So Folking Strange - Edmonton Folk Fest 2019

Another year, another exhausting, entrancing, frustrating and delightful Edmonton Folk Music Festival. The strangeness in the title refers primarily to the environment, the physical side of which requires periodic application of both sunscreen and long underwear (as well as bug repellent), while the musical side incorporates a disparate range of musical styles you might think had no place at the same venue, let alone sharing a stage. Acadian, African, Celtic, acoustic, electric, instrumental and a capella, all coming together impossibly well.

The California Honeydrops are joined by vocalists The Hamiltones.

Thursday night I got to see bluegrass veterans Trampled by Turtles, who bring a post-punk sensibility to the venerable style, like an Appalachian version of The Pogues.

If you need a bluegrass cover of  Pixies "Where Is My Mind," TBT have that too.

Trampled By Turtles were followed by St. Paul and the Broken Bones, a soul band from Birmingham Alabama led by soulful vocalist Paul Janeway. St. Paul himself may have topped the festival in terms of energy, no more so than when he left the stage and strode up the ski hill, belting out his tune the entire way with no discernible loss of breath. Astonishing!

My favourite act of the weekend though was one of the interstitials that entertained the crowd between headliners: David Jay, The Spaniard. Jay is an Edmonton lad presented as part of the School of Song, four sets of up and coming Alberta artists who also shared a stage the next day

Using an acoustic guitar and a complex looping system he runs with a set of pedals, Jay blends an astonishing array of sounds and rhythms into original compositions that marry classical Spanish guitar and a heavier rock sound.

I saw The Spaniard onstage three times this weekend; the last time at a workshop session where he got the opportunity to jam with an American bluegrass duo (Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius), a wonderful English singer/songwriter (John Smith), a Vancouver blues duo and their vocalist (The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer with Dawn Pemberton), and a talented trio from Madagascar (Toko Telo). He also played his own version of Hans Zimmer's great Interstellar score.

Saturday night was a great main stage, with Bahamas (the stage name of charming and talented Afie Jurvanen) opening up for Canadian legends Bruce Cockburn and Blue Rodeo, but once again it was an in-betweener who stood out: J.S. Ondara, who moved from Kenya to Minneapolis when he was 20, a mere seven years ago. Ondara channels Delta bluesman Robert Johnson in his look and a mellifluous voice reminiscent of Tracy Chapman.

I came into the weekend with a sense of obligation for my volunteer duties (which involves some very early mornings on Saturday and Sunday but which are completed before a single musician takes the stage) and very little anticipation aside from the two Saturday night headliners.

Thankfully, a wonderful set of teammates, accommodating patrons and weather that was cool and damp (but sporadically sunny and quite warm) without last year's buckets of rainfall meant I was able to spend more time on Gallagher Hill this time around, braving a little exposure to the elements in exchange for exposure to new artists I might not have come across otherwise - a strange and wonderful time indeed. I'm already looking forward to next year!