CityFolk wraps up strong fifth edition at Lansdowne
Tribute to folkie Wiffen meets ’90s rock, rising talent
The grand finale by rock legend Robert Plant at CityFolk on Sunday capped off a weekend of musical discoveries that attracted about 50,000 people, including those who checked out the free Marvest shows.
Among the many highlights of the four-day main event at Lansdowne Park were a sensational show by Larkin Poe on Thursday, a triple bill of ’90s rock on Friday and a moving Saturday-afternoon tribute to Ottawa singer-songwriter David Wiffen.
Friday’s rock show was one of the biggest nights the festival has experienced in recent years, with Our Lady Peace, Live and Bush attracting a thirsty crowd that came close to setting a record for bar sales. More than 20,000 beverages were poured, organizers estimated.
Things were considerably tamer the next day, which was officially proclaimed David Wiffen Day. The white-haired folk hero sat in the front row and watched his songs — from Coast to Coast Fever to Driving Wheel — come to life at the hands of a stage full of talented musicians. Hosted by Ray Harris, the lineup featured Tom Wilson, Lynn Miles and Julie Corrigan, as well as former Wiffen bandmates from the ’60s band The Children: Neville Wells, Sneezy Waters and Sandy Crawley.
Wilson, who grew up in roughand-tumble Hamilton, praised the beauty and sensitivity of Wiffen’s music, while Miles talked about Wiffen’s influence and recalled her first theatre show, an opening slot for Wiffen.
And Harris performed on Wiffen’s old Gibson, the same acoustic guitar he used to write many of his classic tunes. “The songs were already in this guitar. I didn’t have to learn them,” Harris said, describing the aging folksinger as the “coolest guy on the planet.”
Wiffen also received the Helen Verger Award for his contribution to folk music in Ottawa, an honour that was created by the old Ottawa Folk Festival years ago.
In addition to paying tribute to the roots of the Ottawa scene, the festival offered a chance to see some of the music world’s mostbuzzed-about new artists, including American acts like Larkin Poe, Lucy Dacus, and soul man Leon Bridges, who warmed up a chilly Saturday night with his great band and smooth sound.
A contingent of rootsy Canadians shone in the spotlight, too, including standout performances by P.E.I.’s East Pointers, Newfoundland’s The Once and Hey Rosetta! frontman Tim Baker, who performed twice, joking that it was his CityFolk “residency.”
Still, Tom Wilson may have been the hardest-working musician of the weekend, making a string of appearances that included the Wiffen tribute, a book reading and a psychedelic folk-rock outing with his band, Lee Harvey Osmond.
Attendance was strong throughout the festival, and crowds formed early to check out the support acts, a trend that festival director Mark Monahan attributes in part to the accessibility of music online.
“The whole notion of people being able to discover more music online really works well for festivals when you have 30 or 40 acts on the program,” Monahan said. “With Larkin Poe and The Once, obviously people had checked them out in advance.”
This year marked the fifth anniversary of the launch of CityFolk, formerly the Ottawa Folk Festival, and its move to the central Lansdowne Park site. It was also the fifth anniversary of Marvest, the offshoot festival that brings local bands to the shops, restaurants, pubs and a host of non-traditional venues along Bank Street. The name alludes to a “musical harvest.”
“Sometimes it takes a while for an idea to germinate,” Monahan said. “Marvest has become known as a way to support local music, and more and more people are coming out because of that. The proliferation of young, talented Ottawa artists is also growing so I think, five years in, the Marvest thing is working.”
One new idea on a trial run this year was the presence of ASL interpreters during Thursday’s crowd-pleasing show by Toronto party band Dwayne Gretzky on the indoor RavenLaw stage, located inside the Aberdeen Pavilion.
They were an instant hit. As the umpteen-member band cranked out hit after hit — from Queen to Springsteen to The Band — the signers kept up a running commentary, capturing the spirit of each song for the benefit of hearing-impaired fans.
Monahan said the ASL interpretation was recommended by festival’s board of directors as one way to make the event more inclusive. If that was the goal, it worked like a charm. Hearing impaired or not, the audience loved the passion they brought to their work, and rewarded them with a standing ovation. lsaxberg@postmedia.com