Friday, July 11 is the first full day of programming at the Festival, and it’s a smorgasbord of musical delights. Just a few highlights: concerts by Basia Bulat, Jim Byrnes and the Sojourners, Geoff Berner, and Justin Townes Earle. The “I Hate Tucson” workshop at 4:00 on Green Ash–which features Calexico, Hayden and hometown heroes The Weakerthans–is bound to draw a crowd. Check out all of Friday’s schedules below.
The death of a legend leaves some big shoes to fill, and the tender age of 15, Seun Kuti slid seamlessly into his father’s. An Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti was flamboyant, often controversial, and brilliant; from him, Seun inherited musical talent, a swaggering onstage presence, and a revolutionary sense of what Afro-jazz could be (though not, perhaps thankfully, some of the elder Kuti’s more outrageous antics). When Fela died in 1997, young saxophonist and singer Seun quickly took the reins of his father’s band, Egypt 80, and continued the original Kuti crusade: to promote political freedom through the love of music, change through a chorus of voices and a host of dancing feet, and pride in Africa’s vibrant musical traditions.
The Winnipeg Folk Festival invites applications and suggestions for the position of Executive Director, seeking an outstanding individual to lead Canada’s largest and most successful folk music organization.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director is responsible for all aspects of the operations of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The Board seeks a high-motivated and innovative leader, an experienced cultural administrator and fund-raiser, a passionate advocate of the Festival’s mission and vision. Continue reading ‘Employment Opportunity: Executive Director - Deadline passed’
Congratulations to Assiniboine Credit Union who received the Arts Champion award at the 2008 Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts. ACU was nominated by the Folk Festival for this award for their commitment to supporting the arts community in Winnipeg. ACU has been a true partner for the Folk Festival as well as many arts organizations in Winnipeg, including Art City and the West End Cultural Centre, who also supported this worthy organization.
Pictured (left to right): Terry Sargeant (President of the Board of the Winnipeg Folk Festival); Randa Stewart (Vice-President, Marketing and Communications at Assiniboine Credit Union); and Trudy Schroeder (Executive Director of the Winnipeg Folk Festival)
In her 33-year career, Joan Armatrading has made a lot of firsts. She was the first black UK artist to debut in the top spot of the Billboard blues charts, the first to earn a Grammy nomination; she was also the first female UK artist to do so. Born in the West Indies and raised in Birmingham, Armatrading cultivated a style that’s soulful, sensual, and profoundly organic. Pairing her full and flexible voice with tasteful guitar riffs, Armatrading’s low-key and clever take on the blues has wowed fans like Nelson Mandela and earned her a spot as one of Britain’s top music radio hosts. And the acclaim keeps coming: her last CD, Into The Blues, earned a Grammy nod for best contemporary blues disc.
Joan Armatrading plays the Main Stage on Sunday night, July 13.
Fans of seminal indie act Neutral Milk Hotel might look at A Hawk and a Hacksaw’s biography and say, “wow, drummer Jeremy Barnes! I have to see this show.” Well, they do have to see the band, but not because it sounds anything like Barnes’ former project. Instead of indie rock, Barnes and cohort Heather Trost delve into the exotic, mesmerizing depths of klezmer and Hungarian folk music. They return with a unique experiment in modern folk: cantering wedding dances deconstructed with avant-garde production, somber European folk given a dark edge by spooky gang vocals. Their most recent album, The Way The Wind Blows, is their most trad yet; but those scintillating klezmer dances still rock deliciously off-kilter.
Check out the Performers page for the new improved lineup with recent additions: Manitoba’s The Absent Sound, Nova Scotian folk/electronica act Rebekah Higgs, and children’s entertainers Green Kids and Green Fools Theatre.
The full fury of the skies couldn’t silence the music of N‘awlins, and when the storms cleared, John Boutte’s voice rang right across the Big Easy. Long famed as one of Louisiana’s top jazz vocalists, Boutte grew up crooning soul in the Seventh Ward and playing trumpet in his school marching band. But it wasn’t until he joined the army and found himself singing gospel and blues in Korea that Boutte found his own American voice. And oh, how wonderful it is: fresh as a spring breeze, gentle as a summer rain, and rich throughout with fluid passions and perfectly controlled inflections. It’s too easy to call him another coming of Sam Cooke or Jackie Wilson; but Boutte’s angelic soul voice easily belongs in their company.
Each year the the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the Exchange District Biz team up to bring free entertainment to Old Market Square. This year, The Bedford Investments Music in the Market Concert Series happens on both Thursdays and Fridays from June 5 to July 10, from noon to 1 pm. The last concert, with Festival performers Outlaw Social, will mark the kick-off of the 2008 Winnipeg Folk Festival! Continue reading ‘Bedford Investments Music in the Market Concert Series’
