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Halifax Urban Folk Festival
The Halifax Urban Folk Festival (Halifax, NS) August 30 – September 6, is a celebration of songs, the people who write and sing them, and the stories surrounding their creation. It takes place annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia – a city seeping with songwriting talent – during the last week of August, through Labour Day weekend. The “Urban” in HUFF refers to the fact that it takes place in a city, rather than a field in the country, and allows the festival to use locations that aren’t at the mercy of often-unpredictable coastal weather and support live music year-round. The Halifax Urban Folk Festival has received an ‘A’ grade on…
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Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival
Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival (Owen Sound, ON) is a dynamic annual folk music & crafts festival presented by The Georgian Bay Folk Society, a cultural organization run by volunteers, that presents, promotes and encourages folk music and other folk arts in the community at large. They’ve received an ‘A’ grade on the Canadian Festival Report Card for the past three years. Visit their website for tickets and lineup info! https://summerfolk.org/
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Regina Folk Festival
The Regina Folk Festival (Regina, SK) August 7-9, is held annually in Victoria Park on the weekend following the long weekend in August, and is a much-anticipated and immense celebration of music and community. The festival organization believes that live performance is an important form of communication, joins people together, creates an individual and collective voice, is part of the cultural mosaic of Regina and Saskatchewan, and is a forum for positive artistic, social and cultural development. The Regina Folk Festival has received an ‘A’ grade on the Canadian Festival Report Card for the past three years. Visit their website for tickets and lineup info! https://reginafolkfestival.com/
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Lunenberg Folk Harbour Festival
Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society Festival (Lunenburg, NS) August 6-9, is a small town festival with a big reputation. Each year, music lovers flock to this distinct UNESCO World Heritage town for the best of Folk music from across Canada and around the world. The longest running music festival in Nova Scotia and one of the oldest in Canada, this all-ages event takes place over four days in early August and offers something for everyone. Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival has received an ‘A’ on the Canadian Festival Report Card for the past three years. Visit their website for festival info! https://www.folkharbour.com/
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Blue Skies
Blue Skies Music Festival Community (unofficial) (Clarendon, ON) began with a picnic. It was a beautiful summer weekend in the early ’70’s. A few friends got together to enjoy the weather, each other’s company and a spectacular natural amphitheatre surrounded by pristine wilderness. Over the years, Blue Skies has evolved in its own, quirky way. With an organizational structure more like a group of friends than a board of directors, and an eye to staying small and manageable rather than big and money-making, Blue Skies has developed its own way of doing things. Blue Skies received an ‘A’ grade on the Canadian Festival Report Card in 2019. Visit their website…
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Islands Folk Festival
Islands Folk Festival (Duncan, BC) is a family-friendly event where kids of all sizes and all ages can run and dance and play freely and safely in the midst of all of the fun. They pride themselves on being a festival where the vibe and the tone are one that welcomes and encourages a diverse audience and encourages caring and respectful behaviour from all our volunteers, performers and attendees. The Islands Folk Festival received an ‘A’ on the Canadian Festival Report Card in 2019 and 2017. Visit their website for more info about the festival! https://www.islandsfolkfestival.ca
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Artist Spotlight: Nuela Charles
Nuela Charles is an alternative soul singer/songwriter based in Edmonton, Canada, known for her soulful vocals and captivating stage presence. Noted as “one to watch” by the legendary SoulTrain.com, Nuela has become an indie synch darling, landing 11 TV placements off of her debut album “Aware” alone! Cited by the U.K.’s Metro publication as “cocked, locked and ready to be shot onto the world stage with a soulful voice that may one day fill the Amy Winehouse-shaped holes in everyone’s hearts,” Nuela has brought her distinct voice to various stages across North America. Over the last several years she has showcased at Canadian Music Week multiple times, headlined an evening…
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Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song
Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song (Lockeport, NS) began as a project of the Shelburne County Womens’ Fishnet to provide a stage for female singers and songwriters. The first festival was a small gathering in 2005, and after the success of that event plans were made for a larger festival the following year at Seacaps Memorial Park. In 2009 the Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song Society was incorporated as a non-profit organization, and the festival has grown into a weekend full of events and activities, as well as events year-round! Harmony Bazaar has received an ‘A’ on the Canadian Festival Report Card for the past three years.…
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Artist Spotlight: Witch Prophet
Witch Prophet is a queer, Ethiopian/Eritrean, singer-songwriter, the CO-CEO of Heart Lake Records and member of feminist-based electro/grunge/dub-hop group ‘Above Top Secret’. She provides her fans with a soundscape of vocal layers, loops, raps and harmonies on a bed of hip-hop, house and soul-inspired beats. Think Erykah Badu meets Lauryn Hill meets Jill Scott. Her widely-anticipated album “D.N.A Activation”was released March 2020 to critical acclaim. An Ethio Jazz/RnB/Hip-Hop fusion with songs sung in English, Amharic, and Tigrinya. A collection of sounds co-produced by SUN SUN and Witch Prophet, named and inspired after Witch Prophet’s family, biblical stories, myths and her Ethiopian, Eritrean roots. To buy her music or learn more…
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Real Love Summer Festival
Real Love Summer Festival (Tuelon, MB) July 24-26, 2020, is a three-day festival celebrating community, music, and Summer. Operating year-round as Real Love Winnipeg, they work to make Winnipeg a more frequent destination for exciting underground and established touring bands, and to provide music fans with the most enjoyable, affordable and safe concert experience possible. Real Love Summer Festival has received an ‘A’ grade on the Canadian Festival Report Card for the past two years. Visit their website for tickets and lineup info! https://reallovewpg.com/reallovesummerfest
