A veteran of earlier Roots & Blues festivals is returning for this year’s festival following a life-altering accident.
Roy Forbes who has dedicated himself to being a singer-songwriter since 1971, was rendered legally blind by a household accident in December.
Forbes underwent several surgeries over the last six months in an effort to save his damaged eye and now despite his loss of vision he is returning to the stage.
“I’ve done five shows so far and it kind of energized me in a way. I’m trying to look at this thing in a positive way because that’s the only way you can do it. I’m just going to keep moving forward,” he said. Forbes said that his loss of vision hasn’t affected his playing but has changed the physicality of his performance, leaving him unable to stray far from the microphone. Connecting with the audience through applause and energy has always been more important than seeing them for Forbes, who said he regularly performed with his eyes closed even before the accident. Forbes is returning to Roots & Blues for the first time since 2003 and also performed in the festival’s early years with his group UHF. Forbes described his sound as eclectic acoustic roots music but stressed that it is accented by a variety of different influences.
“All my life I’ve been immersed in music, so my own music is sort of a microcosm of all the music that’s influenced me,” he said.
Forbes’ three newest songs, which will be featured in his set at the festival, show his diverse influences. He described one as a soul ballad, another as a finger picked folk song and a third with noticeable Latin or calypso influences.
“In the end, I sound like me.”
Forbes said he was especially excited to meet and share the stage with Jerry Lawson, vocalist for a cappella group, The Persuasions.
Forbes will be performing at the Shade Stage on Saturday afternoon as well as running workshops on both Saturday and Sunday morning. Forbes said that he was excited for the festival both as an opportunity to meet old friends from the folk music scene but also to see new acts.
“You go to see your favourites, but that thrill of discovery of hearing something you’ve never heard before and liking it is the mojo that festivals have. That’s the thing that keeps people coming back again and again.”
