Folk singer Angela Harris

Musicians, dancers, poets and singers from around the world and across the street will gather at Jericho Beach Park on July 14-16, 2006 for Vancouver's 29th annual celebration of traditional and contemporary folk and roots music.

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival has established itself as a major event on the world folk and roots music circuit. This summer celebration challenges audiences to expand their understanding and appreciation of what 'folk' can mean in a global context, brings attention to exciting young artists who are pushing the boundaries, honours the elders of the tradition, and creates new zones for experimentation, improvisation and education.

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival features more than 70 hours of music on eight outdoor stages -- three evenings of mainstage concerts and two full days of performances throughout the park.

Programming highlights of the 2006 Festival will include Festival debut appearances by Montréal’s eight-member afro-beat crew Afrodizz, tradition pioneers The New Lost City Ramblers and Zar,a young band blending Danish and Celtic traditions.

Indiaspora, an exploration of the music of the Indian diaspora, brings together artists from the heart of Vancouver’s bhangra scene, Grammy-Award winner Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and his son Salil Bhatt, visionary vocalist Najma whose love of ghazals brought Anglo-Asian music to the world and The Angel Brothers’ fusion of North Indian, Afro-Caribbean and Andalusian traditions reflecting life in modern Northern England.

Toronto’s Lal will add sensual South Asian beats and rhymes while Montreal’s Ganesh Anandam’s project, Ga Gi, is truly ancient to the future.

Returning to the Festival are long-time favourites such as Dan Bern, bringing a punk perspective to folk, Ruthie Foster weaving her roots in blues and gospel into music that can fill an entire festival, James Keelaghan, one of Canada’s finest balladeers, and of course the Festival’s beloved godfather, Utah Phillips.

Dub Me Up! salutes dub music’s role as a revolutionary force in contemporary music since its birth in Jamaica in the early 1970s. Joining us in the Park will be Canada’s dub poetry originators Lillian Allen and Clifton Joseph, Vienna’s Dubblestandart fronted by UK/Jamaica’s infamous Ari Up, and BC’s own Big Bass Theory and local dub stars Jacob Cina and Third Eye Tribe.

To warm up for the event, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival goes Live on the Drive with a free open-air public concert in Grandview Park from 4:30 to 8 pm on July 12, with special guest hosts and surprise performances by Festival artists.

This will be followed by a series of intimate mini-concert performances at Rime café on Commercial Drive at 8 pm and 11 pm, July 12, and 8 pm and 11 pm Thursday, July 13.

The Grandview Park concert will be broadcast as part of CBC Radio’s Sounds Like Summer series and is co-presented by the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, CBC Radio One, CBC Radio Two and Britannia Community Services Centre.

For more info on the music on the beach for this magical weekend, visit www.thefestival.bc.ca