2017 REGINA FOLK FESTIVAL PRESS KIT

From August 10 to 13, Victoria Park will come alive with the magic of the 48th Regina Folk Festival. As always, there will be amazing music on the Mainstage and the free daytime Sunlit Stages. The 2017 artistic lineup features an incredible blend of musical styles, cultural influences and, above all, some of the world’s best talent, including:

Tegan and Sara, Lights, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Coeur de pirate, Natalie MacMaster, José González, Vox Sambou,

Kacy and Clayton, De Temps Antan, DJ Shub, Les Hay Babies, Begonia, Kobo Town, Como Mamas, William Prince, Blake Berglund, Kiera Dall’Osto, Tomato Tomato,

Choir! Choir! Choir!, Ponteix, Ryan McNally, Dirty Catfish Brass Band, Al Simmons And more to be announced!

The 2017 RFF will offer free daytime concerts and workshops on 4 stages, a CHILDREN’S AREA with music, dance & crafts, an ARTS’ MARKET with all sorts of one-of-a-kind stuff, a DAYTIME BEER GARDEN, the festival ROCK GARDEN, a FESTIVAL RECORD STORE, an INTERNATIONAL FOOD COURT as well as highly anticipated MAINSTAGE CONCERTS. We also have an exciting addition to the 2017 festival that we will be announcing soon! Info: 757-0308 or www.reginafolkfestival.com

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

Early bird weekend passes are available now! Individual night tickets will be available starting in May.

Tickets can be purchased online at REGINAFOLKFESTIVAL.COM or by phone at 1-888-732-1682

After August 10th, the Regina Folk Festival Box Office will take over ticket sales on the festival site.

The RFF Box Office will be located just south of the cenotaph in Victoria Park.

2017 REGINA FOLK FESTIVAL ARTISTS

Tegan and Sara teganandsara.com Even as they’ve been embraced by the mainstream, Tegan and Sara consciously operate to the left of popular culture – their lyrical and social wisdom comes from an outside vantage looking in. Paradoxically, the essential message that underpins their worldview and identity is inclusion. So it is only fitting that these two self-described outsiders have ultimately found acceptance from such a diverse amalgamation of cultural forces. This is a band that can perform comfortably alongside Katy Perry or Neil Young, Taylor Swift or The Killers. You may have seen them in the dusty desert at Coachella or on the pristine stage at the Academy Awards. Few other contemporary artists can cross boundaries of genre and culture so effortlessly. Lights music.iamlights.com Lights’s latest JUNO Award winning album Little Machines is a gleaming, groundbreaking collection of brightly hued 21st century techno-pop. The lead single “Up We Go,” was a platinum selling, radio and streaming smash that led to extensive touring and sold-out headline shows across North America, the UK and Europe, including a slot at the prestigious Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The acclaim of 2016’s acoustic counterpart, Midnight Machines, spawned an intimate string of dates in major North American cities that sold out in 24 hours. Lights returns with her next album this year. Buffy Sainte-Marie buffysainte-marie.com Buffy Sainte-Marie is an internationally renowned recording artist, activist, educator, visual artist, and winner of countless awards (Oscar, Juno, and Golden Globe, among them). With an esteemed career spanning five decades to date, Sainte-Marie is widely known for her 1960s protest anthems (“Universal Soldier”, “Now That The Buffalo’s Gone”), open-hearted love songs such as “Until It’s Time for You to Go” (which has been recorded by a lengthy list of international stars including Elvis Presley, Barbara Streisand, and Cher), incendiary powwow rockers like “Starwalker”, and the juggernaut Academy Award-winning pop hit “Up Where We Belong.” Her bold new album, the 2x JUNO Award and Polaris Music Prize-winning Power in the Blood, is an honest reflection of the Cree singer-songwriter and begins where it all started more than 50 years ago, with a contemporary version of “It’s My Way,” the title track of her 1964 debut. Its message, about the road to self-identity and the conviction to be oneself, is one that still resonates with Sainte-Marie, and is among the hallmarks of her catalog – the eclecticism and compassion she brings to each album, oblivious to genre boundaries and production trends – that are in glorious bloom throughout Power in the Blood. Power in the Blood is Buffy Sainte-Marie’s eighteenth studio album, and only her fourth in more than 20 years; however, Sainte-Marie’s creativity is always in motion, and her passport's always in hand, touring for lectures and taking center stage around the world with her high-octane backing band.

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives martystuart.net Marty Stuart is a walking, talking mandolin-picking encyclopedia of country music, with all the influences that come with it including folk, blues, gospel, R&B and rockabilly. Born in 1958 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, he received his first guitar soon after he learned to walk. He turned pro at 12, eventually becoming Lester Flatt’s mandolin player and then joining Johnny Cash as a guitar player. After paying his dues with the best in the business, he launched a solo career that wove its way through a variety of roots and Americana styles, including collaborations with Emmylou Harris, B.B. King and Travis Tritt. His many solo recordings landed him an armful of Grammys and a membership at the Opry. By mid-career, Stuart – famous not only for his music but his signature bejewelled Nudie suit and pompadour – had become used to playing arena-sized shows, but on the advice of Johnny Cash, he decided to return to his musical roots. He launched an indie label to celebrate traditional music (bluegrass, Delta gospel and Native American ballads). His latest record, backed by his band The Fabulous Superlatives, sums up his passion for country music in a two disc set— Saturday Night, all honking and tonking, and Sunday Morning, atoning for his sins gospel style. “I think traditional country music should be regarded alongside jazz and ballet and classical music in the pantheon of the arts,” says Stuart. “As a band, that's our mission.” Cœur de pirate coeurdepirate.com Cœur de pirate is the solo project of award-winning singer-songwriter and pianist Béatrice Martin. She released her self-titled debut album in September 2008, to immediate national and international acclaim, before returning in November 2011 with her sophomore album, Blonde. In 2014, Martin provided the soundtrack to Radio-Canada’s hit medical series, Trauma, as well as the original score to Ubisoft’s video game, Child of Light. Cœur de pirate has now sold more than one million albums worldwide and counting. Martin returned in 2015 with her third album, a collection of songs that finds the artist boldly expanding her horizons and modernizing her approach. The intoxicating first single “Carry On”, which was recorded in Stockholm with producer Bjorn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John, Franz Ferdinand, Lykke Li), signals the end of an era and ushers in another, where Martin reflects more deeply on her life up to that point. Natalie MacMaster nataliemacmaster.com Award winning Cape Breton musician, Natalie MacMaster, began her fiddling career at 16 releasing her debut album Four on the Floor. Her musical venture now spans over three decades, completing 11 albums, performing thousands of shows and collaborating with a multitude of world renowned artists. The most recent album by MacMaster, has been self-described as a “straight-ahead, traditional record.” The album is filled with an invigorating collection of toe-tapping jigs, reels, and strathspeys that embodies her most cherished values, her family and home, tradition, and faith. Over MacMaster’s three decades of performing her audience is still left clapping, hollering and screaming for more as she and her band wow them with stylistic diversity without losing the traditional Cape Breton groove. The applause only increases with excitement when she incorporates step dancing into her performance. Although her stage presence is reason enough to see one of her shows, it’s the elegance with the bow, the intricate technique with the fiddle, and the embrace of the Cape Breton tradition that floors her admirers at over 100 shows a year. With her Cape Breton roots, dedication to her craft, and love for her family, Natalie is a musical force with a long and successful career in music, who will, without a doubt, continue to warm the hearts of fans for years to come.

José González jose-gonzalez.com Restraint is a rare virtue in a world where big, brash and bold grab the bulk of our attention, but it's a quality José González holds in abundance. The Swedish-born singer is not one to shout when simply speaking will do. His delicate tenor and six nylon strings are more than enough to cut through the din. Instead of volume, González builds his power through accumulation. His songs unspool gradually, his fingers tracing a zodiac of musical constellations, his melodies charting a course through the emerging cosmos. Then, just when it seems like everything is about to come into focus, the last chord rings out and the cycle begins again. Watching González perform is a process of repeatedly getting lost, without ever realizing you've been wandering. As restrained as González is within his songs, it's nothing compared to his patience between releases. In the 13 years since his debut album Veneer, he's only recorded two solo albums: 2007's In Our Nature, and last year's Vestiges and Claws. The eight years between those releases weren't exactly silent —there were collaborations and side-projects scattered throughout — but he clearly believes in speaking only when he has something worth saying. All the more reason to listen closely when he does. Vox Sambou voxsamboumusic.com Vox Sambou is originally from Limbé, He writes and performs in Haitian-Creole, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese. He is a co-founder of Montreal-based hip-hop collective, Nomadic Massive. His music focuses on the traditional rhythms of Haiti mixed with elements of afrobeat, jazz, reggae, and hip-hop. Vox Sambou is a committed musician who is not afraid to denounce injustice, social imbalances and inequities. His music is a fusion of traditional rhythms of Haiti and Afro-Latin elements, afrobeat, reggae and hip-hop. Sambou launched several music videos including Discrimina Sida, for the International AIDS Day. Vox recently launched his clip titled Article 14 in collaboration with rapper The Narcicyst and the illustrious Professor Noam Chomsky. Vox Sambou is crucially involved in the achievement of educational and community projects based in Limbé, Haiti. He is a founding member of Solid’Ayiti, an artists and activists initiative working for a long-term solidarity between Montreal and movements fighting for social justice in Haiti, according to the principles of self-sufficiency, education, decentralization and reforestation. He is the Executive Director of La Maison de Jeunes the Côte-des-Neiges, a non-profit organization whose mandate is to prevent delinquency among teenagers in the district of Montreal’s Côte-des Neiges. Kacy and Clayton kacyandclayton.com In recent decades, too many folk songs have been burdened by oversung vocals and cluttered arrangements. Kacy and Clayton restore space to the art form by dealing in subtlety instead of tinsel. Their arrangements employ minimal ornamentation. Kacy’s completely unforced refreshing vocals are always in her own distinct and natural timbre. Clayton’s instrumental talents serve every song with modesty; he reserves his virtuosity for only those few transitions that require elaborate expression. The production values of their recordings are consistent and simple. Kacy and Clayton shun studio trickery and gimmicks, pursuing mixes that recall the natural warmth of 1970s british folk LPs. In fact, much of their repertoire could easily be mistaken for hidden gems of decades past. Their return to form is no mere retro affectation; it is a respectful bearing of the torch passed on from their deep and studied musical heritage. Kacy and Clayton’s entire lives have been steeped in the rich catalogs of folk music masters. They are second cousins who grew up a short distance from each other in a ranching community in southern Saskatchewan. As children they were surrounded by rural musicality, absorbing the knowledge and skills of Kacy’s Grandfather (Clayton’s Great-Uncle) Carl Anderson. Landmark

figures of their musical roots include Leadbelly, Shirley Collins, Alan Lomax, The Stanley Brothers, Charley Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, and Davey Graham. Kacy and Clayton’s ears are expertly discerning, and their musicianship is practiced to a sophisticated level of proficiency. They are very young, but have already matured beyond the precociously talented stage by rapidly earning a reputation among their fellow musicians as fully expressed mature artists in the prime of their lives. De Temps Antan detempsantan.qc.ca They are only three, yet they sound like six! With Ce monde ici-bas, DE TEMPS ANTAN propels folk to a whole new level. Éric Beaudry, André Brunet and Pierre-Luc Dupuis – Quebec’s most powerful trad trio - switch between a variety of instrumental combinations from violin, guitar, bouzouki, accordion, and harmonica to vigorous foot-stomping percussion. A festive atmosphere, high in color and heart-warming, a glorious anthem to the glory of ancient time in a modern presentation! It takes a special blend of musical flair to create memorable songs of yesteryear. Songs with a hint of contemporary—dosed with uncontrolled laughter, deep-rooted couplets and sudden, impromptu shifts—that speak to familiar rhythms of the past. Welcome to the original musical stylings of De Temps Antan! DJ Shub djshub.ca DJ Shub, formerly of A Tribe Called Red, is a title earning DJ and award winning music producer. He lives in Fort Erie, Ontario and counts two DMC Canada DJ Championship titles (2007 and 2008), a DMC Canadian Battle for Supremacy title (2008), a Canadian Red Bull Thre3style title (2012), and a King of the Dot Canada vs. USA DJ battle win along with trophies from the JUNO Awards and the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards as some of his most notable accomplishments. He is a proud husband and father of two; a member of the Turtle Clan; and, Mohawk from Six Nations. DJ Shub parted ways with A Tribe Called Red in 2014. His work with the group includes the JUNO Award winning album, Nation II Nation and their most popular single, “Electric Pow Wow Drum” (1,585,539 streams on SoundCloud). Les Hay Babies leshaybabies.com Les Hay Babies are an indie-folk-country band made up of three girls, all with colourful personalities, all hailing from New Brunswick. Katrine, Vivianne, and Julie intertwine their inflections to create a flamboyant atmosphere, cooking up their own unique folk recipe. Following their first EP Folio, released in 2012, their full-length album Mon Homesick Heart came to light in April 2014, and saw the group joined by several leading lights. Produced by François Lafontaine (Karkwa) and recorded by Mathieu Parisien (Arthur H), Mon Homesick Heart is a debut album with deep moods and rich sonic textures, thanks to the visceral guitar of Joe Grass (Patrick Watson) and Mico Roy (Les Hôtesse d’Hilaire), the vibrant drums of José Major (Marie-Pierre Arthur), and masterful basslines delivered by Mishka Stein (Patrick Watson). As well as being grand prize winners of Francouvertes 2013 and recipients of several prizes at the Vue Festival thereafter, all three artists were winners at the Accro competition organized by the Fédération des jeunes francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick, in 2009 and 2010. More recently, they won the Edith Butler Prize at the Gala des mérites hosted by SPACQ (Société professionnelle des auteurs et compositeurs du Québec), and garnered many nominations at the latest ADISQ Gala.

Begonia hellobegonia.com On one end of the spectrum there are varieties of the Begonia which can be a dark, grievous, rough around the edges. And on the other end, a petite and elegant flower. In between, the plant attempts to harmonize its two poles, forming an array of varieties that each borrow from the delicate and the unseemly. It is in this same vein that Begonia (Alexa Dirks) finds herself, trying to find a balance. Known for her voice in the Juno Award winning harmony driven group Chic Gamine, Dirks has a timbre that recalls the golden age of soul, proud and courageous. And yet it still returns to the ground, finding a quietness, a hesitant intimacy. Joined in studio by producers Matt Schellenberg (Royal Canoe) and Matt Peters (Royal Canoe, Close Talker), the collection of songs that forms Begonia’s Lady In Mind lets the extremes of Dirks’ past and present coalesce into a sound that is both battle hymn and breakbeat body mover, incorporating themes which are confident in and of themselves, and yet sometimes caught in the middle. Kobo Town kobotown.com Founded and fronted by émigré Trinidadian songwriter Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town’s music has been variously described as “an intoxicating blend of lilting calypsonian wit, dancehall reggae and trombone-heavy brass” (Guardian) and a “unique, transnational composite of rhythm, poetry and activist journalism.”(Exclaim!) From their home in Toronto, the JUNO-nominated group has brought their distinct calypso-inspired sound to audiences across the world, from Port-of-Spain to Paris and from Montreal to Malaysia. At once brooding and joyous, intensely poetic and highly danceable, Gonsalves' songs betray deep roots in Caribbean folk music, while the band delivers them with an indomitable energy that has earned them a considerable following beyond the niche of world music enthusiasts and calypso fans. Como Mamas concertedefforts.com/roster/como-mamas The newest addition to the Daptone Family the Como Mamas are three lifelong Gospel singers from the small town of Como Mississippi. On their brand new, critically acclaimed album ‘Get an Understanding’ there are only three instruments – The powerful, raspy voice of Ester Mae Smith, the deep soothing voice of Angela Taylor, and the energetic, spirited vocals of Della Daniels. They will be joined by a fine collection of Daptone musicians on the RFF mainstage. William Prince williamprincemusic.com William Prince is a storytelling singer/songwriter from Peguis First Nation who sidesteps clichés to provoke thought and facilitate discovery. His baritone vocals pay tribute to his late father and his genuine delivery acknowledges the hundreds of hours he’s spent on stage. Steadily receiving acclamations, Prince just came back from the Western Canadian Music Awards nominations where he landed nods for Roots Artist of the Year and Aboriginal Artist of the Year for his debut album, Earthly Days.

Blake Berglund blakeberglund.com Blake Berglund's fresh style of country music is unpredictable, intelligent, genuine, and a pleasant surprise, given his hard-rock/pseudo metal background. His grassroots approach has earned him a reputation as 'the guy who sold 10,000 CDs door-to-door.” Raised in the Moose Mountains deep in Saskatchewan's south east corner, Berglund took his early childhood responsibilities of tending to 200 head of horses as the education needed to base his music career around hard work and cultivating relationships. Having released four full-length albums and numerous collaborative projects, Blake Berglund's 2016 double-single Word's Gettin' Around/Funny Thing About You Leaving will be followed up with his fifth studio album, Realms, in fall 2017 – an allegorical concept record about the breadth of the human experience. Berglund is a regular collaborator with Juno Nominee, Del Barber as well as with partner, Belle Plaine. He is currently devoted to a creative journalism project in which he toured the United States to reclaim the Spirit of America's Country Music. He is self-managed and backed by his group of honky tonk renegades, The Vultures. Kiera Dall’Osto The magnetism of Kiera Dall’Osto’s voice evokes comparison to the rugged, under-appreciated Karen Dalton, with the achiness of country soul sisters Jeanie C. Riley and Sammi Smith. The hot-shot band she has assembled for her début album, consisting of Kacy and Clayton and Lucas Goetz (Deep Dark Woods), draws comparison to the melancholia of Magnolia Electric Co. and the rhythmic chug of Fairport Convention. The culmination of years of song writing, pinpointing this album to a genre is no easy task. Whether one settles on honky-tonk, Americana, soulful psychadelia, or just straight up Rock’n’Roll, what is not up for debate is Kiera’s ability as a songwriter, the wintery bite of her voice, or the breadth of talent and musical knowledge brought by the band. Kiera Dall’Osto is releasing her debut self-titled album in the Spring of 2017. Tomato/Tomato tomatotomato.ca ‘Tomato/Tomato’ is not your garden variety duo. Clever quirky songs draw on folk and bluegrass. An old washboard; rigged up with tin cans and a cymbal, rattles while bass and snare drums are foot powered. Loving harmonies, old-timey guitar and up-cycled percussion create an unmistakeable sound. Tomato/Tomato’ performed at The Winnipeg, Stan Rogers and Lunenburg Folk Festivals and more, in 2016. Honours include: Regional Winners for CBCs Searchlight Competition 2014, noms for 6 MNB awards with 3 wins in 2015, ECMA noms for Roots/Trad album of the year 2015 and Fan Choice video of the year 2016. Acclaimed albums ( So it Goes / I Go Where You Go ), have them dancing around the kitchen; carving out a place for washboard infused folk near you!

Choir! Choir! Choir! choirchoirchoir.com A community choir established in 2011, Toronto’s Choir! Choir! Choir! brings together an eclectic mix of Parkdale-dwelling baristas and suburban moms and dads for stirring, frequently viral performances. Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman, the founders, take a non-traditional approach; there are no auditions, and the audience is the choir. Just show up and they'll teach you an original arrangement to a song you love. It’s interactive theatre. It’s stand up comedy. It’s a concert like you’ve never seen before. Founded in 2011, Choir! Choir! Choir! has amassed a dedicated and passionate community of singers and a thriving international fan base on YouTube (15,000 subscribers and over 10 million views). The group has performed with renowned artists such as Patti Smith, Tegan and Sara, and Rufus Wainwright, and onstage at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall with the likes of Debbie Harry and The Flaming Lips. Choir! Choir! Choir! exists to celebrate music and push the boundaries between practice and performance, artist and audience, offering therapeutic benefits with the ultimate side effect: a powerful community. Ponteix facebook.com/ponteix Like a wind blowing on the prairies, to get heard from the basement of the Canadian Shield to the doors of the Pacific Ocean, the Saskatoon trio Ponteix delivers space rock gems, shaped with psychedelic surges and an electronic approach. Born from multi-instrumentist Mario Lepage's trial and errors, Ponteix's songs exist beyond time and space. Linguistic and geographical boundaries do not exist with this band who borrowed their name from a French village in the middle of their home province of Saskatchewan. After leaving strong impressions at a heavyweight French music contest: Les Francouvertes (2016), Ponteix released their debut EP, J'Orage. With the precision of a postcard picture and the dreamy aspect of a message written on the other side, the four songs of the album share the same guideline in French and English. Ever since, the trio is recognized by music critics in Canada's two official languages, who note both their strong melodic work and their risk-taking tour de force songs. Ponteix is a state of mind beyond physical landmarks, to explore instead the deep space which exists between the precision of their technic and the intensity in which it is delivered. Ryan McNally ryanmcnally.ca Whether he's playing with his own solo band or other various outfits, he can't be kept off Canadian stages. Ryan puts most of his energy in his passion for studying acoustic traditional blues, jazz and old time music. This led him to spending a winter in New Orleans where he wrote the majority of the material featured on Steppin’ Down South. This album is saturated with the sounds and rhythm of New Orleans streets. Steppin’ Down South captures the sound of hillbilly blues and jug band jazz. Recorded live off the floor by Bob Hamilton at Old Crow Studios in Whitehorse, Yukon. McNally was raised in rural Quebec, south of Montreal along the U.S. boarder. He began pursuing music at the age of ten when he first picked up the guitar. In his late teens and early twenties he would seek out musicians he would hear at cafes and bars for lessons in finger style blues. He continues to work in studying with teachers into his schedule while he is performing on the road. Currently McNally is experimenting with scoring music to films as well as musical direction for theater. All while keeping up a busy solo career and a steady touring schedule.

Dirty Catfish Brass Band dirtycatfishbrassband.com Dirty Catfish Brass Band’s aim is to inspire, create and instigate – but, mostly, they just want you on your feet. Undeniably tight, yet reckless as hell, Dirty Catfish Brass Band deals in powerful phrasing and performances drenched with rhythm. Invoking the sounds of the New Orleans brass tradition, the ten-piece collective dares to reimagine the streets of a prairie city as one that is hot, alive, and brimming with soul. Based in Winnipeg, MB, the crew strives to surprise, challenge, tickle and pay homage to the New Orleans tradition by giving it a new audience in an unsuspecting locale. In true Louisiana tradition, these boys stick to the spontaneity of festivals, alleyway performance and all around late nights. The band doesn’t ask permission to play, and the crowd certainly doesn’t ask them to stop. Al Simmons alsimmons.com He's a musician! He’s an inventor! He's a nut! He’s been called the Thomas Edison of entertainers, a wizard of one-liners and a lightning bolt of lunacy. His astounding gadgets, preposterous songs, impeccable comic timing and kooky take on classic vaudeville have thrilled and entertained fans of all ages for 4½ decades. Juno Award winner Al Simmons is a creative genius whose highly original performances of profound wackiness and of off-the-wall inventions have taken the arts of Music and Comedy to unparalleled heights of hilarity. Young or old, you cannot fail to appreciate this man’s frenetic stage antics and mind-boggling lovableness. plus more to be added!

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