johnnygee

It’s a very cool thing for the VFMF to present a band that’s pretty much as old as we are! “The Oyster Ceilidh Band” started out in 1978 as a dance band, but soon started experimenting with radical arrangements of…

In addition to being a multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, Lucy Ward‘s voice is breathtaking. She sings traditional English folk songs beautifully – and inspired by her roots in the folk tradition, writes her own songs about people, places, stories of her Derby home. She…

The Bills are a now-legendary quintet from Victoria, known far and wide for their instrumental virtuosity, beguiling vocals, explosive live performances, evocative songwriting – and for their innovative take on traditional tunes from around the globe. Hailed by The Glasgow Herald…

Lakou Mizik is a multi-generational collective of Haitian musicians formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The group includes elder legends and rising young talents, united in a mission to honor the healing spirit of their collective culture and communicate…

Betsayda Machado is a Venezuelan singer born in El Clavo, Barlovento, a community of rich Afro-Venezuelan traditions. Barlovento’s inhabitants are descendants of African workers who once tilled the cocoa fields, exploited by local land owners. Nicknamed ‘The Black Voice of Barlovento’,…

We all watched, riveted to our screens, as the 2011 people’s revolution to topple Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak voiced their decades-old feelings of anger and frustration in massive rallies and protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. And there, in the middle…

Become a festival volunteer! If you, or someone you know are interested in joining our highly esteemed volunteer team, please contact Patrice our volunteer coordinator at: volunteers@thefestival.bc.ca     Sell your stuff! Tell your story! Spots are still available for vendors and Community Village participants. For more info and to reserve your spot, email vendors@thefestival.bc.ca   Advertise!To…

Playing with renowned groups like Tinariwen and Terakaft, Faris Amine explored the music that’s been dubbed ‘Desert Blues.’ Listen to him play and sing, and hear the roots connection between American blues and the music of the Sahel and Sahara…

While a Brooklyn-ite, Hubby Jenkins performs the songs of his southern roots, revisiting the blues, African American string-band and jug band music, the gospel hollers, ragtime, jazz and dance floor tunes of the American south – and with roots in…

Meanwhile, a world away in Australia’s Northern Territory, a very young C.W. Stoneking was discovering the blues for himself by listening to an early compilation of his dad’s. That led him to Son House, Robert Johnson, Skip James and Bukka…