Calgary Folk Music Festival back for its 44th year

Calgary’s beloved Calgary Folk Music Festival is returning this weekend for its 44th year as one of the city's most magical weekends. Featuring 70 artists from around the world, the Folk Fest has a little something for everyone. Don’t let the name fool you, as the festival features artists from genres like funk, hip-hop, pop, blues, and more! Folk Fest kicks off on July 27 and tickets are still on sale.

We caught up with Kerry Clarke, artistic and marketing director of the Folk Fest, to learn more.

Tell us about the highlights of this year’s Folk Fest.

Calgarians can expect a very diverse festival that’s audience-focussed and accessible to all – backgrounds, ages, cultures and tastes! It’s common for those coming from the first time to exclaim ‘I had no idea!’ The vibe is so chill, the site so beautiful and the music and other offerings very appealing. There are so many highlights! 70 original marquee and emerging artists from around the globe performing concerts and our unique collaborative in-the-round and jam sessions on 2 evening stages and 6 daytime stages plus a family zone, Talk Tent, artisans and food vendors. It’s all site licensed.

Tell us about the artists and how this year’s lineup.

There are 70 artists from around the world. The full line-up includes bios, videos and music. We start programming in the fall and finish mid-February. We work from bloated wishlists based on artists we’re familiar with and are pitched to thousands of artists. The Festival is thoughtfully curated and diverse, celebrating original, independent upstart and iconic artists from various musical genres (roots, indie, funk, blues, bluegrass, world + more). Each fall, we begin with priority lists that far exceed the number of artists we can realistically program and then discover more amazing music by keeping our ears and eyes open, attending festivals and conferences, talking to colleagues, etc.

 
What is your goal for this year’s Folk Fest?

To present a magical, very community-centred 4-day weekend where everyone’s welcome and audience members revel in their favourite artists and discover enticing new ones. It’s great because of the diversity and range of genres; the number of stages, collaborative sessions, and the central and bucolic location.