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Calgary Folk Festival

Fans Going (2)

7/26/2012, 7/27/2012, 7/28/2012, 7/29/2012

Official Website


Venue

Prince's Island Park

 1st Ave & 4th St SW
Calgary, AB T2P 4R5
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About

In 2006, The Globe and Mail included the Calgary Folk Music Festival in its list of the Seven Wonders of the World: Music praising the Festival’s programming and noting, “It's got the best programming of any of the North American post-folk music fests, which is to say it has figured out the cleverest way to combine diverse and interesting musicians whose work includes any kind of roots, world or earthy urban sounds.” The Festival welcomes music from around all corners of the globe, bringing together marquee artists, local favorites, history-makers, and innovators for a broad-ranging vision of folk, and this year the world-renowned festival will take place July 26-29, 2012 on Prince’s Island Park in downtown Calgary, Alberta, along the Bow River.

The Calgary Folk Music Festival provides authentic, even magical encounters that surprise the most dedicated festival aficionados, creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for both artists and audience members. The Festival’s programming format, lovingly referred to by festival goers as a series of “arranged marriages,” creates rare and wonderful opportunities for artists to meet and collaborate. These collaborative sessions group disparate artists loosely by themes, encouraging them to collaborate on each other’s material, creating coveted once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for audiences and artists alike. Some Examples: Bonnie Prince Billy playing with Dick Gaughan and Lightning Dust in 2011, Kid Koala and Arrested Development in 2009, Burning Hell, Man Man and Frank Turner in 2010, Calexico, Andrew Bird and Handsome Family in 2008.

Located on Prince’s Island Park, the site is likened to a small town in a big city – a forested retreat nestled on an island in the heart of downtown Calgary, surrounded by rivers and skyscrapers. The Festival’s eco policies are second-to-none, feeding 1700 volunteers and artists organic and locally sourced meals, composting across the site, and providing free water to all patrons while disallowing the sale of bottled water. In 2011 the Festival was even rewarded for these efforts with A Greener Festival (UK) Award.

This year will certainly be a treat with some of the biggest names in music on the line up. Impressive as always, The Calgary Music Festival is sure to be a success this year, so be sure to get your tickets in advance for this stellar 4-day event.

Lineup