Festival Folk sur le Canal

Montreal’s Folk Festival on the Canal Expands to Four Days

Montreal, May 14, 2011 – Hello Darlin’ Productions and Hyperbole Music are pleased to announce the fourth annual Folk Festival on the Canal, set to run from Thursday to Sunday, June 16 to 19, 2011. The Montreal event—presenting the best in anglo and franco folk and roots music—has not only expanded to four days, but will be introducing two new locations along the famed Lachine waterway.

“The Folk Festival on the Canal strives to provide its clients with an experience filled with great folk and roots music, wonderful locally sourced food and a family-friendly environment,” said Matt Large, co-director of the Folk Festival on the Canal and director of Hello Darlin’ Productions.

Legendary songwriter John Sebastian of the seminal folk-rock band the Lovin’ Spoonful will be opening the festival on Thursday, June 16 at the Georges Vanier Cultural Centre in the Arrondissement du Sud-Ouest. Held at the only indoor venue of the weekend, the wine-and-cheese gala will be the first of its kind for the folk festival.

A line-up of local talent will take to the stage on Friday at a free outdoor concert on the Ilot Charlevoix headlined by Quebec trad dynamos Belzébuth. The Folk Festival has partnered with Parks Canada to put together an evening of music in conjunction with a campout celebrating the centennial of the environmentally minded organization, where one hundred neophyte campers will spend the night under the stars.

"When we launched the Montreal Folk Festival on the Canal four years ago, the idea was to build a great family-friendly event we could be proud of and grow organically with the support of great partners. Our partnerships with the Arrondissement du Sud-Ouest and Parks Canada for their 100th year celebration are good examples of that organic growth," explained Carl Comeau, co-director of the Folk Festival on the Canal and president of Hyperbole Music.

For Saturday and Sunday, festivities move westward along the canal to the original festival site, the St. Ambroise Terrace (5080 St-Ambroise). A true oasis in an urban setting, the venue will feature non-stop music, workshops, kid events, not to mention an array of on-site food vendors, and thirst-quenching McAuslan beer.

Novices and connoisseurs alike will be treated to the most delicious variety of music, from Juno-winning songwriters, French pop duets, and alt country stars, to contagious Cajun bands and old-time music makers. Acts include Allison Lickley, Scott Normandy, The Wildwood Flowers, Bourrasque Celtique, Emm Gryner, Rose Cousins, Fred Eaglesmith, Tricot Machine, Cecile Doo Kingue, Joe Grass, Grouyan Gombo, Canailles, Anthony D’Amato, Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few, Sheesham and Lotus, and David Francey.