Folk fix offers fest diehards some musical solace

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/02/2021 (2023 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Folk, yes.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is partnering next month with True North Sports and Entertainment to produce Folk in the City: Live at the Burt, a series of performances by some of the province’s top musical acts at the historic Burton Cummings Theatre.

At the moment, this year’s edition of the festival — a tradition since 1974 which has grown to be one of the country’s premier music events — is still up in the air, with staff exploring all options and safety considerations. However, this series should give local music fans and festival diehards some solace as the winter months pass by.

Every Sunday in March at 7 p.m., the festival will stream genre-spanning performances on Facebook and YouTube that evoke the diverse sounds the summer fest has become known for.

The lineup is short in length (compared to the regular festival), but not on talent, with performances by: local hip-hop supergroup Super Duty Tough Work, fresh off making the Polaris Music Prize longlist; Anishinaabe singer Leonard Sumner, equally comfortable performing country songs as spoken word; bilingual singer Kelly Bado, an up-and-coming star; and experimental hip-hop artist Anthony OKS.

There’s more: Americana stylings of both JP Hoe and Kris Ulrich; alt-folk singer Micah Erenberg; the deep-voiced sounds of Richard Inman; Romani jazz group Juvel; the soulful joy of Sweet Alibi; roots duo the Small Glories; folk and country singer Andrina Turenne, formerly of Chic Gamine; and the bluesy twang of Little Miss Higgins.

Which performers perform when is still being determined, but it shouldn’t really matter who’s on stage: the show promises to be good, and as close to the real festival as listeners can get these days. Intermittently, backstage interviews will have artists sharing their favourite folk fest memories with the audience.

The shows are also free, funded in part by the provincial government’s Safe at Home grant program.

In addition to the annual music event normally held each July at Birds Hill Provincial Park, the Winnipeg Folk Festival is a year-round non-profit arts organization.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca