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The side stages sparked the uplifting bright spirit the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is famous for and set a beautiful scene
Published Aug 11, 2023 • 4 minute read
Cikwes (Connie LeGrande) performs with the Favourite Strings side-stage session Friday at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia
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Folk fest Fridays is where the jams start in earnest.
The 2023 Edmonton Folk Music Festival launched with a stellar concert line up Thursday night taken home by Feist. But the magic really manifests at the side stages that begin Friday with rounds across the hills setting the pace for this 44th year.
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And even when things didn’t work, it played out as a blessing in disguise.
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Heavyweights on this year’s performers’ list has Stage 1 set for a loaded start. Coined Lessons Learned, it was hosted by Aysanabee, who’s 2022 album Waitin is on the short list for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize, and founded out by fellow Polaris nominee Tami Neilson and Mexico’s QUINTAPENAS. Unfortunately, technical difficulties kept the stage silent for almost 45 minutes while lessons were being literally learned. So, on to Stage 2 where the School of Song concert was a local collective consisting of Jed and the Valentine (Jonah Morris and Maria Khaner), Kaeley Jade, Sammy Volkov and Mari Rosehill.
Seeing local talent at the folk festival is always special because the coveted spots on a bill with some of the best in the business seems to be appreciated that much more. Morris shared these sentiments as he introduced Stride, a beautifully-written piece about the habits we inherit — good and bad — and a reminder that we’re all really just doing our best. That’s the folk fest spirit, and they demonstrated a really precious harmony.
Jade brought the balance as she stepped up to the keyboard.
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“I feel like a wizard!” she announced before inviting the crowd to get up and dance as she banged out Painless, her song about a relationship gone wrong.
With the sun still high enough to warrant shades, it was a little early in the weekend to boogey but her fellow players got in on the fun jam.
“I’m a cool kid too,” claimed Volkov as he prepared to follow the solid act, “and I’m going to prove it to you.”
Joined by an electric guitar and drums, the familiar bars of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Games greeted us. They carried a colourful depth but a communal bated breath waited to see if he could pull off this gutsy piece vocally. The intro felt a little rough but a gasp escaped as he nailed the chorus, his voice soaring and giving good reason to pause while proving he’s more than cool.
It was a good note to carry away and circle back to Stage 1 where folk fest magic was being made.
While some of the instruments still needed CPR, as Nielson described it, the technical crash forced the seasoned players to support each other and the songs became a kaleidoscope of talent. With her partner playing someone else’s acoustic guitar, Neilson tugged at the heartstrings as she introduced I Can’t Forget.
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Along with her brother, Jay, her family had a band that toured North America. Her songwriter father died eight years ago but left a box of cassettes with songs he’d been workshopping. As Neilson listened to them, one had just a snippet of a melody and a few lines sung.
“His voice cracked and he said, ‘Aagh, it’s too high for me.’ That’s because it’s for me, dad,” was her instinctual reaction. “All of a sudden we were co-writing again, which I didn’t think we’d do again.”
With surely more than a few choked up, Neilson brought the audience back with her wildly powerful voice and the song took a unique tilt as it was accompanied by conga drums.
Aysanabee was next and almost like it was a game he was enjoying, he immediately mused, “Who am I going to borrow?
“Okay, I’ll take all of the percussion and the sax,” he decided and launched into his song, River.
“Take what you need, leave what you can …”
En route to the far end of the smaller hills, the Stage 7 concerts slowly gathered a crowd that eventually spilled out into the muddy throughway, some standing so far away, the songs could barely be heard but the talent presented — Edmonton’s Maria Dunn was followed by Jill Barber and finally Danny — demanded every available space be occupied.
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Music fans dance at a side stage during the Edmonton Folk Music Festival on Friday. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia
Catching the end of Guides Along the Way was the perfect way to wrap up Friday’s workshops. This fun bunch consisted of Watchhouse’s Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin, The Secret Sisters and AV and the Inner City who had the last song slot of the set. AV is Edmonton singer and pianist Ann Vriend who’s no stranger to the festival. In beautiful festival form, she suggested everyone join in on the last number, and suggested the crowd sing along if they knew it — this one would be telling of age. She chose a soulful rendition of Purple Rain, and while she had an angelic chorus of women backing her, the hill was filled with people either too young or too old to know it. And while they didn’t sing along, they stayed engaged and erupted in applause when AV took her incredible voice to the limit.
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Review: EFMF kicks off with DakhaBrakha, Watchhouse and Feist headlining
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Nikamowin glowing with more Indigenous music, dancing and culture at this year’s folk fest
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