Montreal’s Folk Festival on the Canal will open this year with
three stellar indoor concerts in venues near the Lachine Canal and then
continue outdoors with a weekend of free music on its banks. The artists at the
three indoor concerts would be among the headliners at any major folk festival.
The first concert features the great Roger McGuinn on Wednesday,
June 12, 8:00 pm, at the Corona Theatre (2490 Notre Dame St. West).
Roger – originally known as Jim McGuinn – came out of the
Chicago folk scene as a teenager in the late-1950s and early-‘60s and gained
attention as a sideman for groups like the Limeliters and the Chad Mitchell
Trio and for singers like Judy Collins and Bobby Darin. In 1964, he co-founded
a band which became The Byrds, one of the most influential American bands of the
1960s. The Byrds were seminal to the birth and development of both folk-rock
and country-rock. Roger was the key member of the Byrds through all of their
history and permutations.
I saw Roger perform for the first time in 1975 when he was
one of the featured artists in Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue and I chatted
with him at the after-concert party (I was a guest of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott,
one of the other artists on the show). Then, in the 1980s, I produced a couple
of intimate acoustic concerts with him at the Golem. In 1998, Roger was my
guest on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches radio program when he returned to
Montreal for a concert with Richie Havens.
Always a great performer, Roger’s concerts are a fascinating
and entertaining walk through some of the most significant musical times of the
past 50 years.
Tim, a multi-instrumentalist and fine singer and songwriter
began his career in the 1970s and ‘80s as a member of Hot Rize, one of the best
bluegrass bands of the day. With Hot Rize – and their offbeat country alter-egos
Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers – and as a soloist, Tim has built a substantial
body of excellent work encompassing both the folk roots of traditional music
and the folk branches of contemporary music.
The third concert features the Travelin’ McCourys on Friday,
June 14, 8:00 pm, at the Corona Theatre.
Tickets for the three indoor concerts are available at this link.
On Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and 15, the festival shifts
to Ilot Charlevoix (corner of St. Patrick and Charlevoix) for two full days of
concerts and other activities – all free of charge – featuring a diverse
selection of artists highlighted by Old Man Luedecke on Saturday and The Once
on Sunday. The complete schedule is available at this link.
I like to refer to Montreal’s Folk Festival on the Canal as
the little folk festival that could. Founded and still run by Matt Large and
Rebecca Anderson of Hello Darlin’ Productions and Carl Comeau of Hyperbole
Music, the festival has slowly, but surely, developed into an important part of
Montreal’s busy festival calendar.
--Mike Regenstreif
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