Leading up to the 35th Annual Vancouver Folk Festival I’m going to introduce you to some of the bands and artists that will be taking the stages July 13-15. In this post, I’m shining the spotlight on some of the universally lesser known groups that will have the crowds dancing, singing and swaying all weekend long. In Part II I’ll cover the big name artists.
New Artists at Folk Fest 2012
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto
“Los Gaiteros” refers to those who play the gaita, a flute made from a hollowed cactus stem that’s also known as a kuisi in Colombia. Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto are gaita players, singers, dancers and percussionists from the Colombian town of San Jacinto.
They play a richly traditional cumbia that preserves the rhythms and sounds of their fore fathers and mothers of indigenous, Spanish and Afro-Colombian heritage. It’s a magnetic, rhythmic call and response music that just wins you over. This is reason 1001 I love folk fest. A group like this will transform you to feeling like you are actually in South America without leaving the coast of Vancouver.
Here is just a taste of what to expect. Ole!
Lucinda Williams
For the past 30 years, Lucinda Williams has been the object of cultish adoration, and universally hailed as a major talent. Some critics describe her as “the female Bob Dylan”.
Eclectic and powerful, her string of stellar albums are filled with edgy tunes that stick in your head and weave rock, country, folk and blues together so tightly that each of the elements seem to disappear.
Check out an appearance Lucinda performed on the David Letterman Show.
The Johnny Clegg Band
Sometimes called “The White Zulu,” Johnny Clegg is one of South Africa’s most celebrated sons. This singer, songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and musical activist exploded onto the international scene with their infectious crossover music, a vibrant blend of Western pop and African Zulu rhythms.
Clegg has won a number of national and international awards for his music, his outspoken anti-apartheid views, his perspectives on migrant workers in South Africa and the general situation in the world.
After thirty years he continues to wow audiences around the world with his audacious live shows. Whether performing at Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Aids Awareness Concerts in South Africa or Norway, collaborating with Peter Gabriel, or touring with his current band mates, Johnny Clegg’s history and music is as bold, outspoken and dashing as the rainbow country he calls home.
Last modified: June 28, 2012
