By Gil Carroll
In its 41st year, The Winnipeg Folk Festival welcomed an average of nearly 9,000 enthusiastically tye-dyed attendees to the beautiful Birds Hill Park each day between July 9-13. While these numbers are down 20 per cent from last year’s fest, there was no sense of emptiness. The festival was blessed with sunshine (mostly) and the feeling of infinite amounts of goodness expressed by masses of young children chasing after bubbles, people dancing with no inhibition, all sorts of delicious food , and of course, multiple stages resounding with music. I will say that folk music in general is not my favourite, and the lineup of artists was intentionally heavy on folk and blues music, and as a result, often felt and sounded stale to me. Wednesday night headliner Bonnie Raitt sang and played excellently but the guitar tone was nearly exact to that of the guy playing guitar for Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite. In fact, recycled sounds and very literal lyrics of whisky drinking were a theme throughout the festival. A lot of folk/roots/blues music sounds similar, so this lineup of artists in a festival environment for someone who is not a true folk head can be a lot to handle. I overheard that the analog soundboard at the main stage broke down on the second day and perhaps that explains why the sound was not great by any means. Guitars were commonly lost in the mix, and a hefty dose of those big whacks of feedback that always sting your ears were a staple before each show. This is not to say that there was a shortage of excellent performers though. Sharon Van Etten was the coolest show of the festival. Her stage presence and her song writing in general is top notch, and it was a treat to watch the amazing vocal chemistry between her and bandmate Heather Woods Broderick. Wednesday night closer Bonnie Raitts’s encore was beautiful and emotional, her singing and guitar playing was some of the best at the festival, and her shout out to female guitar players was inspiring. Naturally, Joan Baez was unbelievable and sang gorgeously too. It was quite cold and rainy on Sunday but Joan was magical nonetheless. Local artists who performed made Manitoba proud and included The Bros. Landreth, Cara Luft ,Sweet Alibi, Chic Gamine, JP Hoe, Ruth Moody, and Little Miss Higgins and The Winnipeg Five. A big highlight for local music was found at the Galaxy Young Performers workshops at which 30 of the performing artists were Manitobans. This stage had many excellent moments, including Richard Inman being dubbed “The Townes Van Zandt of Winnipeg” by his group’s mentor, Sarah Lee Guthrie. He, definitely did not let her down with his powerful and sincere performance of “The D-Day Dodgers” off of his upcoming album 30 Days coming out in September. Shaw TV was forced to turn their cameras to the ground during Micah Erenberg’s catchy yet not safe for TV lyrics of his song Morphine. Stompbox, a band from St. Johns Newfoundland made up of teenage boys who could absolutely shred on guitar wowed the crowd with their Grateful Dead inspired blues jams. The workshops also saw performers from Minneapolis, Alberta and Nova Scotia perform and did not disappoint. The crowd loved every minute of these young talented artists, a fact that might have significant relevance considering the festival’s overall lineup of many safe veteran artists. It was clear from the crowd reaction that young artists who are experimenting with song writing and the way they sound can be as enjoyable to see as a slide guitar legend with 40 years experience. And without a doubt, more enjoyable than sitting through “The Both” featuring Aimee Man and Ted Leo. Their, set was full of long anecdotes about American politics and long uninspiring stories about anything loosely based around the themes of the songs. The crowd was small, partly because rain, partly because it got really boring. Friday night I found myself at the very front in the heat of it all at the big blue stage for Saskatchewan’s The Sheepdogs. I enjoyed seeing Rusty Matas of Imaginary Cities play guitar, and there was an immense energy in the air the entire night, however I couldn’t always decipher one straightaway bluesy classic rock song from the other as their sound was plain and the band detached from reality. Being constantly kicked in the head by unruly crowd surfers made the show, for me the least enjoyable one of the festival. Covering Neil Young at Folk Fest is a nice thought, likely a tradition at this point, but Southern Man seemed like a cop out. The following night at the same stage, in an attempt to appeal to young people, Mexican Institute of Sound performed over an hour worth of dry, radio friendly electronica, a questionable choice that suggests confusion in the direction for the festival. Throughout the festival, city sleek day-pass attendees mixed with the dishevelled yet committed festival campers at workshops and shows, and everyone was bound together by a general happiness and appreciation for being in nature and by the thought that “I can’t believe we are so close to Winnipeg!” The festival grounds were clean and full of volunteers, most of which would take a bullet for Folk Fest any day of the week. You know you have something special when so many people take so much pride in being a part of it. For such a clean festival though there were a lack of garbage and recycling bins – likely part of the five year plan to eliminate waste that was announced in between acts by the stage hosts, who did an awesome job keeping the crowd engaged with quirkiness and a laid back feel. This was admittedly, my first ever Winnipeg Folk Festival. I had many high expectations for the experience and the atmosphere alone was enough to make the five days beyond special. I accept all of the borderline dull performances because it is so clear that this festival means so much for the people of Manitoba, an amazing opportunity to come together with friends you rarely see and to fully be yourself. I am already excited for the 42nd.