FiL & The Folk

I really meant to post a lot more over the past fortnight. You see, I've got stories waiting to be told. But alas, all that was pushed aside by more worldly demands. Sigh...

I shan't be able to catch up this weekend either, for I'm volunteering at the 30th Vancouver Folk Music Festival. You may recall me waxing lyrical about last year's edition here and here. You see, folk is not really my preferred musical genre; though I do enjoy significant chunks of the oeuvre, I'm not really a tie-dye-and -birkenstocks kinda guy, as my immediately preceding post makes clear. But what I find most appealing about The Festival is that it takes a very broad view of what constitutes "folk music." Indeed, Dearest Wife and I recently had a lively academic debate as to what exactly the term encompasses. I argued that a lot of punk music could be considered folk, while she maintained I was full of crap.

Anyway, my point is that although I'm no folkie, there are always a few artists performing who I'm keen to see, plus I always find myself positively surprised by someone who I otherwise never would have considered paying attention to. Last year I was especially keen to see ex-Slit (and John Lydon's stepdaughter) Ari Up (who cancelled at the last minute, unfortunately) and Feist, but was blown away by Ndidi Onukwulu and Mihirangi. This year Ndidi and Mihirangi are back, and I'm also keen to see On-U Sound dub guru and Tackhead Adrian Sherwood. But what I'm most looking forward to is once again being blindsided by the unexpected!! If you are in the Vancouver area, I'd urge you to come along - you will not regret it! Find out all you need to know right here.

Volunteering is a good gig; I'm on Safety (read: a kind, gentle, smiling version of Security) duty for twelve hours over the three night/three day fest, and I get free admission plus grub. I should add the setting is also fantastic: Jericho Beach Park, right on the water. In fact, yesterday evening after work I was kayaking off that beach as the final touches were being put on the set up. As the sun set over the distant mountains of Vancouver Island, the main stage sound system pumped out Michael Franti and Spearhead over the gently swelling water. I mean, it doesn't really get any better than that...

Hae a lovely weekend, Dearest Friends, and I'll see you all next week, with more stories to tell and hopefully more time to tell them.

Michael Franti and Spearhead - People In Tha Middle (buy here)