Planning out your itinerary and all the logistics that go into attending the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues music festival is a job in itself. However, festival organizers are here to help.
The Salmon Arm Folk Music Society, which runs Roots and Blues, has announced the acts playing its evening stages Aug. 19, 20 and 21 at the Salmon Arm Fairgrounds.
The Friday night Mainstage features three acts that cover a lot of musical ground.
Kicking off the evening will be aboriginal band Digging Roots, led by Raven Kanetakta and ShoShona Kish, who will be followed by another critically acclaimed Ontario band, Great Lake Swimmers and Vancouver bluegrass artist John Reischman and the Jaybirds.
Closing out the night will be folk-roots icons Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle, who will deliver a 90-minute set that includes new original songs, You’re Right (I’m Wrong) and Happy & Free.
A recent Colvin & Earle show saw the duo covering The Beatles’ Baby’s In Black, The Everly Brothers’ Wake Up Little Susie, and Townes Van Zandt’s classic Pancho and Lefty. Those choice interpretations stood alongside Earle classics such as Galway Girl, The Devil’s Right Hand and Copperhead Road and Colvin gems Sunny Came Home and Another Long One.
The Friday night Bar-N stage lineup includes performances by Celtic folk-rockers Tiller’s Folly and a Blues Jukebox Heaven set, directed by David Gogo, who will be joined by Crystal Shawanda, Tim Williams and Sugar Brown.
The night will close with Toronto duo kLoX and their pulsating electronica and roots-influenced grooves.
The Saturday night main stage lineup will reach a crescendo with a special Roots and Blues tailored show featuring The Sojourners and special guests Jerry Lawson of Persuasions fame and Eric Bibb.
Little Feat’s Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett and the all-star band, The New Orleans Suspects, will kick the night off with a funky southern hit-filled show.
Canada’s acclaimed classical, folk-rooted ensemble Quartetto Gelato, with virtuoso guest Joe Craven, will add a sultry and spicy mix to the evening before giving way to Canadian roots darlings Whitehorse, featuring power couple Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland.
The Bar-N will rock until late Saturday evening with performances by some of this nation’s finest young electric-roots acts, including The Bros. Landreth and Shred Kelly doing stand-alone shows.
Saturday will wrap up with the fiery musical mash-up called Locarnoval, orchestrated by Vancouver’s Locarno, who will be drawing on the considerable talents of Delhi 2 Dublin and kLoX.
Sunday night will feature main stage shows from both Amy Helm and her band The Handsome Strangers from Woodstock, N.Y. and New Brunswick blues sensation Matt Andersen, who will be closing the show with Joe Craven acting as emcee.
Roots and Blues will go out with a bang in the Bar-N as Samantha Martin, the New Orleans Suspects, American blues guitarist Jarekus Singleton and Delhi 2 Dublin send patrons home physically and emotionally drained.
Roots and Blues will be announcing all the collaborative and thematic workshops and day side-stage concerts soon. For more information and tickets, call 250-833-4096 or visit rootsandblues.ca.
