07-03-2025
Blues Hall of Famer Mavis Staples, Grammy-winner Jason Isbell in lineup for 50th Winnipeg Folk Festival
The Winnipeg Folk Festival has released the lineup of artists taking over the stage in its 50th edition, featuring Grammy Award-winning talent, a hall of farmer and some nostalgic Canadian favourites.
From homegrown to international performers, 68 artists are performing at Birds Hill Provincial Park this summer, bringing a wide range of music genres from gospel, funk and R&B to country, rock and several variations of folk.
Among the big names on this year's list is music legend Mavis Staples — a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame — who will perform for her first time at the festival.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are also making their debut on a Birds Hill park stage this year.
Returning to the summer event is Grammy award-winning musician and activist Ani DiFranco, who made her first appearance there in 1992.
Six-time Grammy winner, singer-songwriter Jason Isbell is also coming back for his first appearance since 2015, alongside the 400 Unit band.
Quebec singer-songwriter Allison Russell, a Grammy-award winner, is also among the headliners, along with the Australian jazz band The Cat Empire.
Among Manitoba's homegrown talent is nostalgic music icon and children's entertainer Fred Penner, Grammy-nominated Winnipeg band The Duhks, and pop singer-songwriter Begonia.
The festival will also feature Indigenous artists, including Métis singer-songwriter Ruby Waters, who is returning to the festival since her first appearance in 2022, and Anishinaabe singer-songwriter Leonard Sumner, from Little Saskatchewan First Nation.
Bringing their talent from outside of Canada are Los Bitchos, an English band pulling together Latin rhythms with Turkish psych rock, metal and disco, Ukraine's Maryna Krut, an artist of the plucked-string bandura instrument, and Ye Vagabonds, an Irish folk duo — all making their first appearances.
