CityFolk, formerly known as Ottawa Folk Festival, is located at Lansdowne Park. It is a four-day celebration of dance, music and community. It features a comprehensive mix of musical performances on a number of stages. On Saturday and Sunday 1-6PM, BSOMA KidZone offers special family and children’s performances.
The Aberdeen Pavilion offers craft vendors, Craft Beer Fair, souvenirs and gifts from anniversarygiftsbyyear.org and much more. Marvest is a part of CityFolk and offers over 70 free performances in the Glebe BIA. City Folk Festival is community-focused, culturally diverse, family-friendly, and committed to eco-friendly initiatives. The Festival aims at enhancing cultural life, encouraging a sense of community in participants and contributing to the economic activity of the city, the local community, and the region.
Some of the performances in the 2016 CityFolk music festival include; Celtic punk rockers Dropkick Murphys, rapper Lil B, Vance Joy and Guided By Voices rock band. The festival also features Canadian acts such as country singer Dean Brody, The New Pornographers, local singer-songwriter Jim Bryson, and indie rockers
Plant and Animals.
Back when the festival was called Ottawa Folk Festival, there were notable headliners such as Lorde in 2014 and Van Morrison in 2015 when the festival debuted. This year, the lineup of bands announced does not have an obvious headliner. When the festival’s artistic director, Mark Monahan was asked about the headliner issue. He stated that it is fantastic when such things happen, but this year will be somewhat different. He added that this year’s lineup will be less of a throwback and more current with focus in the alt-country or indie folk world.
Some 34 acts have since been confirmed including the electrifying The Last Waltz. The organizers are referring to The Last Waltz as a musical celebration of the iconic rock-and-rollers The Band.Mark Monahan told CBC Radio that people heading to CityFolk with their tickets will enjoy free rides this year. Monahan said that the cost of service is yet to be negotiated with the city. He added that it was something that required coordinated collaboration with the city. Monahan is of the opinion that the city and the festival have to work together in bringing people together through collaboration and partnership.
Monahan warned that there could be capacity problems at Lansdowne, similar to the ones experienced last year at the Horticulture Building. He pointed out that the venues have limited sizes that could cause the problems to recur. The team at CityFolk and its partners is working to improve the quality of sound at the Aberdeen Pavilion and Horticulture Building.
Monahan admitted that they needed to work extra smart on the sound considering both venues have slight problems with acoustic sound. The solutions designed for the sound problem include putting up a tent to create a more sound-friendly club atmosphere and hanging drapes inside the Horticulture Building. The 2016 City Folk festival will run from 15th to 18th September. Prices for the festival passes are $89 for a full festival pass and $59 for the youth pass. The festival passes are available at cityfolkfestival.com. Get the best of City Folk Festival and have the fun of your lifetime.