After attending the entire weekend of three straight Calgary Folk Fest's, we missed out on our first one in Edmonton last year. Apparently tickets sell out way faster in Edmonton than in Calgary, and we were only able to go for one night. So this year I made sure to call on the day they went on sale, which turned out to be a smart idea as the tickets sold out completely on the first day. If anyone is thinking of going to the Edmonton Folk Fest, you should keep this in mind.
The Edmonton Folk Fest takes place at Gallagher Park in the river valley, which is a gorgeous setting. The park is a natural amphitheater, and there are really no bad seats at the main stage. Also, most of the side stages are on the side of the hill, so you always have great sound and a great view. The only drawback to the location is that there is no shade anywhere, which can make for some hot afternoons, and also leads to a lot of bright red skin around the festival.
I really like the format of the festival. There is more of a mixture of main stage and side stage shows than in Calgary: on Friday night, there are workshops from 6-9, and then the main stage starts, and on Saturday and Sunday there is a main stage concert from 2-3. It definitely makes it easier to meet up with people and to find time for meals, etc.
I also like how the festival works the tarp run for the best spots: instead of the first-come first-served system that leads to overnight camping in Calgary, the Edmonton festival does a lottery system. The first 1000 people who arrive at a certain time a few hours before gates open gets a coloured ticket, and then the colours are drawn to determine who gets to go first. It means you can't guarantee yourself a good spot, which is a drawback, but it makes those good spots a possibility without such a major time commitment. I found time to go for a run after the drawing and before the gates opened, which was a good thing on a very busy weekend.
As for the music, this was one of the best folk fests I've ever been to. The standout highlights for me were Ben Harper and Brandi Carlile. I'm not going to pretend to be a music reviewer, so I can't really describe why I liked them, but I was blown away by both of them. It is an incredible feeling to sit on that hill, looking out over the river valley and downtown Edmonton, hearing amazing music. I love just being in the moment at the festival, soaking it all in.
My favourite part of these festivals is sitting in on workshops where the musicians really click and are able to jam together. Without question, the best workshop of the weekend was at Stage 3 on Sunday morning. The three acts were Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, Dailey & Vincent, and John Boutte. Shelton and the Queens are a Motown style girls group, fronted by a long-time veteran of the soul and gospel scene. Dailey & Vincent are a bluegrass and Southern gospel group, and John Boutte is a New Orleans-based cajun soul singer. Because it was Sunday morning, they decided to stick to a spiritual theme, especially since Dailey & Vincent were clearly used to having a very Christian theme to their music. What this meant is that they ended up singing a lot of spirituals that they all knew, and everyone could sing and play together. We spent a good chunk of this workshop up on our feet.
And just so I don't forget, here were a few other acts I really enjoyed: Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms, Ray Bonneville, Sarah Harmer, The Levon Helm Band, Luis E. Mejia Godoy, and Bassekou Kouyate And Ngoni Ba.
The Folk Fest is a unique place, where you can leave your stuff sitting on your tarp all day without fear, with delicious food, reasonably priced beer, and street performers wandering through the crowd. I love being there. Can't wait for next year!
0 comments:
Post a Comment