FESTIVAL 

BOOTH and from 

vendors on site 

A FUNDRAISER BY 

THE FRIENDS OF 

ZOË MILLER 

THREE DAYS continued 

HAPPY 40TH ANNIVERSARY! 

May your next 40 years be well organized and clutter-free! 

10% OFF FOR ANY 2017 ORGANIZING 

to Folk Fest supporters if you mention this ad 

plus 5% donation to the Folk Fest on your behalf. 

Plus chocolate. Always chocolate. 

www.GoodbyeClutter.ca 

the Rock, Ferron, Robin Flower and more took the stage. We 

devoted three articles in the program book to the subject of 

‘what is women’s music.’ No folk festival had welcomed these 

women before. It brought in a whole new audience. 

A whole series of artists from El Salvador to Palestine, Namibia 

to East Timor reflected the national liberation struggles that 

were taking place around the world. Every kind of human 

liberation activity was welcome at the festival as were a 

variety of musical styles from the most traditional to the most 

‘out there’ experimental. 

As the festival turns forty, many members of the audience 

and volunteers still see the festival as the world they want to 

live in. There still is lots of music that has as its goal bringing 

change. East Timor might be free but Palestine isn’t and global 

warming is more and more present and the pipelines... There 

is still the artistic vision that folk music is a big umbrella that 

many styles can shelter under. These are legacies that are 

present forty years after its rainy debut in Stanley Park. I and 

the other folks that made this festival wanted to create more 

than an opportunity to listen to good music. I think we did. 

Now the children and grandchildren of the original audience 

and volunteers are in charge. May the ideas that informed the 

creation of this festival go on forever. 

Gary Cristall was a cofounder of the festival and its 

coordinator (1978-1994) and artistic director (1980-1994). 

These days he teaches arts administration at Capilano 

University and Douglas College while working on a book 

about folk music in Canada www.folkmusichistory.com and 

managing Veda Hille. He, along with Valdine Ciwko, wrote 

the artist bios in the program book. 


y Wayne Arthurson 

A L L 

O U R 

It’s 1967 and Bobby Gimby has come to a military base in 

Germany where my dad was posted. The entire school gathered 

in a hangar to see Gimby play his trumpet encrusted with 

costume jewels and to sing along to the earworm of the year: his 

Canada Song, in honour of Canada’s Centennial celebrations. 

That song, written by Gimby – otherwise known as the Pied 

Piper of Canada – was ubiquitous in 1967. You heard it on the 

radio, people played it at parties and we sang it so many times at 

school, it became a second (catchier) national anthem. 

Other than that, I don’t recall a huge celebration for Canada’s 

100th birthday. Partly because I was five, and we lived in 

Germany so we couldn’t drive to Montreal for Expo 67. But also, 

celebrations were more muted then. There was no Canada Day 

at that time; it was called Dominion Day and we didn’t celebrate 

the way Americans celebrated the Fourth of July. Big civicstyle 

celebration parties with pancake breakfasts, parades and 

fireworks are a recent trend in the Great White North. 

Now it’s the 150th Anniversary of the founding of Canada as 

a nation, and there are loads of things going on. My feelings 

about this year are juxtaposed between good and bad. That’s 

because I’ve aged 50 years and I have learned a lot more 

about history – my family’s and my nations’. 

In 1967, we knew my dad was an “Indian” to use the vernacular 

of the time. He spoke only English, went to work in his uniform, 

went to church on Sundays and liked to have beers, sometimes 

too many, with his army buddies. He didn’t speak Cree so 

I didn’t speak Cree. My mom is Quebecois, but the urge to 

assimilate to mainstream society was so pervasive that I never 

learned to speak French, although we did learn many French- 

Canadian customs. We didn’t learn any Cree ones because 

Dad didn’t really know any; no one taught him. 

Dad and his mother and his grandparents all went to boarding 

school, as he called it. For us that only conjured up images 

of some type of Hayley Mills Disney movie. We had no idea 

the horrors that the residential school system held for many 

Indigenous children. Or how it was an official part of Canada’s 

official policy to eliminate and assimilate the hundreds of 

Indigenous nations that lived here for tens of thousands of 

years to colonize this land for settlers. 

Dad claimed he didn’t suffer much in residential school like 

others did. But I discovered something in 2013. Ian Moseby, a 

food historian from York University found Canadian government 

documents that revealed what happened when federal scientists 

learned that many Indigenous communities were suffering from 

malnutrition. Because previous generations had been forced 

into residential school, many had lost their traditional skills to 

hunt and fish. And those that did know how weren’t allowed 

access to their traditional areas, or even allowed to leave the 

reserve. But instead of providing federal aid and food to these 

starving people, something else took place. 

They split communities into two groups. One would get some 

food and vitamin supplements to see how they would respond. 

R E L AT I O N S 

BEYOND CANADA 150 

The other was used as a control group and left as they were 

found, living on barely 1400 calories a day. The first one of 

these experiments took place in 1942 in Dad’s hometown of 

Norway House. He would have been eight at the time. 

You might be wondering what this has to do with Canada 150. 

Or possibly why I’m being such a downer when everyone’s 

trying to have a party. But Canada’s history, like all histories, is 

complicated. Mixed in with the good stuff that we always like 

to feature, is the bad stuff we’d like to forget or ignore. But we 

can’t. Erecting a mythmaking façade so we don’t have to deal 

with or teach the bad stuff we’ve done as a nation only makes 

us weaker. Strong and mature nations must be able to celebrate 

the successes of their history while accepting the horrible events 

and actions of their past, especially during important times like 

Canada 150. If we can’t or won’t, we are truly not a just society. 

So for Canada 150, I will remember. I will remember my dad 

who passed away in 2017. I will remember that even though 

he struggled in his life, partly due to his and his family’s time at 

residential school and the discrimination they faced, he was a 

good, hardworking man who proudly served as a member of 

the Canadian Armed Forces for almost 30 years. 

I’ll remember and honour the unwilling sacrifices Indigenous 

people made, especially the over 6,000 children who died 

in residential schools and the other survivors who suffered 

physical, mental and sexual abuse, in the name of Canada. 

I’ll remember that colonial policies and attitudes still exist, 

resulting in decades-long ‘boil water’ advisories in Indigenous 

communities, murdered and missing Indigenous women, false 

promises of help and reconciliation still being made, the notso-nice 

initial thoughts and reactions that people have when 

they see an Indigenous person, and many other issues that 

are with us today (sadly, too many to list here). 

But I will celebrate. On Canada Day, I went to friend’s house 

for a BBQ then walked to the park with my kid to watch the 

fireworks. We do this every year. I will marvel at the beauty 

of our vast landscape (as I always do) and celebrate the arts 

and culture of our nations at festivals and events throughout 

the year. And I will rejoice in the resilience of all the nations of 

Indigenous people. Despite everything that has been done to 

Canada’s Indigenous people in the past 150 plus years, in the 

name God, order and good government, we have survived. 

Indigenous people – through our artists, activists, community 

leaders, academics, politicians and youth – are the most 

vibrant nations of people in Canada. 

We are still here. 

Wayne Arthurson is the Edmonton-born son of a Cree father and 

French Canadian mother. Since the age of 24, Wayne has worked as a 

professional writer, reporter, editor, copywriter, communications officer 

and novelist. He’s also been a semi-professional clown and drummer in a 

punk rock band. He’s now an indie band drummer, and lives in Edmonton 

with his family. 


WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL? 

What is it about the VFMF that has attracted folks, drawn them in over the last 40 years? What can explain its longevity when 

so much is temporary in today’s world? 

What makes the festival so darn special? 

To fi nd answers, we turned to some people who should know. These folks have been buying tickets and volunteering since 

year one, performed at the festival starting in the early days, have varied long time connections – and we talked to one whose 

fi rst fest was experienced in utero. We asked them to tell us what keeps them captivated – and to give us a couple of stories 

about their festival experience. Here’s what they had to say... 

Linda Uyehara Hoffman 

I’ve been involved in the Vancouver Folk Music Festival as an 

audience member, a performer, a volunteer, a director, and 

a devoted fan since its fi rst year. That fi rst year was held in 

Stanley Park and I remember sitting in an almost empty fi eld 

at dark, hearing Alain Lamontagne, this weird Québecois 

guy, play harmonica while tapping his feet on a board for 

percussion. He blew me away. And that’s why I’m hooked on 

the festival — falling in love with performers I’d never heard 

of before. And hearing the old folk mixing with the young 

up-and-comers who are all carrying on the good times, the 

heartbreak and the social justice of folk music. 

A friend once asked me who I’m looking forward to at the 

festival, and I responded that I didn’t really care (though this 

year I’m totally looking forward to Rhiannon Giddens) — no 

matter who comes, the folk fest is an experience not to be 

missed. One year (long ago) someone put up a huge teepee 

in the middle of the park during a rainy year, and a friend of 

mine and I stumbled wetly and happily into this dry space 

with rugs on the ground. It was a miracle never to re-occur. 

So even now, with the much larger crowds and line-ups, there’s 

always the fantastic music, the great workshop mixes (omg, 

Highway 99 Meets I-5 was the most wonderful combination 

of bands), and, when it doesn’t rain, the stupendous sunsets 

over the water. 

Brian Hall-Stevenson 

The mid-July weekend is my favourite weekend of the whole 

year, no question about that … has been for almost forty years. 

That fi rst one in Stanley Park kind of hooked me; Jericho park 

the next year reeled me in permanently. 

Yes I remember bits and pieces of them all, but funny enough 

I remember clearly the few times I left the festival for a 

wedding or two, or a Grateful Dead show or two. Didn’t my 

friends or the Dead know I am always unavailable on that 

particular weekend? 

It’s not just about the music, though that is of course the 

soundtrack of the weekend. And the soundtrack has almost 

always been a mystery to me, from the previously unknown 

exotic musicians from the world over, to the known like 

Elizabeth Cotten and Dave Van Ronk, to the freshly discovered 

like Ani DiFranco, Rita MacNeil, to my old guitar heroes like 

John Renbourn, Davey Graham and Richard Thompson, and 

to current discoveries like Marlon Williams. 

But as much as the music, it is the the sharing with the whole 

family, the friendships renewed from year to year, the beauty 

of the park and the awesome views of city, mountains, sea and 

sunsets, the food and drink, the delicious privilege of being in 

that park for that whole weekend with nothing to do but enjoy. 

I look forward to celebrating the fi ftieth anniversary of the 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival, and thank all those, from Gary 

Cristall, and everyone since then, for bringing this glorious 

weekend to us. 



On a July day in 2013, after more than forty years of daily 

journalism, I walked out the doors of the Globe and Mail for 

the last time. Swirling with emotion, I hopped a bus heading 

west – to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. The perfect spot 

to spend my fi rst evening of permanent unemployment. The 

moment I walked across that sweet expanse of grass to the 

gates, I completely mellowed out. All was right with the world. 

The Folk Festival has been doing that to me since my very 

fi rst back in 1978 (Tony Bird!….I thought I’d discovered the 

new Dylan…). 

Like everyone else from those early days, I’ve gone from 

youth to middle-age to…well, you know (increase the seniors’ 

discount!), while seeing all those babes in arms grow up with 

the Festival and attend it still, as cavorting adults. It’s as special 

a rite of summer as there is. Terrifi c music, socializing and sun 

(mostly), with a whiff of ocean air, in the most majestic setting 

our city has to offer. No matter how frazzled I am heading into 

the Festival, by the end, I’m blissed to the gills. 

So many memories, so little space. But if you run into me, I 

can tell you about the “Wet Ass Festival”, when Pete Seeger 

sat in a big puddle to convince all of us standing to sit down 

in the mud. We did. Or the straight-looking lawyer dude bodysurfi 

ng to the front of the main stage, prompting Michael 

Franti to laugh out loud. Or my legendary Birkenstock 500 

dash, swerving to miss the deadly post on the bridge and 

going down face fi rst into the gravel (“It’s just a fl esh wound.”). 

Or… 

Happy Photo: 40th, Rod, Folk on Festival. his fi rst I will Friday always evening love you of madly. retirement, 

celebrating at the 2013 VFMF with his friend Art Moses (who 

also retired that day). 

Perry Giguere 

Free T-shirt 

I’ve been a volunteer at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

since the very beginning – this will be my 40th year. 

I fi rst heard about the festival in the Georgia Straight – I read 

an article they were looking for volunteers, and you’d get 

a free t-shirt! It was really the t-shirt that hooked me at the 

beginning. I signed up, and started a seven-year stint as a 

kitchen committee volunteer. We were a good crew packed 

into a 600 sq. ft. room making cheese sandwiches. 

It rained that fi rst year, but there was a really good spirit. I saw 

Alain Lamontagne, David Amram, Leon Redbone. Incredible. 

The volunteer party was at Chateau Granville, and I remember 

sitting next to Leon Redbone. He pulled out a fl ask, took a 

swig and handed it to me. I took a swig and handed it back. 

No words. I had such a great feeling. I was part of something, 

a big show, and I wanted to continue. The people who ran 

things and whom I worked with were so cool, so friendly and 

sweet – it was easy to join up again – and again. 

I have dozens of special memories. I was working in Site 

Hospitality when I heard over the radio that my hero, Dave Van 

Ronk, needed someone to carry his guitar case. I was there. 

Me and Dave walked side by side on the path to instrument 

lock up. Everything else faded. Wow. I was a juggler and hung 

out with the Karamazov Brothers, I was there when Sheri Ulrich 

sang Fear of Flying while a flock of Canada Geese spiralled 

down to land on the pond, and I got to stand next to Pete 

Seeger at a Main Stage Finale while he sang If I Had a Hammer. 

The “cake” is the celebration of music, culture, politics from 

all over the world – a chance to see how we’re all connected. 

The “icing” is the people and the great connections and 

friends I’ve made over the years. My kids were at the festival 

even before they were born. 

And, through ups and downs, I’ve loved being part of the 

Festival, loved playing a role in helping this amazing event 

happen every year. 


VFMF 1994 VFMF 2014 

Emiko Newman 

Sarah Slean 

Lemon Bucket Orkestra 

Donny McCaslin Quartet 

The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer 

Celebrate The BlueShore at Cap's 20th season 

with astonishing new (and favourite return) 

Cap Jazz & Cap Global Roots performances. 

Full line-up announced August 15, 2017 at: 

www.capilanou.ca/centre 

Martin Harley 

I don’t remember very much of my fi rst Folk Festival. I was 

only one year old at the time. 

For as long as I can remember, I have volunteered in the 

Little Folks Village. Spending hours face painting and helping 

children create their own masterpieces, music booming in 

the background, sunshine pouring in on us – that’s what 

true happiness feels like. As a child, the Festival meant 

independence, staying up late, and running through grassy 

fi elds. 

In my 20s now, there is so much more to appreciate. In 

2014, my sister and I had the honour of opening the Festival 

alongside Ferron and a group of Indigenous women during 

the welcome ceremony. Last year I took a leap and joined 

the Festival staff, assuming the role of Volunteer Coordinator 

Assistant. This position gave me a newfound appreciation for 

just how much blood, sweat, and tears are involved (a lot) in 

the making of the Festival. Working alongside the staff in the 

months leading up to the Festival and having the pleasure of 

meeting so many amazing and dedicated volunteers made 

last year’s Fest my favourite one yet. 

This year I return to the Festival as Volunteer Coordinator 

Assistant and have also taken on the job of coordinating the 

Little Folks Village, along with my sister – following in our 

parents’ footsteps. I could not be more excited! 

Taking that fi rst step through the Festival gates each year 

brings with it a sense of joy and excitement, but also a feeling 

of calm. I enter knowing that the next three days will restore 

any happiness lost over the year, will bring so many reunions, 

and that I will leave feeling re-energized and full of life. Few 

things are as cherished or sacred to me as the Vancouver 

Folk Music Festival. It truly is a magical weekend. 

Photo: Emiko at her fi rst Festival at seven months old and 

opening the 2014 Festival. 


Ferron and Roy Forbes at the 1985 Festival 

STILL CANADIAN from Ferron 

As a Canadian living and working in the USA, I was deeply 

proud of all our Canadian festivals and none as much as 

Vancouver with its idyllic setting. I had a dream some weeks 

ago that was reminiscent of the view into the audience 

from the main stage and someone was encouraging the 

entertainers AND the audience to sing specifi c tones toward 

the mountains so that the sound would echo back and 

encourage a great healing. Everyone was very united in this 

endeavour. 

And maybe I sound a little naive but my years at the VFMF 

fed my dream of unity... from its repeat volunteer system, its 

honour of the First Nations, its respect for what we women 

were growing through at the time, its respect and inclusion 

of music from other countries and cultures and its conscious 

awareness regarding recycling with respect to our huge 

footprint. 

A VOLUNTEER CHEER from Roy Forbes 

This long time VFMF performer (my fi rst fest was in 1980) 

has a deep appreciation for the hundreds of volunteers who 

give their precious time to help keep the festival running. 

Whether it's the hard-working crews on the workshop and 

main stages, the folks keeping the garbage cans emptied, 

the very important folks who keep that great food coming 

from the festival kitchen, VFMF volunteers are the backbone 

of this essential cultural event. 

If I had to pick one image of a volunteer, it would be 'Monty 

at the gate'. For years, Monty Jones, with his bushy mane of 

long black hair and ear-to-ear grin, held forth at the VFMF 

backstage gate. I'd always 

feel like my festival had really 

begun when Monty and I said 

our fi rst 'hey' of the weekend. 

Monty was a fi xture at that 

gate, year after year, blistering 

sun or pounding rain. 'Way to 

be' Monty and 'way to be' to 

all the volunteers over forty 

years of the Vancouver Folk 

Music Festival. 

On my wall hangs the guitar I played for my song It Wont Take 

Long sent out from the main stage. For every verse hundreds 

of people more stood up and it looked like a wave of integrity 

and intention coming toward me. I had cut my fi nger on a 

string while hammering that song out and did not notice that 

I was bleeding until I got off stage and saw an 1/8 inch of 

blood caked on the front of my guitar with drops staining the 

inside. My blood, the people who stood up, the conviction of 

the song and the mountains and ocean waters holding us all 

and my dream of collective goodness are what make up my 

own private VFMF. It is a thrill to be back, still Canadian and 

Monty, 1989. 

continued 

Photo: Ed 

over 

Olson. 

. . . 

This 

still dreaming. 

information taken from the tour brochure provided by Betsayda Machada y La Parranda El Clavo. 


GALLERY 

It's an art exhibit and a celebration! 

We're 40 years old! 

It all started in 1978 and now, four decades later, not only 

is there a treasure trove of great music to remember – but 

images, art and memorabilia too. 

Come take a walk down the VFMF's memory lane at Gallery 

40 – a special tent featuring photos, artwork, and souvenir 

items from four decades of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. 

See images of Pete Seeger, Elizabeth Cotton, Utah Phillips 

and other beloved performers and many others, works of art, 

t-shirts, posters and other articles from our past. 

There's even a special place for you to add your own photos 

or items you've saved from festivals over the years. 

Curated by artist Jeannie Kamins, Gallery 40 will spark great 

memories for festival veterans, and give younger generations 

a glimpse into what helped make this festival such an 

important part of people's lives. 

From left: Rosalie Sorrels, Bobby Louise Hawkins, 

Terry Garthwaite, 1980. Photo: Glen Erikson. 

Utah Phillips, 1997. Photo: Glen Erikson. 

Elizabeth Cotton. 

Pete Seeger, 1989. Photo: Glen Erikson. 


Buffy Sainte Marie, 1992. 

Photo: Henri Robideau. 

DOA, 1988. Photo: Ed Olson. 

Txi Whizz, 1984. Photo: Glen Erikson 

Billy Bragg, 1987. Photo: Glen Erikson. 

Volunteers, 1989. Photo: Glen Erikson. 


FINALE LYRICS 

Lifting My Heart 

So, I was feeling lowdown 

Shoveling pain by the pound 

Looking down at my shoes 

Felt like a human in doubt 

Really, my inside was out 

Very hard to amuse 

Then I heard something outside 

All about Mister Sun 

Somebody singing outside 

Making me a lucky one 

Your song it lifted my heart 

Your song it lifted my heart 

You were there in the backyard 

Playing and working so hard 

Making pies out of mud 

I was all wrapped in my head 

Wanted to be back in bed 

Sinking down in the flood 

Then I heard singing outside 

All about the golden sun 

Somebody singing outside 

Making me a lucky one 

Your song is lifting my heart 

Your song is lifting my heart 

La la la la la 

La la la la la 

You’re a miracle change in my life 

Sending me to my soul 

Sweet miracle changing my life 

Thrilling me head to toe 

Your love is lifting my heart 

Your love is lifting my heart 

by Roy Forbes 

Human Condition Music (Socan) 

Testimony 

There's godlike 

And warlike 

And strong 

Like only some show 

And there's sad like 

And madlike 

And had 

Like we know 

But by my life be I spirit 

And by my heart be I woman 

And by my eyes be I open 

And by my hands be I whole 

They say slowly 

Brings the least shock 

But no matter how slow I walk 

There are traces 

Empty spaces 

And doors and doors of locks 

But by my life be I spirit 

And by my heart be I woman 

And by my eyes be I open 

And by my hands be I whole 

You young ones 

You're the next ones 

And I hope you choose it well 

Though you try hard 

You may fall prey 

To the jaded jewel 

But by your lives be you spirit 

And by your hearts be you women 

And by your eyes be you open 

And by your hands be you whole 

Listen, there are waters 

Hidden from us 

In the maze we find them still 

We'll take you to them 

You take your young ones 

May they take their own in turn 

But by our lives be we spirit 

And by our hearts be we women 

And by our eyes be we open 

And by our hands be we whole 

by Ferron 


FRIENDS 

OF PETE 

The folks listed here are special people! They have each 

made a generous contribution to the Vancouver Folk 

Music Festival Society since the last Festival. Sustaining 

Members make monthly contributions, some give lump 

sums – it’s all good. Each and every contribution makes 

us stronger and healthier and our future brighter. 

Thank you each and every one! 

Kirsten Abbot 

Stephen Aberle 

Susan Ackland 

Susan Adams 

Robert Adelman 

Genia Ainsworth 

Catherine Alpaugh 

Joel Aufrecht 

Brenda Benham 

Birger Bergersen 

Jean Blaine 

Anne Blaine 

Kathryn Booth 

Véronique Boulanger 

Daniel Bowditch 

Deborah Brakeley 

Jenna Breau 

Joel Bronstein 

Luciano Bruschetta 

Anne Budgell 

Anne Budgell 

Fred Bunnell 

Tami Jean Burgess 

Tom Campbell 

Roxanne Cave 

Yee Chan 

Kate Clifford 

Tom Cooper 

Leslie Cossitt 

Suzy Coulter 

Gary Cristall 

Juergen Dankwort 

Monica Dare 

Alexander Daughtry 

Pat Davitt 

Margaret Delgatty 

Olive Dempsey 

David Dexter 

Renee Doruyter 

Pauline Douglas 

Bill Dovhey 

Mike Dumler 

Sheila Dunnachie 

Mia Edbrooke 

Dennis Enomoto 

Iolanda Esposito 

Lucy Falkner 


Jane Fernyhough 

Jeff Finger 

Mark Finlay 

Elizabeth Fitzzaland 

Sydney Foran 

Estelle Freedman 

Marya Gadison 

Martin & Carole Gerson 

Ron Gibbs 

Ashleigh Gibbs 

Bonnie Gibson 

William Gies 

Caroline Gill 

Marian Gilmour 

Charles Goldberg 

Isabel Gordon 

Jessica Gossen 

Surya Govender 

John Gracey 

Nancy Graham 

John Endo Greenaway 

Susan Gregory 

Muff Hackett 

Theresa Harding 

Judy Harper 

Joan Harris 

June Harrison 

Stephen Harrison 

Richard Hawkesworth 

Kelsey Heikoop 

Sherry Hensel 

Keith Herle 

Ruth Herman 

Carol Herter 

Joyce Hinton 

Bill Hooker 

Nicholas Humniski 

Heather Hyde 

Leah Ibbitson 

Abdeen Jabara 

Arlene Jackson 

Susan Jardine 

Ann Jarrell 

Carol Jerde 


Jessie Johnston 

Lesley Joy 

Diane Kadota 

Gwen Kallio 

Alison Kannegieter 

Judith Kaplan 

Anya Keefe 

Leslie Kemp 

Margaret Kendall 

Murray Kennedy-MacNeill 

John Kidder 

Maureen Kilvert 

Jennifer Kirkey 

Kris Klaasen 

Seth Klein 

Anne Marie Konas 

Yarrow Koontz 

Karen La Pointe 

Peter Ladner 

David Lank 

Lucie Lareau 

Michael Laslett 

Lynn Ledgerwood 

Barbara Lehan 

Kate Lekas 

Helen Lemon-Moore 

Dave Lidstone 

Veronica Light 

Shelley Lobel 

Anne-Marie Long 

Andrew Longhurst 

Shirley Lum 

Daniel Maas 

Michael MacDonald 

Mary MacLellan 

Alice Macpherson 

David Mamorek 

Mary Henry Margaret Purcell 

David Marnoch 

Aviva and Bob Martin 

Emma Mason 

Timothy McAfee 

Jim McGill 

Ian McKay & Family 

Scott McKee 

Lucie McNeill 

Samantha Medina 


Sophia Miller-Vedam 

Claire Mohun 

Jenelle Molyneux 

David Moody 

Katherine Mooney 

Sharon Morgan 

Larry Morningstar 

Lynette Morrison 

Miriam Moses 

Gail Moyle 

Corbin Murdoch 

Carolyn Neapole 

Christina Needham 

Amy Newman 

Linda Nicholls 

Chris Nielsen 

Kathleen Nisbet 

Katie Ormiston 

Virginia Pateman 

Lara Paul 

Trent Payton 

Ron Peterson 

Michelle Philippe 

Charlene Pirro 

Tami Popp 

Arthur Price 

Walter Quan 

David Querido 

Kelly Quinn 

Gwendolyn Reischman 

Geoffrey Rempel 

Loretta Richardson 

Corinne Riedijk 


Bonnie Roberts-Taylor 

Rebecca Robertson 

Judy Roman 

Calvin & Christine Roskelly 

Carol Rossett 

Geir, Kari & Iselen Rosvik 

Nancy Rotecki 

Catherine Russell 

Sherri Sadler 

Rosemary Salgo 

Cheryl Sanderson 

Elaine Schretlen 

Jack Schuller 

Jean Schwartz 

Nicholas Scott 

Toni Serofin 

Elena Serrano 

Karin Shard 

Rochelle Shimerl 

Karen Shuster 

Peter Sickert 

Lindy Sisson 

Jane Slemon 

Andrea Smith 

Brita Sorenson 

Betsy Spaulding 

Jane Srivastava 

Serena Staples 

Richard Stein 

Daniel Stenning 

Robert Stern 

Zool Suleman 

Mary Sullivan 

Susan Summers 

Melinda Suto 

Mayumi Takasaki 

Linda Tanaka 

Gray Tang 

Sally Thorne 

Bruce Tiberiis 

Penelope Tilby 

Andrea Turner 

Elena Underhill 

Linda Uyehara-Hoffman 

Anneke Van Vliet 

Julia Vaughan 

Anika Vervecken 

Vincent Vialogos 

Cheryl Vickers 

Elizabeth Walsh 

Elinor Warkentin 

Gordon Watson 

Peter Webster 

Kayla Weiner 

Ilene Weiss 

Ken Westdorp 

Margaret Whale 

Rebecca Whyman 

Courtney Kalin Whyte 

Julie Wittrock 

Erlene Wollard 

David Wong 

Judith Wood 

Susan Woodhouse 

Joshua Wright 

Christine Zaenker 

You want your name on this list! It’s a good list! 

Why don’t you get your name on this very select list by making a financial contribution to the festival? Visit the 

Donations Tent where fest volunteers and Board members will greet you and be very nice to you. Strapped for cash 

this second? Phone the office, or visit us online to donate through the CanadaHelps.org button. All contributions of 

$20 or more are eligible for tax receipts. 


Local, Organic, In Season 

Aphrodite’s takes pride in 

working with local organic 

farmers to bring you the 

freshest food in 

Vancouver! 

Brunch - 9am to 3pm 

Lunch - 9am to 5pm 

Dinner - 5pm to 9:30pm 

Café: 3605 W. 4 th Ave 604 733-8308 

Pie Shop: 3595 W. 4 th Ave 604 738-5879 

10% off to Folk Festival patrons with mention of this ad! 

The Rogue 

Vancouver's Year-Round Folk Music Festival 

Thursday, September 7th 

Allison Russell (Po' Girl) and her superb band 

Birds Of Chicago 

Friday, September 15th 

Superlative BC stringband with amazing harmonies 

The Bills 

Saturday, September 23rd 

One of Canada's most popular songwriters - this 

may be his final cross-country tour. Don't miss it! 

Garnet Rogers 

Thursday, October 5th 

Two of the finest fingerstyle guitar pickers in Canada 

Don Ross & Calum Graham 

Thu, October 19th & Friday, October 20th 

Scottish-Canadian songwriter teams up with two 

local choirs and his excellent band 

David Francey 

Plus lots more t.b.a.!! St. James Hall (3214 W 10th Ave.) 

Info / Reservations: (604) 736-3022 

www.roguefolk.com 


David Niddrie

THANKS FOR YOUR HELPING HANDS! 

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival is run largely due to the dedication, devotion and hard work of our 1500+ 

volunteers. There are even a handful of them that have been investing their efforts for all 40 of the years we’ve 

been operational. Amazing. This unique connection of merchandise sellers, educators, poster putter-uppers, safety 

enforcers, and transporters (and many many more!) help build the community, and the love that is the foundation 

of your, our audience’s, experience as a space to be nourished, engaged and inspired by Vancouver’s “Best Music 

Festival.” I would personally like to thank each and every one of these fabulous folks for reaffirming my commitment to 

contribute and build community. Thank you. 

Petrice Brett, Volunteer Coordinator 

A very special thank you to Perry Giguere, Joe MacEachern, Dave Myles, Merle Smith and Melinda Suto, who have volunteered 

every year since the festival’s inception. Your dedication and love for this festival are deeply felt. Thank you! 

2017 VOLUNTEERS 

Accessibility 

Kay Burgess 

Tal Jarus-Hakak 

Avital Jarus-Hakak 

Margaret Allison 

Tracey Axelsson 

Hallina Axelsson 

Robbie Bezati 

Robyn Boudreau 

Elise Buckley 

Aaron Carveth 

Lisa Casagrande 

Keegan Chen 

Gina Faigen 

Sadie Farina 

Aiden Fisher-Lang 

Alina Gonzalez 

Simone Gruenig 

Lenora Hayman 

Yuval Jarus-Hakak 

Tal Jarus-Hakak 

Avital Jarus-Hakak 

Andrea Marie Jones 

Abilee Kellett 

Andrew Kim 

Luke Klossok 

Daniel Leibovitz 

Nathalie Leveille 

Ben Levy 

Erika Lind 

Michelle Mann 

Inbal Nenner 

Inge Neumeyer 

Laurisse Noel 

Allie Peloquin 

Aya Peloquin 

Caroline Penn 

Rosemary Perry 

Ellie Pilling 

Stephen Pringle 

Shie Rinat 

Michal Shalev 

Sneha Shankar 

Kendra Shupe 

Marcia Smith 

Austin Smoroden 

JoHanna Steyn 

Markus Stockbrocks 

Joanne Thompson 

Allan Zdunic 

Kathleen Forsythe 

CONSULTANTS 

Merle Smith 

Bernie Tague 

NEIGHBOUR LIAISON 

Marcia Doherty 

SECURITY 

Cynthia Brooke 

Kate McIntyre 

Michael Ages 

Maria Balbontin 

James Boak 

Heather Burgess 

Devan Cooper 

Christie Cooper 

Roshni Desai 

Donna Dykeman 

Andrea Finlay 

Nicole Germain 

Eric Hennessey 

Carla Jahraus 

Peggy Lee 

Susan Lee 

Erika Lindstrom 

AJ Murray 

River Tucker 

Marty Wolff 

Maryanne Wong 

Administration 

Daune Campbell 

Riel Hahn 

Marietta Kozak 

Lyne Gareau 

Louise Peterson 

Stephen Price 

Katherine Ruffen 

Artist Check in 

Lindsay McMahon 

Jenn Upham 

Kathryn Booth 

Elizabeth Cameron 

Alina Gherghinoiu 

Cynthia Minh 

Melissa Oei 

Andrew Picard 

Taleen Prowse 

Lisa Rieder 

Liam Scanlon 

Erin Speller 

Nicole Spence 

Colby Spence 

Caitlin Stanley 

Vasilea Timis 

Art & Community 

Villages 

Tessa Mul 

Lisa Treutler 

Gonzalo Arizcun 

Naomi Armstrong 

Kai Cheng 

Hannah DeJong 

Brittany Harris 

Satoko Hashigasako 

Charlotte Hewson 

Kirsten Holkestad 

Kateryna Petrova 

Melisa Velazquez 

Tariq Vira 

avery Muskeyn 

Heather Bonnell 

Backstage Lounge 

Ashleigh Gibbs 

Patricia Kramer 

Merike Bruen 

Ali Calladine 

Peggy-Sue Gilbert 

France Harvey 

Peter Kidder 

Lisa Korolyk 

Mary Laird 

Jerome Lampe 

Rebecca Love 

Marlis McCargar 

Laurel McGregor 

Lianne Noiseux 

Todd Rioux 

Jenny Rose 

Mark Ryant 

Geraldine Sangalang 

Arian Scott 

Kelly Wakeford 

Jesse Wiebe 

Ilan Wright 

Beer Garden 

Jason Ryant 

Leo Aitken 

Melanie Bauer 

Katie Berezan 

Lara Bragan 

Cleo Carpenter 

Chloe Chen 

Zachary Cornfield 

Emily Curtis 

Sarah Dekerf 

Sydney Devlin 

Conor Douglas 

Duggy Ennenberg 

Patricia Fosbrook 

Samantha Francey 

Nadav Goelman 

Duncan Greig 

Victoria Gubbe 

Graham Gubbe 

Hillary Halldorson 

Lauren Halldorson 

Elise Hall-Meyer 

Heather Heit 

Tegan Heywood 

Rachel Irving 

Erin Jackes 

Nicole Jarvis 

Alannah Johnston 

Zehra Karachiwala 

Ellen Karren 

Wesley Klassen 

Michael Lahay 

Shannon Lambie 

Etie Leyland 

Cecily MacGregor-Gauntts 

Angela McLaughlin 

Cindi Mercer 

Larry Morningstar 

Daniel Myles 

Matthew Naylor 

Will Oliver 

Delilah Porbeni 

Ashley Pritchard 

Sadie Ralph 

Tomas Rapaport 

Jesse Scharf 

Will Schwenger 

Caresse Selk 

Kyla Sims 

Jordana Smith 

Andrea Szakos 

Sarah Tremblay 

Rebecca Vandermey 

Linnette Wiebe 

Kim Wilson 

Nora Halla 

Bikes 

Erik deLange 

Tom Campbell 

Warren Bente 

Tamara Brown 

Jay Charity 

Mary Collier 

Erik deLange 

Jennifer Kunzer 

Olga Lansdorp 

Larissa Parker 

Silvia Rodriguez 

Robin Tivy 

Hayley Wright 

Maggie Zhong 

Chilko Tivy 

Box Office 

ADMIN 

Gail Cryer 

Shyknee Griffin 

Ann Barber 

Larissa Carriere 

Jeremy Freeman 

Rachel Fryer 

David Griffiths 

Willem Haan 

Jody Hall 

Aaron Halldorson 

Carolyn Hateley 

Karen Herle 

Daphne Hnatiuk 

Marlene Holt 

Roberta Kawasaki 

Raphael Klensch 

Anna Kramer 

Jeff Laflamme 

Phil Laflamme 

Lynette Larsen 

Dennis McCrossan 

Andréa Milman 

Warren Milman 

Paul Mittendorf 

Wendy Morrison 

Katherine Rau 

Betsy Spaulding 

Danielle Struijk 

John Sullivan 

Lorenz von Fersen 

Loma Wing 

Graham Wong 

Doris Young 

PRE/POST-SALES 

Andrew Cochrane 

Kathleen Cross 

Margaret Delgatty 

Miriam Caplan 

Linda Giesbrecht 

Anna Whelan 

SITE 

Veronica Maynard 

Lilliana Babic 

Amy Blake 

Caroline Christiaens 

Katie Cooper-Smith 

Raeanne Lee 

Jane Lee 

Jodie Miller 

Eliza Mowle 

Jamie Rich 

Katie Sanford 

Jolie Wist 

Sindy Zelezen 

Mandy Zhong 

Hazen Sise 

Jean-Philipe Wilmshurst 

Sym Kongsil 

Names in bold indicate committee coordinators 


CD Tent 

Jack Schuller 

Himani Ahmed 

Don Betts 

Debra Carr 

Madelyn Dekerf 

Kirsten Dovey 

Sohail Grewal 

Pollen Haque 

James Jeresky 

Barry Latimer 

Maria Martin 

Yvonne Peters 

Michele Provenzano 


Rachel Rocco 

Angie Ibbott 

Cathy Faulconer 

Heather Billington 

Community 

Mya Davidson 

Narciss Alberni 

Sarah Brittman 

Sarah Chang 

Robyn Livingstone 

Vivek Mahajan 

Harpal Manhas 

Carole Nakonechny 

Serene Qiu 

John Risley 

Tonya Smith 

Ozlem Suleyman 

Lilianne Ta 

Bryan Tisdale 

Lindy-Lou Trueman 

Anna Vivas 

Colin Walton 

Andrew McNeill 

Juliane Freitag 

Concessions 

Labiba Ahasun 

Ginna Berg 

AJ Gill 

Murray Lashmar 

Decorations 

Elinor Warkentin 

Miriah Hodgins 

Catherine Inkpen 

Simone Plusa 

Donations 

Anika Vervecken 

Lyn Atkinson 

Bea Bonner 

Michael Diack 

Peter Lambert 

Riley Mic 

Jenna Sadko 

Marc Sauvageaun 

Environment 

Casey Wallace 

Kate Rossiter 

Eyal Lebel 

Catherine Allardyce 

Johann Baart 

Yuliya Badayeva 

Hannah Barbero 

Charlotte Bartlett 

Shaun Berndt 

Julie Bezard 

Celia Brauer 

Lazaro Bujosa 

Matt Caines 

Taylor Clemson 

Izzy Czerveniak 

Charu Datt 

Anais de Nadaillac 

Fuhar Dixit 

Jodi Fortune 

Maxine French 

Mia Goodman 

Erin Hanratty 

Warren Harshenin 

Tim Hister 

Andi Icaza 

Ryan Ikeda 

Alison Innes 

Shubham Jain 

Cristobal Jara 

Tasha Jurca 

Shelley Kenney 

Devon Lalonde 

Emma Laviolette 

Tiffany Low 

Isaki Makynen 

Tess Mallens 

Ailie McKenna 

Deborah Meredith 

Emily Mittertreiner 

David Mivasair 

Allie Montoya 

Matt Nathans 

Janice Oakley 

Kerry Peterman 

Aurore Plavis 

Effie Pow 

Emilie Ralston 

Shilpa Reddy 

Cale Richardson 

Naoko Saito 

Cecilia Sanchez Navarro 

Silva 

Leslie Sanchez Pena 

Danny Shin 

Garam Shin 

Jared Shivak 

Nick Smith 

Noah Steinberg 

Cory Thorson 

Brian W 

Leah Wallace 

Benjamin Woodbridge 

Simon Young 

Heather Ferguson 

Sophia Kopelow 

Iris Kim 

Maria Buddingh 

Festival Merchandise 

Matina Spiropoulos 

Netta Arseneau 

Mike Berezowski 

Laurie Bogner 

Emma Chang 

Maggie Firebaugh 

Lindsey Foley 

Nina Kumar 

Kristina Lakes 

Cary Morris 

Lani Nykilchuk 

Margery Pazdor 

Jenni Slinn 

Amanda Underwood 

Samara Wiseman 

Trinity Rowles 

Hannah Johnstone 

Michelle Ostan 

Batya Sacks 

50/50 

Amanda Kelly 

Nick Biden 

David Boland 

Marissa Burton 

Bishop Carasquero 

Polly Cotgrave 

Tessa Frey-Mclean 

Kaylie Friess 

Douglas Gook 

linda jones 

Amaya Kent 

Bianca Lawson 

Sunny Lee 

John McIlhone 

Kirstie Merritt 

Zoe Penner 

Kris Peterson 

Sunil Prasad 

Ethan Rockthunder 

Katniss Szevery 

Cheryl Szevery 

Pam Voaden 

Dana Vonic 

Folk Bazaar 

Sabrina LaFrance 

Sofia Baltasar 

Megan Beveridge 

Achintya Bhat 

Ali Etrati 

Angela Farry 

Omid Habibullah 

Tony Hicks 

Sylvia Hu 

Rena Kakuda 

Iris Paluly 

Veronique Rabreau 

Silvia Ureta 

Zack Wilson 

Gisela Zhu 

Francophone Tent 

Laura Bouzid 

Mourad Berra 

Ingrid Broussillon 

Emilie Dehoubert 

Jehanne El Mrabet 

Ella Sears 

Gate 

Carolyn Prouse 

Mark Stoller 

Shola Badewa 

Pauline Bartnik 

Frederike Basedow 

Arlene Belcastro 

Ronnie Bishop 

Maria Bravo Anez 

Jacko Cardenas 

Lau Chi Kei 

Cathy Choi 

Amy Chu 

Arlene Decaire 

Gerrit Devries 

Saralyn Dyck 

Alisa Farina 

Erin Fleming 

Leia Ger 

Yannick Gottschalk 

Sarah Haysom 

Justine Jarvis 

Iham Jordan 

Nicole Kelly 

Chloe Kim 

Andrew Krumins 

Shirley Lange 

Gary Lange 

Josh Lee 

Lorna MacDougall 

Isabelle Major 

Len Martin 

Rita McAllen 

Craig Mckee 

Susanne Middleditch 

Dharana Needham 

Kathy Neilson 

Taya Norman 

Matthew Roche 

Ruby Rue 

Joanne Salem 

Astarte Sands 

Gretchen Santoro 

Andrea Santos 

Natasha Santos 

Eric Schwartz 

Brenda Seto 

Devon Sierra 

Seamus Sullivan 

Najla Tanuri 

Sadie Tennant 

Risako Urakabe 

Samantha Wong 

Sandra Wood 

Brenda Worden 

Dylan Phillips 

Myles Farina 

Arehzou Jackson 

MarkO Bourgeois 

Gatekeepers 

Rose Rizzuto 

Pauline Douglas 

Flavie Dufrenne 

William Edbrooke 

Ben Geldreich 

Shelley Lobel 

Brooklyn Obrecht 

Betty Lou Phillips 

Janet Smith 

Sharron Wilson 

Green Room 

Marisa Bruch 

Vanessa-Kayala Violini 

Eugene Kung 

Maddy Laberge 

Keegan McColl 

Brittany Morris 

Laura Parker-Jervis 

Andrew Phillips 

Katherine Ritchie 

Megan Thom 

Jessica Yarish 

Laura McMurran 

Ruairi Gallagher 

Alejandra Lopez Bravo 

Hotel Hospitality 

Susan Nelson 


Nahla Hopfe 

Rajat Jain 

Michelle Parry 

Janet Strolle 

Debara Wood 

Information Booth 

Christina Price 

Valerie Alberts 

Elspeth Banerd 

Karen de Haan 

Britta Eschete 

Steven Hilton 

Grace Jones 

Maria King 

Merrilee Miller 

Laura Morrison 

Lois Peterson 

Sherri Sadler 

Heather Strange 

Logan Trudeau 

April Underwood 

Emma van Tol 

Brenda von Holtum 

Jordana Corenblum 

Instrument Storage 

Joel Bronstein 

Edna Leyland 

David Bodhi Adam 

Michael Gooblar 

Arel Jarus-Hakak 

Taylor Johansen 

Solomon Markovitch 

Joe Markovitch 

Sam Mustone 

Kirsten Oike 

David Thomson 

Lee Vogel 

Inventory 

Donna Finch 

Vanessa Bell 

Yvonne Blaeser 

Angel Davis 

Paul Finch 

Thomas Krei 

Mike Reid 

Lesley Semenoff 

Emma Williams 

Kitchen 

Anya Keefe – Head Chef 

Colleen Addison 

Chad Ali 

Naomi Amren 

Tara Atkinon 

Caitlin Atkinson 

Lina Azeez 

Tariq Azeez 

Kristina Baerg 

Ori Blake-Currier 

Callum Blake-Currier 

Scott Blessley 

Lia Ravena Carvalho 

David Chen 

Eudora Cheng 

Clare Cullen 

Lisa Dekleer 

Nicole Den Haan 

Flynn Dixon Murdock 

Cassy Docheff 

Hollie Dyer 

Katie Field 

Claire Gazda 

Gilles Giguere 

Shawn Groff 

Theresa Harding 

Jennifer Heron 

Jane Hoyle 

Julia Hulbert 

Nicole Jahraus 

Ashley Johnson 

Lisa Kozicky 

Sara Kozicky 

Gerry Kress 

Ian Leung 

Ravi Maharaj 

Lori Martin 

Yvette Mathieu 

Conor McDowell 

Sharon McLean 

Judah Melton 

Helena Merrell 


Sophia Miller-Vedam 

Maya Miller-Vedam 

Zoe Miller-Vedam 

Audrey Morin Beaulieu 

Lena Orlova 

Ariane Oro 

John Peloquin 

Nadine Pinnell 

Brandon Pirie 

Jordan Potter 

April Pringle 

Shiraz Ramji 

Bree Rockbrand 

Jasmine Sallay-Carrington 

Jeevan Sandhu 

Larissa Satta 

Julia Sawatzky 

Marc Schutzbank 

Satomi Seki 

Kennedy Shah 

Mack Skinner 

Kohei Suzuki 

Danielle Tam 

Jenny Tan 

Sara Tanaka 

Bruce Thorson 

Dylon Turner 

Selma van Halder 

Jane Van Kleeck 

Cristina Wolff 

James Lewandowski 

Jacky Slade 

Raghav Raghav 

PRE-POST 

Nova Dexter 

Jadie Hill 

Nicola Kravjanski 

Katarina Neuvonen 

Lindsay Petley-Ragan 

Megan Shackelford 

Marcellus Wijesinghe 

Labour Pool 

Marietta 

Mark Aseltine 

Jesse Brint 

Morgan Gillis 

Martin Haridge 

Graham Jordan 

Alix Krahn 

Sam Lacey 

Klaryssa Lawrie 

Fraser Mah 

Maeve Murphy 

Kieran Sequoia 

Al Stiene 

Miriam Tang 

Stephanie Vaughan 

Lanterns 

Marya Gadison 

Roy Schindell 

Nicole Araneda 

Zaena Campbell 

Hayley Crichton 

Zara Fallah 

James Greenwood 

Aerin Hack 

Lin Ho-You 

Deb Jang 

Alison Klein 

Pia Massie 

Mahtab Nazari 

Victoria Onyon 

Daniel Raffel 

Jacquie Rolston 

Clarice Scop 

Janine Sebastian 

Diane Selkirk 

Jim Smathers 

Shannon Squires 

Adelaide Terrien 

Julia Soderholm 

Kerri Haybittle-Raffel 

Maia Selkirk 

Amy Block 

Laundry 

Little Folks 

Emiko Newman 

Kaya Newman 

Alyse Alaouze 

Molly Andres 

Evie Bell 

Ryan Bevelander 

Frances Biemann 

Anna Chandler 

Kristina Chang 

Renee Chaput 

Karen Clare 

Adam Davison 

Ciara Dixon 

Zoe Gabriel 

Lesley Graydon 

Dinah Hassrick 

Paige Hunter 

Chris Joe 

Alexandra Jonca 

Josh Kamin 

Sarah Kushner 

Hayley McLeod 

Kendall McSweeney 

Hanna Menon 

Rhiannon Murpy 

Jade Nawata 

Setareh Nazari 

Sohail Nazari 

Noa Platner 

Teresa Porter 

Julia Pressman 

Nicola Rammell 

Megan Randall 

Leigh Selden 

Kaja Linnea Teichroeb 

Colleen Tilland-Stafford 

Anika Tilland-Stafford 

Mikalyn Trinca-Colonel 

Brynn Tucker 

Marina Favaro 

Rob Willoughby 

Navid Khosravi-Hashemi 

MADSKILLZ 

Tara Ohta 

Leah Barley 

Trudi d’Ambrumenil 

Lauren Gilgan 

Elyse Goulet 

Hollie Hops 

Kevin Mittertreiner 

Vanessa Tam 

Monica Trejbal 

Massage 

Delanye Azrael 

Nienke Van Hasselt 

Zoe Byrd 

Katherine Hemsworth 

Laya Shriaberg 

Sasha Smith 

Patrick Visser 

Mike Williams 

Media 

Ron Stewart 

Julia Bailey 

Yee Chan 

Julia Done 

Frances Flanagan 

Lynda Gerty 

Molly Hawes 

Louise Kelaher 

Chloe Lai 

Chris Little 

Alex MacLennan 

Terry McDermott 

Eric Rae 

Doug Ragan 

Lee-Anne Ragan 

Atisa Rashidi 

Mati Cormier-Stumpf 

Nature 

Greg Weir 

Alan Blackwell 

Janet Fletcher 

Madeline Garvin-Smith 

Kami Kanetsuka 

Douglas Swanston 

Jennifer Swanston 

Rosie Weir 

Philip Wright 

Laura Super 

Robin Swanston 

Daniel Weir 

David Weir 

Alysia Herr 

Neighbourhood 

Liaison 

Molly Brewis 

Irina Dangaltcheva 

Madeshwaran Selvaraj 

Office 

Kathy Dann 

Frances Kirson 

Joe Tannenbaum 

David Firman (operations 

support) 

Outreach Events 

Andree Faucher 

Christina Harper 

Jo Keischgens 

Beng Khoo 

Ray Lai 

Charlene Wee 

Party 

Brooke Erickson 

Sarah DeFrain 

Lindsay Kim 

samantha laviada 

Claire Lee 

Performer Transport 

Alisa Levenstein 

Ben Aberle 

Kirsten Andrews 

Laura Ansley 

David Bartlett 

Steve Benson 

Jody Benson 

Brian Butt 

Stacy Campbell 

Terry Carvajal 

Ian Crowne 

Aneeta Dastoor 

Alexander Daughtry 

Carmen Dennis 

Micah Field 

Bri Fudge 

Carissa Geddes 

Neilio Giesbrecht 

Perry Giguere 

Stuart Holder 

Haide-Anne James 

Meenu Kanji 

Michelle Kenny 

Imelda Kwan 

Rina Larsson 

Susan Mellor 

Jonathan Melvin 

Peter Norton 

Palmer Palmer 

Oksana Peczeniuk 

Vanessa Pickering 

Abhijeetsingh Ramlugun 

Nicole Sanches 

Crystal Shaubel 

Thomas Shum 

Michele Smith 

Lesley Stalker 

Hazel Stevenson 

Vaughn Tapella 

Jesse Tarbotton 

Cloelle Vernon 

Cheryn Wong 

Tony Wood 

Tammy Yasrobi 

Marina Princz 

Amy Russell 

Scott Richen 

Brent Campbell 

Shi Ante 

Tyler Abbey 

Spaceman Marchant 

Photography 

Joe Perez 

Alyssa Burtt 

Bev Davies 

Bob New 

David Niddrie 

Erik Price 

Nathan Small 

Marc Statz 

Leah Villalobos 

Clayton Wong 

Joshua Wright 

Marie Wustner 

Privy Council 

Jacquie Block-Glass 

Dave Edis 

Leita McIntaggart 

Nicholas Read 

Julia Gellman 

Howie Woiwod 

Raffle 

Gary Jarvis 

Dylan Cohen 

Julie Delahooke 

Leyla Erden 

Nadia Fox 

Alexandra Hayes 

David Hurley 

Lise Kreps 

Daisy Kwon 

Wen Chu Ma 

Jazz M-B 

Madhuri Pendharkar 

Rosalind Sadowski 

Madelaine Scheidl 

Katrina Stamnes 

Juliett Tam 

Rachel Thorne 

Shai Topaz 

Tina Winterlik 

Joanne Wong 

Julia Steiner 

Paloma Pendharkar 

Security 

Fil Hemming 

Marie Booth (assistant) 

Steve-o Graham 

(assistant) 

Stirling Bell 

Kate Chin 

Mike Gleeson 

Victor Goertz 

Felix Hemming 

Otto Lim 

Karen McVeigh 

Peter Prontzos 

Emilie Shrier 

Aneta Tomek 

Brian Wing 

Avi Yan 

SECURITY G 

Crystal Bewza 

Melissa Brazil 

Beverly Brown 

Caroline Chiu 

Jennifer Cline 

Alex Couture-Beil 

Diana Day 

Kaya de Wolf 

Samantha Epp 

Benjamin Espinosa 

Iain Ferguson 

Gaye Ferguson 

Emma Fineblit 

Whitney Friesen 

Daniel Garfinkel 

Randi Gurholt-Seary 

Silvia Hagen 

Nicole Haman 

Lindsay Hinrichsen 

Marie Ingram 

Kim John 

Jennifer Kirkey 

KELSEY LAND 

Jess Larsen-Halikowski 

Iain McCarthy 

Rudy Pospisil 

Laurie Reid 

Bonnie Riley 

Brenna Robert 

christopher ruedy 

Julia Schertzer 

Meredith Soer 

Kevin Stewart 

Damien Stonick 

Stephanie Thorpe 

Eric Urquhart 

Annika White 

SECURITY I 

Laara Chodura 

Henny Coates 

Darcye Cuff 

Rebekah Davies 

David Dietrich 

Kaitlin Dion 

Laura Duggan 

Michael Dunn 

Sara Fortune 

Evan Gatehouse 

Linda Grant 

Alicia Heads 

Lori Isfeld 

Laura Kazakoff 

Geoffrey Keong 

Vivian Lee 

Tamara Leger 

Kate Lekas 

Laura Mayne 

Alison McKend 

Janet McQueen 

Aria Poutanen 

Art Price 

Elana Scramstad 


Rudy Six 

Tim Straubinger 

Nigel Strike 

BigSean Sullivan 

James Tigchelaar 

Kaayla Tomlyn 

Sandra Walton 

Jerry Wang 

Mike Zarowny 

SECURITY L 

Amanda Adams 

Kirsty Cameron 

Christine Cheveldave 

Ryan Farnsworth 

Kristoffer Knutsen 

Ellie Nakamura 

SECURITY N 

Lisa Ackerman 

Cloe Aigner 

Jackie Barone 

Valerie Clark 

Jesse Farsang 

Gary Fisk 

Miriam Gil 

Bill Hadaway 

Hilary Hall 

Cathy Holtvogt 

Karen La Pointe 

Alan Landry 

Danielle McCallum 

Denis Nella 

Leah Rasmussen 

Fernanda Robledo 

Carley Rose 

Miranda Ting 

Michael Winters 

Lu Winters 

SECURITY P 

Johnny Anderson 

Brian Collard 

Kiran Deol 

Kira Hogarth-Davis 

SECURITY R 

Aslan Campbell 

Gabriel Carvajal 

Philip-Maynard Davies 

Emilia Davies 

Noah Ferrer 

Rory Hannah-Ryant 

Cindy Hildebrant 

Ritz Lal 

Jaye Lemmon 

Matthias Six 

Sophia-Ray Schmid 

Hazel Provonost 

SECURITY X 

Frank Abbott 

Lefty Alaei Tafti 

Andrew Beason 

Larissa Brese 

Richard Cook 

Richard Dennis 

Myriam Fisher 

Blake Fisher 

David Gennrich 

Ash Goertz 

Peter Golinsky 

Musa Kalaora 

Clive Langton 

Jon Levitt 

Dan Moscrip 

Astrid Opsetmoen 

Edward Sandberg 

Chris Saretzky 

Toni Stewart 

Sherry May Van Der 

Horst 

Jessica Whiteley 

Joy Witzsche 

SECURITY Z 

Emily Black 

Trevor Coburn 

Joel Delorme 

Adriana Devai 

Leah Evans 

Jim Graham 

Matti Hoek 

Martin Kelly 

Kirsten Kelly 

Jae Kingston 

Neil Kingston 

Chris Murphy 

Mairghread Murray 

Sandra Olsen 

Katie Puckey 

Ray Richmond 

Mariegold Rondeau 

Jeff Stacey 

Jarett Stacey 

Rueben Thompson 

Signs 

Zenas Hopfe 

Prudence Dong 

Bohan Liao 

Lucy St. John 

Obi-Wan Baggins 

Reception 

Anneke Van Vliet 

Luciano Bruschetta 

Toni Serofin 

Street Team 

Christine Ho 

Peter Adamic 

Renee Bishop 

Meghan Dutot 

Roozbeh Mehrabadi 

Hamza Nasir 

Farah Shroff 

Harry Wong 

Yumi Nakajima 

Itay Wand 

Sustainability 

Transportation 

PRE-FEST 

Diane Kehoe 

Francoise Raunet 

John Eastman 

Fanoula Arvanitis 

Marilyn Brulhart 

Lydia Cartar 

David Caves 

Bill Dovhey 

Anne Duke 

Bill Hooker 

Shayna Hornstein 

Deb Little 

Vania Mello 

Roger Mello 

Tom Nesbit 

Amanda Newell 

Michael Peiffer 

Tim Pippus 

Nicole Revel 

Melinda Suto 

Linda Uyehara-Hoffman 

Francoise Raunet 

WEEKEND 

Stephen Aberle 

John Angrignon 

Gordon Berndt 

Slavko Bucifal 

Kim Buttedahl 

Juergen Dankwort 

Robin Dass 

Patrick Downey 

Shane Duan 

Rosemary Dupuis 

Dale Edwards 

Amelia Frame 

Roger Hanna 

Donna Hansen 

Jonathan Harris 

Quetzo Herejk 

Terry Horkoff 

Dolly Hsiao 

Warren Hunter 

Haley Jon-Lewis 

David Lambert 

Lisa Lees 

Joey Lees 

Steve Lloyd 

Stephanie MacDonald 

Jody Matthews 

Barb McInnis 

Terrance Michalsky 

Jon Satok 

Megan Stewart 

Margaret Steyn 

Susan Summers 

Anne Talbot-Kelly 

John Thomson 

Alan Toft 

Nick Townley 

Donna Tribe 

Ken Wilton 

David Wong 

POST-FEST 

Leigh Barker 

Suzanne Fournier 

Amy Hack 

Gregory McCay 

Art Moses 

Dave Nuttall 

Miriam Reid 

Frank York 

Darrel Yurychuk 

Volunteer 

Assistants 

Lena Fox 

Molly Heselgrave 

Elias Breidford 

Presley Calderon 

Charlene Chan 

Shanti Cordoni-Jordan 

Bijou Da cunha 

Lila Danielsen-Wong 

Alice Derieux-Chagnard 

James Farina 

Ella Granger 

Susanna Hall 

Wen Yi Ho 

Jasmine Hopfe 

Safiya Hopfe 

Gemma Innes 

Aylah Jovanovski 

Kara Kamai 

Linda Kanyamuna 

Yuval Katzman 

Brianne Lee 

Malka Martz-Oberlander 

Oliver Morrison-Harding 

Paniz Najjarrezaparast 

Neva Olliffe 

Alex Robichaud 

Chelsea Ryan 

Benjamin Van Raalte 

Kai Walton 

Gena Wang 

Angel Winterlik 

Volunteer Gate 

Maansi Bhardwaj 

Dannielle Rutledge 

Liz Adams 

Zane Bartlett 

Allison Citynski 

Shauneen Clark- 

O’Doherty 

Mario Correa 

Nicola Cox 

Sarah Deng 

Liz Devine 

Carrie Ellert 

Jackson Esworthy 

Diane Goodale 

Shari Kulik 

Milo Kwan 

Frances Lando 

Mackenzie Lawrence 

Claire Livingstone 

Lily Lok 

Peggy Lynn MacIsaac 

saliesha morrsionharding 

Niki Najm-Abadi 

Diana Newman 

Laura Pena 

Q Peters 

Lucina Rakotovao 

Bran Sanders 

Emma Sawatzky 

Daniel Schipper 

Kat Smithson 

Rebecca Sokol-Snyder 

Alison Stockbrocks 

Kathryn Stuart 

Juliett Tam 

Quinn Temmel 

Saraswathi Vedam 

Jo Vipond 

Kimberley Yarker 

Water 

Rasool Rasooli 

Sue Abuelsamid 

Shlomo Cohen 

Kate Curry 

Amanda Daignault 

Julia Di Schiavi 

George Dickenson 

Philip Dovey 

Tayler Fuller 

Alireza Hajarian 

Ashley Klassen 

Marisol Lee 

Cecil Lu 

Matthew MacCaull 

Heather McKenzie 

Tamana Mehmi 

Gerry O’Doherty 

Connie Olsen 

Rita Quill 

Nikki Quintal 

Clara Rioux 

Steve Sanders 

Svitlana Tetokina 

Adele Therias 

Altan Thomas 

Janan Thomas 

Cathy Williams 

Ed Olsen, 1993 


Yoga 

2017 PRODUCTION CREWS 

Production Manager Ken Daskewech 

Production Coordinator Gillian Moranz 

Production Coordinator Bob Main 

Backlne Coordinator James Ong 

Laura Dilley 

Lorena Tatomir 

Kirsten Warneboldt 

Will Call 

Jenny Fung 

Jo Grave 

Heather Silberberg 

Marcia Wakarchuk Jones 

FESTIVAL SITE CREW 

Steve Adams, Jamie Burns, Mary Cantelon, Josef 

Chung, Luc Corbeil, Amber Cruikshank, Alex 

Dinwoodie, James Douglass, Gabriel Ducasse, 

Jeff Elrick, Rodney Fenske, Alex Forsyth, Peter 

Grier, Jessica Han, Liam Kupser, Jaya Lavin, Mac 

MacLeod, Erica Miller, Kaden O'Reilly, Lauren 

Palidwor, Eric Pells, Beau Picard, Don Robinson, 

Brett Rooth, Gavin Somers, Mark Tibando, Larry 

Walske, Ian Wardle, Michelle Williams 

Main Stage 

Stage Manager Dave Page 

Asst. Stage Manager Rod Matheson 

FoH Sound Fred Michael 

System Tech Terry Hilton 

Monitor Engineer Jeff Goddard 

Patch Dakota Poncillius 

FoH Liason Joe MacEachern 

Tweeners Neal Miskin 

Lighting Designer Steve Matthews 

Jurgen Beerwalde 

Emily Clarke 

Eli Everett 

Chippy Goyette 

Chris Keam 

Graham Lim 

Jasmine Orton 

Stage One 

Stage Manager Gabrielle Yorston 

Sound Andrew Smith 

Lowell Donaldson 

Jonathan Evans 

Micheala Fyfe 

Abby Glanz 

Justin Milad 

Martin Puentner 

Alyssa Therrien 

Heather Watson 

NIGHT SECURITY 

AJ, Andrien, Alison, Bain, Steve, Burdick, Colin, Clark, Niko, Code-Twinn, 

Daniel, Courteau, Kristin, Daukier, Jill, Dow, Kim, Hunter, Kaya, Hunter, 

Heather, Inglis, Savannah, Kemp, Sue, Martin, Neil, Martin, Marlo, Mason, 

Gary, Puckey, Nicole, Reipl, Janice, Shields, Pat, Smith, Mike, Stefancsik, 

Stephen, Tweedale, Antonia, Winkelmann, Yi Ou, Yang 

Stage Two 

Stage Manager Les Hatklin 

Sound Marc L'Esperance 

Assistant Stage Manager Shirley Lum 

Michael Bean 

Simon Bentz 

Mara Hatklin 

Lara Hawell 

Kelly Lee 

Michael Matte 

Julia Moniz-Lecce 

Adrian Nickpour 

Sean Schonfeld 

Stage Three 

Stage Manager Alan Zisman 

Sound Peter Gerencher 

Assistant Stage Manager Jen Rurak 

Pearl Ayem 

Melanie Bockmann 

River Brooks 

Jonah Downey 

Caryn Foong 

Michael Hamm 

Ryan O’Neill 

Ezeadi Patrik Onukwulu 

Pavel R. 

Stage Four 

Stage Manager Cathy Mason 

Sound Ryan Marchant 

Zane Barratt 

Anne Daroussin 

Monica Emme 

Samantha Gosse 

Austyn Jasper 

Kate Little 

Nicholas Mcintosh 

Sera Rabbett 

Emily Shaw 

Rob Sommerfeldt 

A huge thank you to volunteers who didn’t make it into the program before we went to 

print - you are loved and appreciated! 

Stage Five Day 

Stage Manager David Cowley 

Sound Steve Yee 

Audio Patch Patrick Francis 

Kieran Colbourne 

Bryce Foreman 

Michael Henick 

Judy Lea 

Zahriah McKenzie 

Artie Pippus 

Michelle Pippus 

Erika Thompson 

Stage Five Evenings 

Stage Manager Simon DeChamplain 

Sound Leon Cox 

Riz Affia 

Jess Ambrose 

Michael Bray 

Davinder Dhaliwal 

Darren Ferguson 

Rasto Kral 

Misha Liang 

Zoe Roberts 

Stage Six 

Stage Manager Patricia Sibley 

Sound Jesse Waldman 

Audio Patch Rob Fernandes 

Luis Benavidz 

Connor Bushnell 

Zach Graham 

Pria Kochar 

Jamie Ritchie 

Denny Salas 

Kate Semple 

Barry Shell 

Equipment Crew 

Gordon Prugh 

Jurgen Beerwalde 

Steve Geerlof 

Ted Dave 

Ike Eidsness 

Brian Ogg 

Darren Shorsky 

Keith Rose 

Gordon Ross 

Jay O’Keefe 

Jesse Waldman 

FoH Sound Floater 

Jay O'Keeffe 

Instrument Repair 

Eric Scott 

Eleanor Dunn 

Michael Dunn 


Located by 

Stage One 

Friday 2pm-5pm 

Saturday & Sunday 10am-5pm 

The Little Folks Village is the place to be for fun, interesting, 

and creative things for the whole family to do all weekend 

long! Come paint, parade, decorate, create, drum – and laugh 

and sing and play! Stop in often! 

PLEASE NOTE: 

• Little ones must be accompanied by an adult at all times. 

• The Baby Change & Nursing Station is located next to the 

Waterworks Station. 

• Check the sandwich board for posted times of events in 

the Village. There’s always something exciting going on! 

MADSKILLZ ROVING PERFORMERS 

Tara returns with her team of magnifi cent roaming performers, 

including the always-popular hoopers and spinners. They will 

entertain and run mini-classes throughout the weekend. 

LITTLE FOLKS STATIONS 

CREATION STATION 

Stop by the Creation Station to make tie-dyed butterfl ies, 

decorate paper crowns, and make friendship bracelets for you 

and your friends! Why not create your own masterpiece out of 

recycled materials? 

FACE PAINTING STATION 

Transform your own face or let one of our talented volunteers 

change you into a superhero, a fi erce animal, a funny clown – or 

whatever your heart desires. Our paints are water soluble and 

completely safe. 

WATERWORKS STATION 

Cool off, play and splash with water toys in tubs full of bubbles. 

Run through the rain tunnel and cool off on a warm day! 

CLAY STATION 

Come to the Clay Station and learn the fun basics of working 

with clay, including techniques like rolling, pinching, and coiling. 

Create your own cup, bowl or very artistic sculpture. It’s fun for 

all ages! 

PAPER MAKING STATION 

Try your hand at making your own paper! Fill it with leaves, 

fl owers, glitter, or anything else you can fi nd. The folks at UBC 

Pulp and Paper Centre are on hand to teach you all you need 

to know. 

Sam Steele 


David Niddrie 

REDBIRD 

JUGGLING & STILT WALKING 

Learn to stilt walk and juggle at one of Redbird’s mini-workshops 

happening throughout the weekend! Check the sandwich 

board for posted times. 

LET’S MAKE A SONG 

In this fun and interactive show, Redbird gets you laughing with 

silly examples of popular songs. Then, using YOUR ideas, you’ll 

create a cool new tune on the spot with Redbird’s help. Finally, 

sing and perform it for everyone – with Redbird accompanying 

you on his groovy guitalele! 

"Ruffle Redbird" is Peter G-G, professional circus artist/ 

musician/actor of over 30 years. Look for him in the tall trees 

around Little Folks, and learn more at www.peterg-g.com

CITYSTUDIO VANCOUVER 

THE TROLLSONS 

The trolls are coming! The trolls are 

coming! 

wherever they go. 

Keep an eye out for trolls roaming 

the site this weekend. 

They’ll be telling tall troll tales, 

reading rune stones and predicting 

the future, match-making, giving 

herbal remedies, and generally 

causing mischief and merriment 

You’ll easily spot them and hear them coming, as they’ll 

be wearing amazing masks (made by award-winning mask 

designer, Melody Anderson), and playing cowbells, drum and 

accordion. 

NYLON ZOO 

Crawl inside the Nylon Zoo Eco Dome 

and join in songs and stories with Angela Brown. 

Hear the interactive story, "Rainbow Salmon," 

and sing songs about friendship 

and the environment. 

Barbara Tili 

Come sit down and play a piano courtesy of CityStudio Vancouver! Yay! 

From freeform improv to chopsticks, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Four 

Strong Winds, to Bach concertos and everything in between, the piano is there 

for you to show us your keyboard chops. You can sing along, dance along, 

even form a conga line too! You might discover festival performers tinkling an 

ivory or two from time to time. 

PUBLIK SECRETS MUSICAL PLAYGROUND 

Alyssa Burtt 

TAIKO DRUM WORKSHOPS 

Wanna play some cool 

instruments made from 

recycled objects? 

This is the place! 

Publik Secrets Musical 

Playground is back – with 

some new features this year! 

This musical playground 

enchants the ear with 

never-before heard sonic 

arrangements. There are 

giant xylophones made out of 

bicycle parts, an organ fueled 

by bike pumps, drums and 

some brand new creations to 

try out. 

Come join in for fun ways to 

make your own special music! 

Saturday 1:20pm | Sunday 1:30pm 

Catch the taiko spirit! Learn the fundamentals of traditonal 

Japanese drumming – a combination of martial arts and 

music. In this workshop, you will learn drumming basics, form 

and rhythms. 


LA TENTE FRANCOPHONE DE JAM 

PRÉSENTÉE EN PARTENARIAT AVEC LE FESTIVAL DU BOIS 

FRANCOPHONE JAM TENT 

PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH FESTIVAL DU BOIS 

Située au niveau du Little Folks Village 

Vendredi entre 14h et 18h 

Samedi et dimanche entre 10h et 18h 

Venez tenter l’expérience bilingue et visiter la Tente 

francophone de Jam ! Rencontrez le groupe Podorythmie et 

essayez les ateliers de fabrique de crankie. Apprenez-en plus 

sur la culture canadienne-française, venez écouter, jouer et 

peut-être danser sur une musique entrainante. 

VOICI LE PROGRAMME 

Podorythmie (Percussions traditionnelles francophones) 

Tous les jours de 14h å 15h 

Le terme québécois podorythmie signifie ‘’rythme du pied’’, soit 

l’accompagnement dynamique de la musique, par percussion 

avec les pieds. C’est aussi un groupe de cinq femmes connues 

pour leurs performances dynamiques et enjouées de musique 

et de danses du Québec et du Cap-Breton. 

Ateliers de Crankie 

Samedi et dimanche de 11h a midi 

Qu’est-ce qu’un crankie ? Imaginez un mini panorama 

déroulant ! Laissez Sue Truman et ses amies vous apprendre 

l’art du crankie et tentez d’en fabriquer un de vos propres 

mains. 

Leonard Podolak et son atelier de « Ham Bone » 

Voir programme 

Soyez prêts à frapper dans vos mains, taper du pied et sur vos 

cuisses ! Venez apprendre la technique et en apprendre plus 

sur l’histoire du « Ham Bone ». 

Rencontres avec les artistes du festival 

Samedi/Dimanche à 12 heures 30 et à 15 heures 30 

Venez dire bonjour aux artistes francophones à l’affiche du 

festival cette année ! 

Sessions de jam 

Tous les jours entre 16h et 18h 

Des artistes comme Bob Bossin et son ami joueur de 

violon, Yann Flaquet et Pacal Gemme du super groupe 

Québécois Genticorum seront dans le coin pour quelques 

sessions de jam. 

Ramenez votre instrument acoustique préféré, ou venez 

simplement tendre l’oreille. Tout le monde est le bienvenu ! 

Bien des surprises vous attendent encore, comme le concours 

photo Snapchat ! 

Located on the edge of the Little Folks Village 

Friday, 2pm to 6pm 

Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 6pm 

Embrace the full bi-cultural Canadian experience with a visit 

to the Francophone Jam Tent! Discover podorythmie, check 

out the crankie workshops, learn more about French Canadian 

culture, and hear, play, and maybe even dance to some great 

tunes. 

HERE’S WHAT’S GOING ON 

Podorythmie 

(Traditional French-Canadian Foot Percussion Demos) 

2:00pm – 3:00pm daily 

“Podorhythmie” means “foot rhythms”, the galvanizing 

percussive musical accompaniment made by the feet. It’s also 

a quintet known for dynamic performances of Québécois & 

Cape Breton music and dance. 

Crankie Workshops 

11:00am – 12:00pm Saturday & Sunday 

What is a Crankie? Think a hand-cranked moving picture show. 

Let Sue Truman & her friends teach you the art of the crankie – 

and make your own cranky show. 

Leonard Podolak’s “Ham Bone” Workshop 

Check schedules 

Get ready to clap your hands, slap your thighs, and stomp your 

feet! Come learn the techniques and history of hambone. 

Meet and Greet with Festival Artists 

Friday from 2:00pm; Sat/Sun 12:30pm – 3:30pm 

Come say “bonjour” to some of the French-speaking artists at 

this year’s festival. 

Jam Sessions 

From 4pm to 6pm daily 

Folks like Bob Bossin and his fiddle-playing friends, and 

Yann Flaquet and Pacal Gemme from Québécois supergroup 

Genticorum will be around for some good old-fashioned jam 

sessions. Bring your acoustic instruments and join in – or just 

come to listen. Everyone welcome! 

Plus there are other surprises ... like the Snapchat photo 

contest! 

Check the schedule in the Tent or load up our new app for 

updates and times. 

Consultez le programme sous la tente ou télécharger notre 

nouvelle application pour les mises å jour et les horaires. 


40 Years And Counting 

A visual history of forty years of the 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

Written by Jeannie Kamins 

with a Memoir by Gary Cristall 

For 40 years people have been documenting the festival. This 

year, for the fortieth anniversary, Jeannie wrote her personal 

memoir of how the festival has become central to her’s and so 

many others’ lives. Then Gary added his “two bits” on how it 

all began. Add to that, pages of drawings by artists whose work 

peppered the programs over the 40 years, and you have the 

book, 40 Years and Counting. 

Get your copy at the CD Tent 

or contact Jeannie at jeanniekamins@telus.net 

or by phone at 604-760-7342 

PERFORMING UNDER THE FRANCOPHONE JAM TENT 

PODORYTHMIE 

This five-member group hailing from 

the US, France and Canada are known 

for their high energy and good 

time performances of French 

Canadian music and dance. 

Band members are Sue Truman, 

fiddle, podorythmie; ; Pascale 

Lelong, accordion, 

vocals; 

Prairie Wolfe, fiddle, vocals, step 

dancing, podorythmie; ; Julia 

Derby, guitar, step dancing, 

podorythmie, crankies; Cil 

Pierce, guitar, step dancing, 

podorythmie. 

YANN FALQUET 

& PASCAL GEMME 

Yann & Pascal perform as a duo 

and are also members of the 

Quebecois trio Genticorum. 

Pascal’s fiddling, Yann’s guitar 

accompaniment, and the duo’s 

vast repertoire of traditional 

songs and tunes are all presented 

with elegance and effortless 

musicianship. 

Join them in the Saturday Jam 

session. 


Come shop for the beautiful, the practical, the one-of-a-kind crafted by talented artisans and artists. 

There’s a treasure here for someone special in your life, or as a gift to yourself. You deserve it! 

ADELE’S ARTS ARRAY 

Diddley Bows (one string slide guitars) made from recycled 

pieces. 

ARUNDEL STUDIOS POTTERY 

White porcelain wheel-thrown pottery decorated with 

drawings of animals and people. 

BAM WOODWORKING 

Unique handmade boxes and keepsake holders made from 

exotic, reclaimed, and domestic wood. 

KAT CADEGAN JEWELLERY 

Sterling silver jewellery influenced by the artist’s natural 

surroundings. 

ROBERT CERINS DESIGNS 

Hand painted earrings and pendants created by reproducing 

images from the artist’s collection of digital files, or his own 

original paintings. 

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE CENTRE FOR THE ARTS/ 

CARAVANS 

A social enterprise arm of the DTES for the Arts, selling 

Indigenous artwork, handcrafted by local folks. 

EARTH TO ETHERS MFG. INC 

This innovative Lotus Wrap is a versatile yoga & meditation 

accessory that allows you to sit more comfortably practicing 

yoga and meditating. 

ELENA DESIGNS 

Distinctive laser cut leather jewellery and fashion accessories 

with a West Coast, bohemian flair. 

FOXY CLOTH 

Reusable menstrual pads and other intimate products 

handmade in Vancouver from breathable, antibacterial, 

organic cotton/bamboo batting. 

GLASEA 

Ocean and beach-inspired glass jewellery and art made by 

Mona Ungar. 

CHERYL JACOBS JEWELLERY AND JIPSI TREE 

Handmade semi-precious stone, pearl, fossil, and sterling 

silver jewellery, as well as hand printed bamboo clothing. 

KLA ORIGINALS 

One of a kind sweater coats, hoodies, dresses, and children’s 

wear all made from recycled sweaters. 

NICKY KUMAR ART 

Zen and mandala pen and ink artwork incorporating some 

watercolours. 

LAWRENCE LOWE 

Original ink drawings on paper, wood panels, drums, and 

stones as well as elk horn jewellery. 

Raz Dong 


Eric Scott 

MARBLED STUDIO 

Beautiful paint marbled papers and textiles ranging from 

cards to scarves and tablecloths. 

MEHNDI DESIGNS BY ITI 

Adorn your body with art, henna tattoos and all things henna 

with a modern western twist. 

MYSGREEN 

Handmade items for the home, along with clothing and 

fashion accessories made from eco-friendly cotton and 

linen. 

NAKED SAGE 

Jewellery made from a selection of west coast woods and 

metals that are hand sawn, textured, wrapped, and soldered. 

The Folk Bazaar, located ocean-front in Jericho 

Beach Park, has quickly become an integral part 

of the Festival experience. Like a true bazaar, 

you’ll fi nd a diverse collection of treasures, even see into 

your future or heal your past. 

Bazaar vendors typically import their goods, but some 

sell their own handcrafted works. Clothing, jewellery, 

accessories, house wares, toys and, well, pretty much 

anything else you can think of can be found among the 

many booths in this market. 

Open to both festival-goers and the general public. Accessible 

from the beach or from just outside the WestGate. 

Hours of Operation 

Friday, July 14 1pm – 9:15pm 

Saturday, July 15 10am – 9:15pm 

Sunday, July 16 10am – 9:15pm 

RE-T UPCYCLED GOODIES 

Sweater coats, leg warmers and gloves for the whole family 

all made from wool, cotton and other fabrics that were 

destined for the landfi ll. 

SEEMA’S JARDIN DE FLEURS 

An exquisite collection of hand-painted silk and felted 

scarves, shawls, bags and other accessories. 

SIMPLY NEGLECTABLE SUCCULENTS 

A collection of drought tolerant plants that are as beautiful 

and interesting as they are wild and wonderful. 

SPRUCE PARK STUDIOS 

Handmade jewellery crafted from resin and exotic wood. 

TRUDY ANN’S CHAI AND SPICES 

Dry roasted tea blends using authentic spices. 

YUTAL JEWELLERY 

Unique silver and gold jewellery with semi precious stones 

inspired by European art deco to Moroccan hammered 

metal. 

ZULA JEWELLERY + DESIGN 

Nature inspired metal jewellery. 

Eric Scott 


COMMUNITY VILLAGE 

Welcome to a community of people and organizations working to make the world a healthier, greener, safer, and 

more just place to live. Also more interesting! Come learn about what some dedicated organizations are doing 

to make that better world possible. 

AFEATHERWAY COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTRE 

Afeatherway aims to empower and connect people to promote 

ease, fulfillment, and enjoyment of life through community 

and sustainability. In an effort to reduce consumerism, their 

website provides a platform for members of the community 

to connect and make fun, safe and meaningful trades for 

goods and services. 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 

Drop by the Amnesty International tent and join their 

campaigns to stop torture around the world. Amnesty 

International is a global movement of people dedicated to 

the promotion and protection of human rights, including 

defending indigenous people’s rights in the face of 

government denials. 

CFRO 100.5FM 

(VANCOUVER COOPERATIVE RADIO) 

Co-op Radio is a cooperatively-owned, listener-supported 

community radio station that has provided a space on 

the airwaves for under-represented and marginalized 

communities since 1975. Broadcasting 24 hours a day, CFRO 

is your home for arts, public affairs, and the kind of music 

you’ll hear at the festival! 

CITR 101.9FM (UBC CAMPUS RADIO) 

CITR broadcasts live from the festival on Saturday morning! Stop 

by their temporary studio as Steve Edge, from The Edge On Folk, 

and other station hosts chat with festival artists and play their tunes. 

Come learn all about UBC campus radio, too! 

CJSF 90.1FM (SFU CAMPUS RADIO) 

Meet the folks behind Simon Fraser University’s volunteerdriven, 

non-profit, campus-community radio station, 

broadcasting from Burnaby Mountain! CJSF takes pride 

in being an alternative to the mainstream, a forum for 

viewpoints that otherwise may not be heard. 

EQUAL PLAY 

Equal Play doesn’t just promote women’s equality on the 

soccer field, but also pays attention to how sports and 

physical activity can positively affect many aspects of a 

woman’s life. Make sure to check out their booth and learn 

more about their programs. 

GEIST MAGAZINE 

Geist is the Canadian magazine of ideas and culture – fact 

+ fiction, photography and comix, essays, reviews, and the 

weird and wonderful from the world of words. Visit their 

booth for free magazines and a chance to win a free Geist 

tote bag full of books, maps, rare back issues and more. 

JERICHO BIODIVERSITY STUDENT GROUP (SFU) 

Jericho Biodiversity Student Group’s mandate is to educate children 

about the importance of preserving biodiversity in Jericho Beach 

Park by using the natural world as a teacher. They aim to accomplish 

this through hands-on, outdoor learning in the hope that children 

will cultivate a continuing respect and connection to the natural 

world. 

THE ONE CAMPAIGN 

The ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit, 

advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme 

poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. They raise 

public awareness and pressure political leaders to support policies 

and programs that save lives and improve futures. 

PARTYWELL/BLESSED COAST MUSIC FESTIVAL 

Party Well is a rapidly-growing student-run club sponsored 

by the Commerce Undergraduate Society at UBC whose aim 

is to raise funds for water projects in developing countries 

– while throwing unforgettable parties. Partnering with them 

this year is Blessed Coast Music Festival, who work with 

Coast Salish elders to bring the ancient ways of community 

ceremony into the modern context of celebration. 

RECONCILIATION CANADA 

Reconciliation Canada is an Indigenous-led organization 

helping to lead the way in engaging Canadians in dialogue 

and transformative experiences that revitalize the 

relationship among and between Indigenous peoples and 

all Canadians. 

ROGUE FOLK CLUB 

Follow the sounds of the ukulele to learn about the Rogue 

Folk Club’s upcoming events, jams and concerts. Promoting 

folk music as a cultural experience, the Rogue Folk Club 

endeavours to spread folk music to an ever-expanding 

audience. 


102.7 The Peak 

The Peak Team will be on site at various times and locations over the weekend. 

When you see them, say "Hi", and see what surprises this long-time Festival supporter has in store. 

facebook.com/thepeak @thePEAK 

SIERRA CLUB BC 

Like the region’s seven First Nations, the Sierra Club of BC 

is bringing communities together to protect our coast. Their 

‘Pull Together’ campaign aims to support First Nations’ legal 

challenges as they relate to environment issues. 

VANCOUVER LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL 

VLAFF is a charitable organization with a mission to provide 

a forum for the exhibition of contemporary Latin American 

cinema in Vancouver, to promote cross-cultural dialogue, 

and explore historical, social and cultural issues through the 

art of filmmaking. 

Roundhouse Radio 98.3FM 

Look for the Roundhouse Radio’s Street Team over the 

weekend. Stop by, meet the folks, and find out more about 

the station’s community-focused programming. 

facebook.com/RoundhouseRadio @Roundhouse983 

Participating booths are subject to changes and additions – which 

is why you need to come check the Community Village out for 

yourself! 

Alyssa Burtt 

Congratulations on the 40th Annual 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival! 

From Your Friends at 

Full Color Business Cards, Bookmarks, 

Tickets, Postcards, Rackcards, 

Greeting Cards, Posters, 

Brochures, Flyers, Catalogues, 

Booklets, Presentation Folders, 

Table Tents and much more! 

www.eastvangraphics.ca 


FEELING LUCKY? GRAB YOUR TROLL 

DOLL AND GET YOUR 50/50 TICKETS! 

3 for $5 or 10 for $10 

Look out for 50/50 sellers throughout the park all 

weekend, or go to the 50/50 Tent (across from Main 

Stage) to purchase. 

A daily winner will be drawn 

on the Evening Main Stage: 

Friday between 7 & 7:30pm 

Saturday between 7 & 7:30pm 

Sunday between 6:30 & 7:00pm 

Each day is a different pot. 

You must be in attendance to claim your prize at the 

50/50 Tent within 30 minutes of draw announcement 

each night. 

50/50 DRAW 

Friday July 14: BC Gaming license # 96798 

Saturday July 15: BC Gaming license # 96799 

Sunday July 16: BC Gaming license # 96800 

Vancouver Folk 

Music Festival 

BAG CHECK SERVICE 

Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe ~ 2095 West 4th ~ 604 732 6810 

$1 an hour till 11:30pm 

check site map 

for location! 

With you at work 

467 


-EST. 1978- 

FABULOUS FARE FOR FAMISHED FOLKIES 

see over for full listings and locations 

food area 

Head over to the NE corner of the site for a global 

buffet of gourmet goodness carefully selected to enrich 

your Festival experience. From full meals, snacks and 

dreamy desserts, to hot and cold beverages, there is 

something to satisfy all tastes and cravings! 

food on the hill 

No need to trek all the way to the Food Area – enjoy 

a beverage from Green Coast Coffee and scrumptious 

snacks from Slavic Rolls. You’ll find them on the hill 

between Stage 4 and Stage 6 (#34 & 35 on the map). 

Munchies in the 

Big Rock Beer Garden 

Enjoy a cold beer, cider or wine in the Big Rock Beer 

Garden located near Stage 4 – and accompany it with 

some fine festival fare. 

Serving in the beer garden: The New Taste Wraps, Big 

Rock Urban Eatery and Smoke Shack 99. 

wheeled meals 

Keep a look-out for our new mobile snack wagons 

roaming the site, offering portable potables to keep 

those hunger pangs at bay. 

beverages to go 

Satisfy your caffeine cravings at four beverage locations! In the Folk Bazaar; on the hill 

between Stage 4 and Stage 6; near the bridge just west of Main Stage; in the Food Area. 


-EST. 1978- 

Food vendor numbers 1& correspond to numbers on the map 

vegetarian options gluten free options located in beer garden mobile 

FULL MEAL OPTIONS 

Arturos Mexico2go 1^ 

Traditional Mexican burritos, enchiladas, and 

tacos; burrito salad bowls 

B and B Concessions t 

17 varieties of made-to-order savoury and 

sweet French-style crepes 

Beljam's Waffles 1! 

Classic waffles, sweet & savoury hot waffle 

cones (apple, grilled cheese or bacon & egg) 

Big Rock Urban Eatery 3# 

Grilled hamburgers, grilled cheese 

sandwiches, cold sandwiches and salads 

C'est Si Bon o 

Brioche sliders, beef bourguignon, crepes, 

french fries, French pastries 

Dim Sum Express 2) 

Stir-fried noodles, shrimp & pork dumplings, 

spring rolls, BBQ pork buns 

G's Donairs i 

Chicken, beef or lamb donairs with fresh 

homemade sauces, falafels 

Kaboom Box q 

Salmon “Salmwich”, veggie Van-Burger, 

venison burger, house salad, vegetarian 

poutine 

Mediterranean BBQ and Paella 1& 

Grilled chicken, merguez sausage or 

vegetables in pitas; dolmades, pita with 

humous or tzatziki; Spanish paella 

Meet2Eat Catering 3^ 

Organic 

veggie falafel, lamb pita, fish & chips, chipotle 

chicken with salad, chicken nuggets and fries 

The New Taste Wraps 3! 

Authentic Greek chicken, beef, lamb and 

falafel gyros 

Old Country Pierogi 1) 

Traditional pierogies, cabbage rolls, grilled 

Polish sausages 

The Reef Runner Caribbean 1# 

Roti, jerk poutine, Jamaican patties, plantain 

chips w/ jerk mayo, Tobago wraps, ginger beer 

The Rockin' Wok 1* 

Asian-style stir-fry noodles and rice bowls, 

salads 


Smoke Shack 99 3@ 

Pulled pork sliders, brisket sliders, brisket 

poutine, pulled pork poutine 

The Taste of Thailand y 

Spring rolls, chicken satay, chicken and 

veggie curries, stir-fried rice noodles 

Urban Wood Fired Pizza 1( 

Made-to-order wood-fired pizzas, Greek 

salad 

PLANT-BASED FULL MEAL OPTIONS 

Culver City Salads w 

Selection of salads (quinoa, rice and noodle), 

grain-free salad, chocolate chip s’more cookies 

El Coroto Kitchen r 

Grilled hemp and flax seed arepas filled with 

black beans, plantains, or squash 

Gaia Ma e 

Kitchari (a classic Ayurvedic dish), Kitchari 

waffles, mushroom burger, mushroom miso 

soup, pad Thai salad 

BEVERAGES 

Green Coast Coffee 3$ 

Nitro cold brew coffee, cold brewed iced 

teas, freshly roasted coffee, maple coconut 

cold brew latte, loose leaf teas, lemonade 

I's Freshly Squeezed Lemonade 3) 

Freshly squeezed lemonade, bubble tea, 

black tea, green tea and slush 

Matchstick Coffee 3& 

Hot espresso drinks 

Milano Coffee 2# 

Iced lattes and Turkaccinos 

Nineteen02 Kombucha 2^ 

Raw, organic, unpasteurized Kombucha, 

fresh teas, water kefir 

Reusable Plate Program 

We’re saving thousands of disposable plates from 

entering the landfill by using multi-use plates. 

This year, a $.50 cent surcharge will be added 

to all plated meals to offset the cost of our onsite 

commercial dishwasher. Please remember 

to recycle and compost! We appreciate your 

support for our green initiatives.. 

SNACKS 

Gary’s Kettle Corn 2% 

Sweet and salty kettle corn, caramel corn 

Hippie Snacks 2& 

Coconut chips, coconut clusters, garden 

chips, granola, sesame snacks 

It’s All About Grill 1$ 

Asian-style BBQ chicken, beef and pork 

skewers; bacon-wrapped hot dog skewers 

JJ's Hot Cobs Ltd. u 

Freshly roasted corn, butter, and a wide 

selection of savoury salts 

The Original Hurricane Potato 1@ 

Deep fried spiral potato and zucchini on a 

stick, with 15 seasonings and sauces 

DESSERTS, BAKED GOODS 

+ FROZEN TREATS 

Earnest Ice Cream 2( 

Selection of organic ice creams 

Marie's Guilt Free Bakery 2! 

English muffins, strawberry shortcake, 

savoury pastries, flatbreads with cheese or 

veggies 

Mexi Pops 2* 

Mangos on a stick, fresh fruit popsicles, 

yoghurt and cream pops, chocolate 

bananas, energy bars 

Rain or Shine 1% 

Small batch ice cream inspired by seasons, 

suggestions, holidays, cravings, beer, 

experimentation and much more 

Salt Spring Island Fruitsicles 2@ 

Fruit-focussed frozen treats, including 

coconut cream, strawberry yoghurt, fruit 

punch, rhubarb cardamom, and blackberry 

lavender 

Slavic Rolls 3% 

Ribbon-wound caramelized pastries baked 

on a slowly turned rotisserie, above an 

open fire 

Whales Tails 2$ 

Crispy fried dough with a choice of sweet 

and savoury toppings

SITE 

MAP 

ATM 

FOLK BAZAAR 

36 

Jericho Beach 

23 

20 

21 

22 

19 

18 

17 

16 

shade tent 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

WEST 

GATE 

6 

STAGE 

34 

35 31 

STAGE 

4 

33 

32 

Beer Garden 

ATM 

ACCESS 

PLATFORM 

1 

30 

2 

29 

MAIN 

STAGE 

3 

28 

27 

4 

26 

25 

24 

FOOD AREA 

Tom Lee 

Music Tent 

5 

6 7 

see inset map 

10 

9 

8 

Pt. Grey 

Rd 

5 

STAGE 

40 

123 123 

ATM 

37 

Backstage 

Area 

ACCESS 

SERVICES 

ATM 

MEDIA 

TENT 

FOOD AREA 

Service 

Gate 

Access Services for 

persons with disabilities 

Water Station 

Information 

Lost & Found / Bag Check 

ARTISAN 

MARKET 

COMMUNITY 

VILLAGE 

STAGE 

3 

Entrance/Exit 

Donate: For Pete's Sake! Tent 

(Memberships and Donations). 

First Aid 

Festival Merchandise 

Francophone 

& CD Tent 

Jam Tent 

Beverages 

LITTLE FOLKS 

Nature Committee 

VILLAGE 

Food Area 

STAGE 

123 123 Raffle Tent 

2 

Toilets 

YOGA STAGE 

Recycle Station 

1 

Baby Change/ 

Nursing Tent 

40 Gallery 40 ATM 

Secure 

ATMs are located at the Festival Merchandise & CD Tent, the Big Rock Beer Garden and the Food Area 

Bike Lockup 

EAST 

[MAIN] 

GATE 

ACCESS 

SERVICES 

and 

NEIGHBOURS 

GATE 

BOX OFFICE 

CUSTOMER 

SERVICE 

MEDIA 

WILL CALL 

VOLUNTEER 

CHECK IN 

4th Avenue 


Telephonic Canada 

604.638.3848 

info@telephonic.ca 

telephonic ✺ 

ALWAYS THE SMART CHOICE 

CloudPBX 

Yes! Your telephone service is 

designed to live in our cloud :) 

Hosted telephone 

service free trial 

info@telephonic.ca 

SANDMAN IS PROUD TO 

SPONSOR THE 2017 VANCOUVER 

FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL 

So Many Reasons to Stay: Convenient locations | Complimentary high-speed Internet 

| Suites & kitchenettes available | On-site dining | Room service | Fitness facilities | 

Pool & whirlpool | Meeting & banquet facilities | Business centre 

Sandman Sandman Signature Hotel & Resort 

Vancouver Airport 

10251 St. Edwards Drive, Richmond, BC 

604 681 7263 

Sandman Hotel Vancouver Airport 

3233 St. Edwards Drive 

Richmond, BC 

604 303 8888 

T a k e C H A R G E o f y o u r C o m m u t e ! 

Electric Cruiser 

Modern Classic 

Power Rider 

Q U A L I T Y 

P E R F O R M A N C E 

S T Y L E 

Urban Sportster 

Fat Tire Rider 

motorinoelectric 

e_motorino 

N o D r’s Li c e n s e 

o r R e g i s t r a t i o n 

R e q u i r e d* 

* Rider must be 16 or older 

Drop by for a free test ride 

@336 W. 2nd Ave 

Electric Vintage 

www.motorino.ca 

IF YOU LIKE 

FOLK, TOO, 

LISTEN TO 

CITR 101.9 FM 

Pacific Pickin’ 

Tuesday, 6am to 8am 

Folk Oasis 

Wednesday, 8pm to 10pm 

Soulship Enterprise 

Saturday, 7pm to 8pm 

The Saturday Edge 

Saturday, 8am to Noon 

Code Blue 

Saturday, 3pm to 5pm 

Blood on the Saddle 

Sunday, 3pm to 5pm 

check us out online at citr.ca 


APPLY NOW at douglascollege.ca 

17-155 Ad-Fringe Festival.indd 1 6/2/2017 2:34:48 PM

VFMF 2017 Program Yumpu

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?