Vancouver Folk Music Festival

July 14 to 16, 2023

Calexico | AZ

Praised by NPR for their “sprawling, cross-cultural indie rock,” Calexico has spent the better part of the past three decades exploring the dusty musical borderlands of the American Southwest, crafting singular, cinematic songs as mysterious and magnificent as the arid desert landscapes that inspired them.

Founded in Tucson, AZ, by guitarist/singer Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino, the band first emerged to widespread acclaim in the mid-1990s with a string of arresting records that blurred the lines between their roots, rock, and Latin influences. In 2003, they released Feast of Wire, which marked the duo’s critical and commercial breakthrough, earning them their first appearances on Billboard charts and rave reviews. Pitchfork called the record “genuinely masterful.”

In the years since, Calexico has gone on to release eight more well-received studio albums, worked with everyone from Willie Nelson to Nancy Sinatra and Neko Case, score multiple feature films, played festivals from Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza to Glastonbury and Roskilde, and hit the road with the likes of Wilco, Arcade Fire, and others. The Washington Post hailed their live show as “near-flawless”.

This year, the band is performing songs from Feast of Wire, as well as a slew of beloved songs from their repertoire at headline dates and festivals everywhere – including, tadaa!, the evening stage in Jericho Beach Park.