Hillbilly Highway – Lovely week of Folk goodness

by Sheldon Birnie

Well, friends, it was certainly a lovely week for folk music fans in the Heart of the Continent this past week. My own week started off in a downpour that cancelled Good Old War‘s set at the Cube to launch the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Nonetheless, they showed everyone at Main Stage a good old time Thursday evening. I skipped out on the Wednesday night of the Festival to see the Fred Eaglesmith Traveling Steam Show at the Park Theatre. Fred’s band was tight as always, and the old guy delivered a solid set full of old hits and new beauties off his latest release 6 Volts. With an opening set and back-ups by the lovely Tif Ginn, the show certainly set the bar high for the Folk Fest weekend.

The weekend itself, as always, was a bit of a blur once I hit Birds Hill Thursday morning; a mix of day time drinking and croquet combined with unbelievable performances and sets that just kind of pass you by. Personal highlight for myself was, as expected, Todd Snider‘s Main Stage set on Saturday night, where he not only played an inspired version of “Play a Train Song” but also his buddy Eaglesmith’s own “Alcohol & Pills.”

I got to hear a couple more Fred tunes over the weekend, as Mary Gauthier, a long-time pal and colaborator of Eaglesmith’s did plenty of workshop appearances and threw in not only her heartbreaking version of “Your Sister Cried” but a real nice Sunday afternoon rendition of “He’s a Good Dog.”

As expected, the Beauties‘ hosted “Down at the Dakota Tavern” workshop provided plenty of great tunes. From there, I’ve lost count of how many nice little workshop moments I caught, as once the sun really started beating down, I let shade direct my schedule.

The Festival capped off with its classic Finale, and this year the event resonated for some reason stronger than it has in the past. Perhaps it has something to do with the Age of Austerity our government here in Canada is imposing on us, that is was reassuring and inspiring to see thousands of like-minded, kind-hearted folks all congregated together to laugh, to sing, and to dance during the most beautiful time of the year. Such a thing can give a person hope. And it’s for that reason, even more than the music, the good times, the wild nights, and the dizzying highs, that I’ll be heading back up to Birds Hill in 2013. I’ll see you there, friends.

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