Steve Earle, David Byrne head lineup
Talking Heads visionary David Byrne, soulful boogie-blues masters Tedeschi Trucks Band, folk legend Janis Ian and Take Me To Church singer Hozier are among the gems of a CityFolk lineup that’s stacked with critically acclaimed artists.
The 2018 edition of CityFolk returns to Lansdowne Park Sept. 12-16 for the fourth year at the Glebe facility, and will include a 25th anniversary celebration of its previous incarnation as the Ottawa Folk Festival.
Details on that, and the local music celebration known as Marvest, will be announced next month.
For now, the big news is the topnotch lineup of artists assembled by festival organizers. Other highlights of the program include Texas country-rocker Steve Earle on his Copperhead Road tour with his longtime band, the Dukes, Australian pop sensation Nick Murphy (formerly known as Chet Faker), enigmatic Toronto hiphop singersongwriter Allan Rayman, rockbluegrass powerhouse Trampled By Turtles, English hard rockers Humble Pie, Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald, Scottish popsters Belle and Sebastian, indie-rock hitmakers the Decemberists, and a new duo consisting of roots-rocker Dave Alvin with singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
CityFolk director Mark Monahan, who’s also in charge of the organizing team behind RBC Ottawa Bluesfest, says the lineup this year reflects the increasing popularity of fall festivals, and bookers’ willingness to work together to present artists in multiple markets.
Although several major festivals have recently dropped off the calendar, including Toronto’s Urban Roots Festival and B.C.’s Pemberton Music Festival, another batch of smaller festivals has popped up, including several that take place in the fall.
“When we started with Folk Fest (in 2010), we moved it into September because there weren’t a lot of fall festivals traditionally,” Monahan said. “The first one was Austin City Limits, and now more and more have been created. This is a trend happening across North America that I see continuing.”
The advantage for CityFolk, he explained, is in partnering with other events that happen around the same time to create a touring circuit for the artists.
Some of the fall events Monahan found himself working with this year to get artists such as Byrne, Hozier and Earle included New Brunswick’s Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival and Austin City Limits in Texas.
Access to more artists has again resulted in a five-day duration for CityFolk, though it was originally envisioned as a weekend event.
When Monahan found out he could book Tedeschi Trucks Band, for example, but only on the Wednesday, he jumped at the chance to kick things off early. The band, fronted by guitarist Derek Trucks and his singer-songwriter wife Susan Tedeschi, has been a hit with Ottawa audiences during past appearances at the city’s jazz festival and Bluesfest.
As in previous years, CityFolk’s main City stage is outdoors on the Great Lawn at Lansdowne. A second stage is located inside the Aberdeen Pavilion.
Discounted early-bird passes go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday, priced at $109. Regular prices for tickets and passes start at noon Friday. Go to cityfolkfestival.com to purchase tickets, and to find out more about the lineup.