It’s a love-in

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This article was published 27/05/2017 (3406 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tucked in the brief pocket of time between major festivals such as the Winnipeg International Fringe Festival and Folklorama, there are a collection of smaller summer music fests making noise outside the city. One of those is the Real Love Summer Fest.

Real Love Summer Fest was created by the minds behind Real Love Winnipeg, a concert promotion company that made a name for itself in the city through a series of compilation albums it created featuring local bands. From there, the next logical step was to use those connections in the Winnipeg music scene to develop a festival.

“It’s something we had talked about and dreamed of, so we just kind of dove at the opportunity there,” co-founder Gil Carroll, 25, says.

“The inaugural event was held in 2014 with local headliners Animal Teeth. This year, the indie festival is shifting venues from the motorsports park in Gimli, which worked for the short-term, but obvious issues such as lack of infrastructure and noise from the nearby track prompted a move to Teulon this year.

“It was right next to a motocross track, so when the bands were playing, you could literally hear and see races whipping by. There was a certain nice character that that brought, but at the end of the day it was kind of silly,” Carroll says of their previous spot.

“If there were acoustic acts, you couldn’t hear them at points,” co-founder Adam Soloway, 24, adds.

The tree-filled new grounds feature lots of room for camping and parking, as well as walking trails through the forest for the expected 400 attendees and 70 volunteers to use.

Another new area at the fest will be a red tent, which acts as a safe space for women and trans, non-binary and two-spirit attendees. The entire festival board did red-tent training and wish to make it clear anyone and everyone is welcome at their event.

“That has become more a part of our mandate, creating a community where all types of people feel welcome and safe. That’s something we’re continuing to build on,” Carroll says.

Real Love Summer Fest has always leaned heavily on local talent, but in the past couple of years, Carroll and Soloway have been working hard to bring in touring acts from outside the city with the intention of helping them build a fanbase here to encourage return performances.

This year, Brooklyn indie-rockers Widowspeak will take the top headlining spot, while Chicago alternative band Yawn, Saskatoon psychedelic rock group the Radiation Flowers, indie-rockers Look Vibrant out of Montreal and a handful of other acts will also be coming from out of town. Local headliners include Mulligrub, Micah Erenberg and 3Peat.

The lineup announcement and ticket launch party takes place tonight at the Good Will Social Club and will feature 2017 festival performers Mulligrub and Fox Who Slept the Day Away, and festival alum Umami. Tickets for the show are $10 and a limited number of weekend festival passes will be available for purchase for $60.

For more information about the festival, visit reallovesummerfest.com

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel