1. What’s your two sentence description of the Calgary Folk Festival for someone who has never been?
It’s an experience; a collective sound salvation with an incredibly cool vibe in a beautiful urban park that features unique collaborations and concerts. Musically, think Bonaroo in a polygamous marriage with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Womad and Newport.
2. What’s with the word Folk in the title? How strict are you about that? How diverse is the line up?
Folk is more of an attitude and atmosphere than a musical genre. Canadian folk festivals are usually held in parks and are characterized by a relaxed atmosphere, multi-generational audiences and are safe places for children where people treat each other with respect. Think the world as it should be for 4 days.
To us, folk as a genre comes from two branches: a singer/songwriter history and traditions from around the globe – not just limited to those from western Europe. But songwriting takes many forms so a great song can be delivered in a hip-hop or blues style, sung in Yoruba or by a white guy with a guitar. We explore the roots and evolution of the music we like to call folk; a genre-bending smorgasbord where acoustic, ambient and electric styles combine, including blues, indie-rock, traditional music, roots, world music, cutting-edge sounds, dub, bluegrass, funk, country, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, Celtic, old-time, Norteño, jazz and orchestral pop.
3. We’ve heard you use the term “arranged marriages.” What are you referring to there?
The sessions are songwriter-in-the round and jam sessions, organized around themes and styles of music. These are dependent on the artists booked each year, however we typically have several blues-oriented stages, a celtic session or two, several focussing on certain instruments, a gospel session, world music collaborations, etc. The format is 3-4 artists or groups put together on a stage. They rotate playing and often back each other up. It’s a magical meeting of artists in an intimate setting.
Here are some things other people have said about them:
"Soon after came another Sophie's Choice by way of a concert by great roots rock act The Acorn, workshops featuring friends and acquaintances of talented West Coast artist, producer and performer Steve Dawson (Deep Dark Woods, Ebony Hillbillies and The Sojourners), or a stacked stage hosting acts under the Cooking with Brass umbrella. The latter was another superb example of the collaborative magic at work, featuring altfolk waif Mirah teaming with Jon Boden & Jon Spiers, and members of Bell Orchestre and Tarhana as they oscillated wildly between horn-fuelled Gypsy skronk and Celtic second line."-Mike Bell, Calgary Herald
"I was able to share the stage with songwriters and friends like Josh Ritter, but also with a Trinidadian calypso group and a French Canadian band. It was really exhilarating and a wonderful example of how we're all doing the same thing, music, but coloured with our individual contexts and histories. This has always been my philosophy, but I've never seen in put into practice by others so thoroughly." -Mark Erelli, artist
• Lord Have Mercy! gospel session with Rhonda Vincent, Martin Joseph, Ruthie Foster and Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. It was 2004 and just before the second George Bush election so Martin’s spiritual songs that talk about how the world should be if Jesus was here and his comments about the coming election weren’t appreciated by Rhonda, so although it there was generally a lot of harmony – in both senses of the word, there was some agro afterwards, which is always interesting.
• Another gospel session, in 2002 called Playing to the Congregation, with Jim White, Sleepy LaBeef, David Essig and John Reischman. Sleepy thought some of Jim’s songs were blasphemous
and was heard saying ‘I’m going to take you out back and whoop ya!’
• Too Bad Faulkner Couldn't Be Here: a wonderful grouping of artists who do dark country songs. The collaboration that usually happens was lacking, but Mary played on Jim’s next album, so that introduction paid dividends.
• The Newly A-Choired session with the UK’s Chumbawamba, Tuvans Chirgilchin and alt-country Canadians Nathan. The blend of vocals was to die for. When Nathan sang the chorus to their song ‘the wind’ and the Tuvans came in with their throat singing, it was haunting and exquisite.
• Will the Circuit Be Unbroken? featured artists Emily Wells, Kid Koala, Esthero and Chad VanGaalen who all use loops and technology in their music. They joked around and collaborated on each other’s songs.
• Don't Mex with Texas: Texas artists Hayes Carll, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Emily Wells combined with Mexican Norteño group Los Misioneros del Norte
• The Revolution will not be Twitterized Canadian reggae artists Jason Wilson, Jamaican dub poet Mutabaruka, hip-hoppers Arrested Development and Scottish trad troubadour Dick Gaughan. Political rabble-rousing has never been so funky or deep. One song bled into another and all artists backed each other up. At the end, Dick said he wanted to join AD, and they said they’d like to cover his songs.
• Guided by Voices with Canada’s Juno award-winners the Good Lovelies, Garifuna artists Umalali, experimental rockers Akron/Family and bluegrassers Dry Branch Fire Squad. All very different styles of music, with strong vocal harmonies as the link.
It’s urban and in a beautiful park. So it’s close to amenities and skyscrapers but like a little paradise with lots of trees, grass and shade. People line up for hours to get their choice spot on the grass in front of mainstage, where they stake out their claim for the day on a tarp and blanket. The keeners are lovingly referred to as ‘tarpies’. We like to say that artists wouldn’t sound as good in a parking lot or stadium. Also, because it’s mid-sized, audience members can get close to performers and sit comfortably on the grass, or stand, dance or (yep – we have hippies!) hula-hoop.
6. How do you describe your curatorial vision for the musicians playing the festival?
We try to explore the roots and evolution of folk, from around the world. A combination of icons and upstarts. It’s an art and a science. The art part is finding some of the finest, most interesting, creative artists to perform. The science or math part is trying to make sure we have the right balance of a bunch of genres, genders, styles, generations and attitudes. We’re looking for artists who ‘play well with others’ and are willing to stretch artistically, as the collaborations are so key.
7. Which performer this year do you think will be the biggest surprise for your audience?
Probably Man Man, Frank Turner, St. Vincent, and DJ Dolores.
8. Which performer this year do you think might be the biggest surprise for you?
If I knew, it wouldn’t be a surprise! Actually it’s likely to be from a genre that isn’t my bailiwick, so perhaps Fribo, whose music is more on the trad. side.
9. Anything else you would like our readers to know?
It’s a festival of discovery. Many people come to see their favourite artist(s) and leave with an armful of CDs (yes, our audience still buy CDs!) from artists they’d never heard before the weekend.
Festival website: www.calgaryfolkfest.com
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