Latest news with #CalgaryFolkMusicFestival
Calgary Herald
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
'I was always a searcher': Jackson and the Janks to bring New Orleans inspired 'garage gospel' to Calgary
Article content In his early 20s, Jackson Lynch decided he needed to live in New Orleans if he wanted to make a go of a music career. Article content It wasn't as if he was living in the boonies before that. He was a New Yorker who would attend all-ages, hardcore punk shows in the underground clubs of the Lower East Side. But on his frequent trips to the Big Easy, he felt a new world opening up musically. It had the same fierce DIY spirit as hardcore, even if it didn't much sound like it. Article content Article content 'I was in my early 20s and was like, 'Damn, if I'm going to take music seriously for my life, this is where I gotta be,' ' he says. 'So I picked it all up and went down there and was there for many years. It was the brokest I've ever been in my life, but I was the richest I've ever been in my life creatively.' Article content Article content Initially, he would busk every day in the French Quarter. It put him in touch with fellow musicians. That included future Grammy winner and 2025 Calgary Folk Music Festival headliner Sierra Ferrell. He met up with ragtime band Tuba Skinny and the members of Hurrah for the Riff Raff. Article content 'I would bring my fiddle out every day,' he says. 'I was so broke, man. I would go out at 9 a.m. every day, and I would play the fiddle in front of this cafe. I would make like $40. And I was like, 'Hell, yeah! I'm good for the day.' Later in the day, he would jam with jazz bands on Royal Street. Article content 'I really cut my teeth,' says Lynch, whose band Jackson and the Janks will be making its Canadian debut on Saturday as part of East Town Get Down in Calgary. Article content Lynch is back in Brooklyn these days, but New Orleans is where Jackson and the Janks were born. Lynch eventually picked up an electric guitar and began creating a distinct 'garage gospel' sound that brought in various musical threads from New Orleans. The band's self-titled debut was recorded over several years in New Orleans and released in 2023. It has three originals by Lynch, but most of the material is old gospel standards and obscurities that the Janks re-envisioned in the studio. Article content That includes a Kinks-like run through Give an Account, which Lynch first heard as an old field recording by sisters Dorothy Lee, Norma Jean and Shirley Marie Johnson. Sleep On, Mother, a song that originated with an a cappella group called the Silver Leaf Quartette of Norfolk that performed spiritual music in the 1920s and 1930s.
CBC
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Calgary Folk Music Festival returns with Los Lobos, CAKE, Patrick Wilson and more
70 artists. Eight stages. Four fantastic days of music at Prince's Island Park. Does your summer bucket list include outdoor live music? The Calgary Folk Music Festival returns to Prince's Island Park from July 24 to 27, and CBC is a proud sponsor. Gather your friends, family and festival chairs for a music-packed weekend. The lineup of over 70 artists includes headliners like Los Lobos, Patrick Wilson, CAKE, Sierra Ferrell, BADBADNOTGOOD, Michael Kiwanuka and many more. Alongside internationally-acclaimed icons, festival-goers will discover new sounds — many of them homegrown. Albertan artists make a strong showing at this year's festival, with Aladean Kheroufi, Billie Zizi, Cedric Lightning and Starpainter slated to perform among other local acts. Start prepping for Folk Fest! Hear Aladean Kheroufi and Billie Zizi on this January 2025 episode of Key of A. In between stage-hopping (there are eight!), be sure to visit the arts market, family zone, beer garden and food vendor alley.
CBC
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Calgary Folk Music Festival drops the needle despite exchange-rate sour note
Social Sharing Picture it. Late summer 2025. You are strolling along Memorial Drive and as you get closer to Prince's Island Park, you can hear music. Lots and lots of folk music. The 46th edition of the Calgary Folk Music Festival takes over the urban island park for a four-day weekend starting July 24. "There are a lot of local artists and Canadian artists," the festival's artistic director Kerry Clarke told reporters Wednesday. "Because our festival is so collaborative, it gives them a chance to try things out and meet other artists and maybe do some new songs for them." Thursday's stage will welcome Sierra Ferrell, Michael Kiwanuka and Elisapie. Patrick Watson, Ruby Waters, Cymande, BadBadNotGood and Moontricks will entertain Friday. "Saturday night's festivities culminate with revered hardcore troubadour Steve Earle with Reckless Kelly, Texas's beacons of fresh hick rock, after crack East L.A. Mexican roots and blues rockers Los Lobos and Madeleine Peyroux's dusky lyrics, wrapped in sultry, playful, retro sounds," the festival said in a release. The festival wraps Sunday with Cake, Ocie Elliott and LA LOM. Here's the full lineup. Clarke said there's a lot of moving pieces with a festival of this size. "A lot of negotiation, a lot of back and forth. Michael Kiwanuka was out, then he was in, then he was out, now he is in. So a lot of juggling and negotiation," she said. "This festival is able to attract great artists because we have a really good reputation." The volatile situation south of the border with tariffs and a punishing exchange rate affects decision-making in Calgary, Clarke explained. "A lot of artists are booked well before we knew exactly who was going to be elected and when they were elected, exactly what impact that would have," she said. "There are a lot of American headliners that are going to bring in people to see Canadian artists, and we want to keep collaborations between the two countries. Those conversations are critical." The festival aims for a minimum of 50 per cent Canadian artists. This year, Clarke said it's closer to 60. But it's the U.S.-Canadian exchange rate that's really hurting. "It impacts the budget hugely," Clarke said.
