2023-08-09

Wide range of music for this year’s Folk Harbour Festival

LUNENBURG - The sound of music will fill the town of Lunenburg once again during the 38th annual Folk Harbour Festival Aug. 10 to 13.

This year's event will feature a wide variety of music for all of ages with newcomers intertwining with familiar favourites to form a stellar line-up of nearly 40 acts throughout the town over the four-day event.

Each year, on the Thursday prior to the musicians hitting the stage, the festival hosts a general meeting and work with a theme, called Folk Steps. This year's theme is, Women and the Power of Song, and features keynote speaker Margo Caruthers and several artists that will be participating in the weekend.

Working with that theme, all of the featured singers this year are women who close out the day's activities on the main stage: Aug. 10 features Measha Brueggergosman-Lee; Friday is closed out with Madison Violet; Aug. 12 is Catherine MacLellan and Sunday is Jane Siberry.

"We have a very interesting and fairly diverse lineup this year," said Louis Robitaille, president of the Folk Harbour Society, who has been a part of the event since 2004. "I am very much looking forward to the line-up and hoping for a nice, sunny weekend."

Along with the many new performers there are also old favourites such as Lennie Gallant and those that have long had ties to the festival including Anna Plaskett, the daughter of one of the festival founders, Bill Plaskett, and sister to Joel, who has performed at the festival for many years.

Robitaille hopes to build off of last year's success, which saw the second highest number of tickets sold, falling just short of the record of 2019.

"We were very successful and very pleased. It was a very strong year and we're hoping for good things this year as well."

He estimates that between 7,500 to 8,500 people come out and enjoy the music and events each year.

The festival uses indoor and outdoor stages throughout the town. One of the two outdoor venues, the Lunenburg Bandstand has always hosted free concerts. This year, the concerts scheduled at the Adams and Knickle wharf will also be free of charge.

Robitaille said there is no one particular reason for the change, but did state that folks could hear the music from the patios of the restaurants anyway, and it is good exposure for the Festival.

If bad weather comes along, the outdoor concerts can easily moved inside to the St. John's Parish Hall (bandstand acts) and the Zwicker Wharf building (wharf acts).

Other locations utilized over the weekend include the main stage on Blockhouse Hill, Zion Lutheran Church, Lunenburg Opera House and Central United Church.

As a long-time supporter of the festival, Robitaille has seen a lot of acts come and go, while he enjoys all, he highlighted a couple of performers that have tweaked his interest.

"There's a couple out of Winnipeg that call themselves, Burnstick. They're Indigenous and I've never seen them live before, but I've heard great things about them," he said. "There's also a male-female duo of Toronto, Kennedy Road, that I'm looking forward to see. Also, I'm interested in seeing Jane Siberry. I think she is going to be one of those acts that is going to be a hit. In our correspondence with her, she is very much looking forward to the event and looking forward to taking part in the circles."

Robitaille added that as a headliner, often you don't see them wanting to share the stage with people they don't know.

Siberry will be involved in the power of women in song circle held early Saturday afternoon.

Along with the musical performances there are several workshops that are held each including dance and vocal workshops; the healing power of music and the power of song in social justice talks.

A number of circles, featuring several artists will also be held including: the power of women in song, powerful troubadours. There is also a series of circles, the power of...blues and jazz, ...the story, ...fiddles and feet, ...harmonies, ...the story, ...the 'peg, ...of musical friends, ...of the duo and francophone power. There is also a Val Meisner young fiddlers workshop on Saturday morning.

There is also the popular Sunday concert hosted from 10 a.m. to noon on the main stage featuring almost 20 acts coming together for gospel extravaganza.

Opera House weekends

The works is never done for the volunteers of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society.

The line-up has already been set for another fall season of great music at the Society's opera house.

The opening concerts will feature Leonard Sumner and April Martell on Sept. 29 followed by Morgan Toney, Sept. 30. Other concerts will feature Allen Snow, Sweet Alibi, Dave Sampson, Jodi Guthro, Pretty Archie, Ian Sherwood trio, Irish Mythen, Reeney's Family Christmas and finishing up with Lennie Gallant and the Innkeeper's Christmas special on Nov. 25.

Saturdays in the park

Each Saturday, the society hosts free concerts at the Lunenburg bandstand from 2 to 3 p.m. There are three Saturdays left, featuring Ol Billy Bob Boy, Aug. 19; Kim Dunn, Aug. 26 and Moira and Claire, Sept. 2.