Gold standard: Five decades of stalwarts, upstarts Folk fest marks 50 years with lineup including Mavis Staples, Begonia, Gillian Welch, Leonard Sumner, Ani DiFranco, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings By: Eva Wasney Posted: 6:00 AM CST Friday, Mar. 7, 2025

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The bigger the milestone, the greater the pressure to hit the right notes.

“You only turn 50 once,” says Chris Frayer, artistic director of the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

Friday morning, the organization released the highly anticipated musical lineup for its 50th anniversary event, which takes place July 10 to 13 at Birds Hill Provincial Park.

Unlike festivals of the recent past — which have featured major mainstream artists, such as Orville Peck, Vance Joy and Kacey Musgraves — this year’s program aims to broaden the spotlight while paying homage to the last five decades.

Among the headliners returning for the 2025 edition are Australian funk outfit the Cat Empire, Canadian country-rockers Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, prolific American folk artist Ani DiFranco and contemporary Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Russell.

Mavis Staples, the pioneering soul singer and civil rights activist, and legendary Americana duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are making some long-awaited festival debuts.

For Frayer, this year’s lineup aligns with the festival’s tradition of musical discovery.

“The artistic vision is essentially the same as it was the first year. By and large, most of the bands that we hire, the artists we hire, are emerging professional artists that a lot of people haven’t heard of before,” he says.

The first Winnipeg Folk Festival took place in the summer of 1974 with an estimated 22,000 people in attendance. Under the leadership of co-founders Mitch Podolak, Ava Kobrinsky and Colin Gorrie, the goal was to create a well-oiled event that embodied the social consciousness of folk music. Early performers included the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Curly Boy Stubbs, Sylvia Tyson and Stan Rogers.

The organization is celebrating its golden anniversary two years late owing to the pause in regular programming caused by the pandemic. While the delay has provided extra time to plan the 50th, waiting can come with its own challenges.

“Two years doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s precious years. Two years can take away a lot of people,” Frayer says, referring to artists, volunteers, attendees and other stakeholders who may have been present at the festival’s inception.

The organization has also undergone an internal shift in that time, with Valerie Shantz taking over as executive director following the departure of Lynne Skromeda to Manitoba Film and Music in 2023.

Curating an anniversary event is a balance between nostalgia and evolution, says Frayer, who’s overseen his fair share of festival milestones in the last 20 years as artistic director.

“We’ve been focusing a lot on trying to rejuvenate the audience as we all get older, and then having those really good nostalgic touchpoints so people feel like there’s something there for them in the history of the organization,” he says.

The acts representing the early days of the folk fest include renowned bluegrass guitarist Cathy Fink, who graced the stage in 1974 and who will be performing this year with her longtime musical and life partner Marcy Marxer, as well as Chao Tian; blues guitarist and singer-songwriter David Essig; and indelible local children’s performers Al Simmons and Fred Penner.

The lineup also features rising Canadian and international talent, such as Ruby Waters, Ombiigizi, Basia Bulat, Hurray for the Riff Raff, La Chiva Gantiva and Ye Vagabonds. Winnipeg’s music scene is well-represented in Begonia, Leonard Sumner, Zrada and others.

There’s also a large contingent of Aussie outfits coming to the Prairies from Down Under: the aforementioned Cat Empire, the Paper Kites, Melbourne Ska Orchestra and Emily Wurramara.

“Australian bands have historically been extremely popular at the festival,” says Frayer, who relies on a combination of crowd vibes, localized streaming data and past concert ticket sales to determine which returning artists will qualify as “fan favourites.”

“People need to know how fortunate we are that this organization is celebrating this milestone.”–Chris Frayer

While the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s 50th anniversary is a big deal at home — in early February more than one-third of available weekend passes and camping tickets had already been purchased — booking artists for the event remains influenced by the usual whims of availability, scheduling and cost.

The latter has been a bigger concern this year, owing to the impact of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian dollar.

“The ship’s out of the harbour. We need to take a wait-and-see approach,” says Frayer.

Over the last two years, the festival has been working with a legacy committee of longtime volunteers to develop special programming for the anniversary celebration.

During the festival, visitors can expect to find a photo exhibit, video installation, in-person gatherings, a special-edition poster and other merch.

For Frayer, who’s been attending since he was a teen, the festival’s 50th anniversary is a triumph laced with the concern for the future.

The landscape of the Canadian folk festival scene has changed, with event cancellations and hiatuses plaguing the Regina Folk Festival, Jasper Folk Music Festival, Vancouver Island MusicFest and others in the wake of the pandemic.

“People need to know how fortunate we are that this organization is celebrating this milestone because it’s so hard,” he says. “So many festivals have come and gone since 1974.”

2025 Winnipeg Folk Festival lineup

Al Simmons

Allison Russell

Ani DiFranco

Ashwin Batish

Basia Bulat

Beats Antique

Begonia

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

Blue Moon Marquee

Camper Van Beethoven

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Chao Tian

Christopher Paul Stelling

Cristina Vane

D’orjay & The Lovely Luvies Fam

David Essig

Dominique Adams

Dougie Poole

Duane Andrews and the Hot Club of Conception Bay

Emily Wurramara

Folk Bitch Trio

Fred Penner

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Gustavo and the Green Fools Theatre

Hurray for the Riff Raff

Jake Vaadeland & the Sturgeon River Boys

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jolie Laide

Kevin Morby

La Chiva Gantiva

La Lom

Lake Street Dive

Leonard Sumner

Les Mamans du Congo X Rrobin

Leyla McCalla

Los Bitchos

Maryna Krut

Matt Gordon & Leonard Podolak

Mavis Staples

Melbourne Ska Orchestra

Mia Kelly

Noeline Hofmann

Ombiigizi

Peter Paul Van Camp

Petunia & The Vipers

Robyn Hitchcock

Romi Mayes

Rose City Band

Ruby Waters

Slow Spirit

Son Rompe Pera

Sousou & Maher Cissoko

Summer Bear Dance Troupe

Supalung

The Budos Band

The Cat Empire

The Duhks

The Lee Boys

The Paper Kites

The Swinging Belles

The Zawose Queens

Two Crows for Comfort

Viv and Riley

WackyDoodle Dance Party

Waxahatchee

Willi Carlisle

Ye Vagabonds

Zackery

Zrada

Tickets and more information at winnipegfolkfestival.ca