Minnedosa rock festival serves up the classics

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This article was published 02/08/2024 (768 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Minnedosa has long-standing respect when it comes to hosting its annual Rockin’ the Fields music festival, said Rob Waloschuk, the event’s promoter.

“The team that runs this festival there, the board of directors and all the volunteers are very hardworking, very committed,” said Waloschuk.

“They’ve been doing it for 20 years and they’re committed to what they do, and they do a really good job with the facilities and everything else. The facility is not used for anything except this festival once a year, so it’s looked after very well.”

Headliners for this year’s three-day festival, which kicks off today at 6 p.m. and runs through Sunday, include Kim Mitchell, Theory of a Deadman, Econoline Crush, Prism, Junkhouse, Amanda Marshall and Colin James.

Waloschuk has been finding and bringing talent to Rockin’ the Fields Minnedosa for six years and does double duty in the region as the artistic director of Dauphin’s Countryfest, which he has been booking for the past 35 years.

“Each day we tried to put on a headliner. Kim Mitchell’s going to be Friday’s. Theory of a Deadman is for Saturday, and on Sunday we have dualist headliners — Amanda Marshall and Colin James,” Waloschuk says.

The festival venue is three kilometres north of Minnedosa along Provincial Road 262.

The first band to take to the mainstage today is Prism, who had a string of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s including Spaceship Superstar, Take Me to the Kaptain and Armageddon.

Saturday sees the return of Econoline Crush featuring founding member Trevor Hurst, who was born in Cromer and went to high school in Virden.

“Econoline Crush is just one of those acts that hasn’t been around for a while,” Waloschuk said. “I heard that Trevor Hurst was doing some shows here and there and maybe trying to put the band back together, so I got a hold of his agent. I said, ‘Hey, can we get them to come out to Minnedosa?’ From there, it was back-and-forth conversations and sure enough, we got them back together — he’s going to be here.

“This festival has been known to do things like that, where a band hasn’t played together for a long time. But it’s Minnedosa and it has such a long history that they decided to do it.”

There is an art to finding the perfect band for a festival crowd. Waloschuk said it’s a business that involves attending industry conventions, including the International Entertainment Buyer’s Association held in Nashville, Tenn., and Las Vegas.

“I guess I’ve developed a good reputation of bringing the right bands at the right time. It’s following the industry and noticing who’s selling, who isn’t, and which bands are on tour, not on tour. I take all that into account and see what fits the genre for a particular festival,” he said.

Along with the headliners, the groups Junkhouse and Molly Hatchet are scheduled to perform Friday and the Trews are booked for Saturday, as are bands paying tribute to AC/DC and Huey Lewis and the News.

In between Econoline Crush and Theory of a Deadman will be JJ Wilde, who Waloschuk said is a surprise gem.

“JJ is really an up-and-coming Canadian artist. She’s a rocker and is really, really good — she’s going to be one to watch,” he said.

Tickets and camping spots are still available. There are weekend passes, daily passes and a shuttle service that goes from the West End Sobeys parking lot in Brandon to the festival site.

Additional activities and services at Rockin’ the Fields will include a beach volleyball tournament, three bars, a cannabis retailer and 16 food trucks.

For Waloschuk, who is an admitted classic rock ‘n’ roll fan, the weekend is about replaying the hits.

“This event is all about rock and roll classics. For example, Amanda Marshall hasn’t toured in 10 or 12 years. Prism, Kim Mitchell and Junkhouse — they don’t have singles or new stuff out, and people don’t want that, they want their old stuff,” he said.

“They want to see these bands and hear the hits, that’s why they come here.”

mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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