FAVOURITE WORKSHOPS
- “Big Bang Theory” (BCUC, Medicine Singers, and Nadah El Shazly) – Big Bluestem, Friday. (A Folk-Fest-classic jam session of artists who’d never previously shared a stage. The first improvised song lasted approximately 35 minutes. It rocked.)
- “Three Minute Rule” (Jerron Paxton, Jon Muq, Madeleine Roger, Possessed by Paul James, Noah Reid) – Snowberry Field, Saturday. (A rare workshop that actually adhered to the premise of its title! Host Jerron Paxton timed each song to ensure that it met the “approximately three-minutes-long” criterion and announced the time after it ended. Although it is unclear whether Paxton was merely pretending to time each musician or whether he was doing so sincerely, I choose to believe him! The musicians had clever banter and a good rapport with one another, which is a definite plus.)
FAVOURITE CONCERTS
- The Messthetics – Big Blue @ Night, Friday
- Rosali – Bur Oak, Sunday
- Helena Deland – Bur Oak, Friday
- Ibibio Sound Machine – Big Blue @ Night, Friday
- Nadah El Shazly – Bur Oak, Sunday
honourable mention: Lucinda Williams (Main Stage, Thursday)
AN ARBITRARY SELECTION OF QUOTES
We have a couple of guys with us from Nashville and, as we were checking in to the Fairmont, they asked where they could go to buy groceries. So their first experience of Winnipeg was walking through the tunnels to the Giant Tiger. I had to promise them there was better stuff to see. – Sam Howard (Ruth Moody’s bassist)
They have a pretty wide selection of Advil. – Anthony Da Costa (Ruth Moody’s backing guitarist)
[to conclude a soundcheck] That’s it, that’s all, baseball. – Alex (Helena Deland’s bassist)
[referring to the mural behind Snowberry Field] Please disregard the cotton field behind me. I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to bring someone from way down south and show him something like that. – Jerron Paxton
They’re snowberries! – anonymous backstage volunteer
They’re snowberries? Are you sure? Wait… who picked the snowberries? – Jerron Paxton
And now, for the reason you came to the Winnipeg Folk Festival: a guy from Newfoundland, dollar store Rick Mercer, reading you the list of sponsors. – Tom Power
[after dedicating a second song in a row to William Prince] I’m trying to embarrass him as much as possible. All with the goal of getting him to buy me a hot dog and a beer. Keeps offering me smokes, but I want food! I’m fat! – Michael Trotter Jr. (The War and Treaty)
Long live Palestine and long live the resistance. – Nadah El Shazly.
(This stood out to me because, after a weekend full of nebulous calls for world peace and nonspecific jabs at American politics, El Shazly was the only artist to acknowledge the genocide onstage, at least among those I saw perform.)
AND TO CONCLUDE, A POEM
the 49th annual winnipeg folk festival
dark field, bright lights,
rain cloud, bug bites,
feet hurt, eyes hurt,
tired,
drenched,
muddy,
burnt,
rent-a-cops, $8 beer,
jazz punk, loud cheer!
ruminations of a sad oaf. 