Join us at Birds Hill Provincial Park for the 37th annual Winnipeg Folk Festival, July 7-11, 2010. We're continuing the tradition of showcasing an impressive selection of accomplished artists with the likes of eleven time Grammy nominee John Hiatt and The Combo, Juno nominated Sarah Harmer, and the Academy award winning duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, better known as The Swell Season.
You'll also be entertained by the likes of The Levon Helm Band fronted by The Band’s former drummer and singer Levon Helm, The Avett Brothers, hot off the heels of their career-defining album I and Love and You, indie-folk darling Andrew Bird, and legendary Country Music Hall of Famer Emmylou Harris who will grace the main stage once again. Those of you that attended the 2008 festival will be thrilled to dance the night away with Australia’s The Cat Empire once again, and two-time Grammy award winning, hip-hop pioneers Arrested Development will make their first ever Winnipeg Folk Festival appearance.
This year’s crop of home grown Manitoba talent includes recent Juno nominee Romi Mayes, singer/songwriter Greg Macpherson, The Wailin Jenny’s, Grammy and Juno nominee The Duhks, Del Barber, and Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson. We're especially thrilled to welcome back folk legend Oscar Brand, one of the festival’s original performers from the 1974 festival who continues to captivate audiences in his 90th year. Other distinctive Canadian female acts include Montreal’s Ladies of the Canyon, and 2010 Juno nominee The Good Lovelies, known for their clever songs and humorous onstage banter.
If you're a fan of traditional and contemporary blues you can't go wrong with Steve Dawson’s Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Featuring The Sojourners, Geoff Muldaur, Del Rey and Alvin Youngblood Hart who pay tribute to the work of this historic group with heartfelt blues and country picking from the 1930s. We're also welcoming American blues great Sonny Landreth, known for his amazing slide guitar technique, and Hot Tuna, an offshoot of psych-rock band Jefferson Airplane, with guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady.
A different kind of blue brings out the night owls (you know who you are) – Big Blue at Night, the stage known for introducing new sounds on the fringe of folk will see performances from the likes of
DJ Dolores, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Dodos, and the return of last year’s sleeper hit Oka from Australia.
You'll also have the chance to discover eclectic musicians from across the pond and beyond. Scotland’s The Peatbog Faeries combine pipes and fiddle with a world-class rhythm section to deliver exciting Celtic fusion, and junkyard instrumentalists Konono No. 1 from the Democratic Republic of Congo mix tradition and technology to create an absolutely hypnotic sound. Additional international artists include 2009 Grammy nominee for Best Traditional World Music Album, India’s lap slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya whose originality has earned him admiration worldwide.
Bring kids of all ages to the highly interactive family area for some fun and excitement with local French chanteurs, Lulu and the TomCat, bluegrass family favourite Aaron Burnett, and the all-star indie folk-for-kids group, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players.
For the complete, up-to-date performer line-up, please visit http://www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca/wp/festival/performers/.
Early bird tickets are on sale now at the Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store, 211 Bannatyne Avenue (at Albert) or through Ticketmaster: (204) 780-3333 or 1-888-655-5354, or www.ticketmaster.ca.
It's going to be another amazing year at the Winnipeg Folk Festival! See you at Birds Hill Provincial Park in July!