Making folk-fest feeling last through the fall

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This article was published 12/09/2024 (709 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Andy Shauf, DJ Shub, Ocie Elliott and Ruby Waters are just four of the headlining acts for the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s fall concert series, an extension into the city of the annual summer festival at Birds Hill Provincial Park.

The series kicks off Sept. 15 with Shauf and cosmic country instrumentalist Hayden Pedigo from Amarillo, Texas, playing the Park Theatre ($35 via Ticketmaster) and closes with Nathan Gurley and Sean Rodman’s duo Moontricks, supported by Dirtwire and Will Evans, playing the Burton Cummings Theatre on Nov. 21 ($39.50).

The Western Canadian Music Award-winning Shauf, born in Estevan and raised in Regina, scored his biggest mainstream hit with last year’s mellow character study Norm, which “further solidifies his position as a genre-leading storyteller,” according to Exclaim! Pedigo, a wunderkind finger-style guitarist, was praised by Acoustic Guitar magazine for the “beautiful simplicity” of his 2023 album, The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored.

On Sept. 20, DJ Shub, formerly of A Tribe Called Red, will perform material from his solo album War Club in a free concert at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, featuring Garden Hill First Nation producer and artist Mattmac, who released the 18-track LP All Eyes on Us in June.

October will bring Victoria, B.C., folk duo Ocie Elliott to the Burt, with Pensacola pop poet Chris Staples (Oct. 2). A week later, Ruby Waters, who performed at the folk festival in 2022, will take over the downtown theatre, bolstered by opening acts Tia Wood and Slim Krusty, who leans into country territory.

On Oct. 11, Juno-winning Donovan Woods brings his latest album, Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now to the Burt, featuring Billianne, while Brandon’s Boy Golden plays a hometown show Oct. 20 at the same venue to celebrate his latest album For Eden. Wyatt C. Louis, who was at the 2023 folk festival, is also on the bill; tickets are $24.50 to $37.50 plus fees.)

A tireless artist whose career in Canadian music continues to develop into its third decade, Hawksley Workman brings his lunchpail to the Park Theatre on Oct. 21 ($35). The crowd-pleasing antics of Five Alarm Funk visit the Park on Oct. 24.

Ever-inventive singer-songwriters Danny Michel and Steve Poltz play the West End Cultural Centre on Nov. 19 ($35 to $40).

Tickets for all fall concert series shows are available at www.winnipegfolkfest.ca.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com