Aging folk festival
shows signs of life

- By JENNIFER LANG

‘THE BULKLEY Valley's

biggest musical names
will: converge on the fall
fair grounds in Smithers
this weekend for an anni-
versary party they'll not
soon forget.

The. Midsummer Festi-
val, the granddaddy of all
of northern B.C.’s summer

folk and roots music festi-_
“vals, turns 20 this year,

“But first, a strong note
of caution’ to Mid Fest ve-
terans of the more boister-
ous variety.

- It’s -no secret the festi-
val has sometimes ven-

_ tured into dangerous, Smi-

thers-worshipping territory

_ of late; and the once free-

wheeling party atmosphere
that saw all-night campfire
jam Sessions appears to be
no more.

The “fine print in this
year's promo kit warns that
campers will have be quiet
after 3 a.m. (!) in order to
create a more family-or-
iented. experience.

“No more so-called
-Noisy Camping will be
provided. And anyone not

wearing a campers’ wrist

band will be ejected from

the site immediately fol-

lowing the. last: perfor-
mance. ;

ce So, rabble rousers and

rockers, consider yourself

---warned,.. granddad is firm-

ly in charge - and he’s not

_ putting up with your non-

Sense.

- Still, according to the
advance hype, it sounds
like there’s still signs of
Jife’in the old man, even

“afler all these years.
For-one thing, the festi- -

val’s branching out. This
year marks the birth of a
great idea — the launch of

“the “other arts” festival

‘promoting the written word

~and other artistic endea-

“¥OUTS.:

“CBC radio reporter

“Betsy Trumpener. will read

‘from-her récent collection
of short stories.
“Trumperer, who may be

> familiar to radio listeners

for her imaginative reading
from’ the’ CBC’s Prince

' George presentation of the

Charles Dickens classic A
-Christmax Carol broadcast

Das Macht SHOW!

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last December on Radio
One, will also perform MC
duties at the main stage on
Saturday afternoon.

The weekend is a re-
union of sorts. Joining such
notable home-grown talent
like roots singer-songwriter
Mark Perry and blues gui-
tarist Ole Johnson on this
year’s 20th annual festival

stage are some of the

country’s mast promising
folk acts.

’.. In other words, you may
not have heard of them,
but there’s always some-
thing interesting worth
checking out.

So grab your Birken-
stocks (and your sensible
but maybe-not-so-stylin’
Gore-Tex rain gear, just in
case — it is an outdoor folk
fest, after all, and that .al-
ways tests the benevo-
lence of the weather god-
desses), look for a plea-
sant spot among the tall
grasses to pitch your tent
and get ready to listen
some of the best up-and-
comers the Canadian folk
music scene has to offer..

Over the past two de-
cades, the festival has in-
troduced the live music-
starved denizens of north-
western B.C. to the likes of
Taj Mahal, Spirit of the
West, Daniel Lapp, Ste-
phen Fearing, the Clumsy
Lovers, Oscar Lopez,. and
the Be Good Tanyas.

With just aa few days
to go before the June 20-22
- festival gets going, here’s

The granddaddy of them all turns 20 this year

a rundown of the headli-
ners.

Celtic soulsters The
Eccelstons are a tric for-
med by Vancouver-born si-
blings Kelt and Colleen
Eccleston, They take their
inspiration from the home-
spun musical fun of an
east coast kitchen party
and the contemplative na-
jural splendour of B.C.’s
wet coast.

If you appreciate the ar-
tistry a well-delivered
yodel, then you won’t want
to miss Brandon, Manito-
ba’s das macht SHOW!

Widely regarded as
Manitoba’s best-named
band, das macht SHOW!
is a quirky, zany ensemble
that describes its Alt-coun-
try and roots vibe as
“Hick” Hop.

The members of Mortal
Coil Performance Sacie-
ty use stilts, costumes,
drums and vocal harmo-
nies to create what one re-
viewer declared was
“Hands down the most bi-
zarre, bewildering and
wildly creative perfor-
mance of the day.”

Big Fish Eat Little
Fish has a Smithers con-
nection — band member
Jordy Walker, who formed
the band with pal Corwin
Fox in an Ottawa base-
ment, They’vye been on a
haitus for the past three
years, but have decided to
explore a “new sonic and
lyrical landscape,” ac-

cording to the Midsummer

AUTHOR and radio reporter Betsy Trumpener will
read from her collection of short stories as part of
the Other Arts festival.

ca TIT ORs

Erika Langer, Owner of &
Royal LePage Terrace, is
proud to welcome
Shannon McAllister to the
Royal LePage sales team.
Shannon has _ just
completed her University
of British Columbia’s Real
Estate Course and is now
the newest Realtor for the Terrace area.
Shannon, who was born and raised in
Terrace, is looking forward to the opportunity
to assist you with all of your realestate needs.
She invites you to come into our office or you
can give her a call at 635-2404 or on her

cell at 615-8993.

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Festival promo package.

Fiddler Glenn Gra-
ham’s Mabou Coal Mine
style roots earned him a
2002 East Coast Music
Award nomination for
male artists and rocts-tra-
ditional artist of the year.
He'll perform songs from
his new CD, Stepoutside.

The powerhouse vocals
of Vancouver Island's
Jack Connolly have
helped earn the young per-
former a place on stage
with Valdy, Gary Fjell-
gaard, James Keelaghan,
Colin James and 54-40 -
not bad considering he’s
just shy of 20.

Local and regional per-
formers include Tobin
Frank, who now plays
with Spirit of the West,
Marian Rose, The Pucks

io the June 10” winner
of 2 return tickets to
Vancouver on

- Pictured here is Store
anager, Mike Lefebure and

: Debbie Dabms.

“SEE INSTORE FOR THIS:

winner

WEEKS DRAW

(formerly Group du Jour)
and the Sirens, who will
temporarily reunite at the
festival.

available at Misty River
Books. On-site camping is
available.

— the Midsummer Festival
also includes workshops,
drum circles and jam ses-
sions.

the solstice, the Midsum-
mer Festival heralds the
arrival of summer in north-
ern B,C, — and the much-
anticipated start to the re-
gion’s music festival sea-
son.

Valley Music Festival,
followed by the Rosswood
Music Jamboree in August.

Weekend passes are

Bring your instruments

‘ June 21*-June28"
Pull Discounts out
of the Sorting Hat.

Reserve your
copy today.

Timed to coincide with

Next up is the Kispiox

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