What a treat. 75 concerts on 6 stages over 3 days in the funky rural fairgrounds alongside the Tsolum River outside the town of Courtney.
Love was in the air, almost Woodstock-like (but with polite, well-scrubbed and modestly-tattooed Canadians instead of New York hippies.)
There were happy, wholesome, music-loving people everywhere. Stylish women on motorbikes. A tide of tied-dyed dancing. And children. Lots of 'em. With parents effortlessly 'teaching their children well.'
MusicFest features a ton of 'folk/roots' music throughout the weekend. But I could attend only on Friday when the performers were few and limited just to one stage. That didn't stop me from noting my favorite program offerings for the weekend, including:
- Pacific Curls - "unprecedented combination of fiddle, ukulele, Maori traditional instruments, cajons, guitar, stomp peddles, percussion and vocals with lyrics in Maori, Rotuman and English." Wow.
- The Gertrudes - "sound like an ol' time saloon party in deep space... experimental noise beds with down home folk passengers, frolicking through original material, played by a veritable orchestra of instruments. Nerdgrass? Maybe..." Maybe, indeed.
- Mythmaker - "a mytho-theatrical sacred circus whose mission is to create, integrate and perform a new cultural mythology and to live a new dream which inspires the individual, community and culture to co-create a sustainable future for all life on the planet." So there.
(n.b. -- I heard days after the Fest that California guitar virtuoso David Lindley was the raucous & rolling sensation of the Fest.)
Kindness and positive vibes were the order of the day... and even the one 'Zoo York' T-shirt I spotted seemed more a proud validation of the local vibe than a rude rap on the Big Apple.
See the 'Greenman' and other MusicFest pics via the Photo Gallery page to the RIGHT.
I shamelessly indulged in the proffered Fest fare: a gourmet Mediterranean Burger and a lamb sausage pita. It was my ‘pre-ward’ in anticipation of the uncooked camp food I’ll eat in Strathcona Provincial Park over the next 4 days.
