Just when winter has really set in. Coldsnap Music Festival presents a great variety of shows with musical acts performing at several venues throughout Prince George from Jan. 18 to 26.
Offered up by the Prince George Folkfest Society, the line up of talent is from the region and around the nation.
"We are a community-oriented festival," said Sue Judge, artistic director of Coldsnap. "We try to use the resources that we have to present music to as many people as we can, including the (free) workshops, our local talent nights, and the regional bands on the mainstage like King Crow from Terrace."
The workshops are considered particularly important to festival organizers, she added.
"They are quite popular with the artists because they have that interaction with their audience and it gives the audience the opportunity to see artists that they wouldn't ordinarily get to see," said Judge. "The overall feel of the festival is to try to reach as many different people as possible. We've expanded this year by adding an Aboriginal evening on Jan. 20, which I'm really excited about. These are fantastic artists who are role models of positive influences for everybody, really. The whole idea is to promote communication and inclusivity. The French Canadian night is for everyone to just get up and dance."
To kick off the event Friday, Jan. 18, there's a dance at the Ramada ballroom at 7:30 p.m., featuring rising Vancouver indie stars Shred Kelly, along with 2011 Peak Performance winners Current Swell and Prince George Idol winner Chazz Amos.
Jan. 19 sees Hang on to Yer Kilts!, an electric, funky Celtic evening at the Ramada Ballroom at 7:30 p.m., featuring Prince George singer, Andrew McFayden, King Crow, the Ladies from Hell and multi award-winning East Coast musician Troy MacGillvray and Friends.
To celebrate northern spirit the Jan. 20 concert at the Prince George Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. will feature Aboriginal musician Divet, a contemporary artist who focuses on removing the barriers and stereotypes that face Aboriginal people while Winnipeg music-scene star, Don Amero, has been described as John Mayer meets Toby Keith.
There's a local artist showcase Jan. 21, featuring Raghu Lokanathan at 7 p.m., The Salt Water Brothers at 7:30, Said Dog at 8 p.m., Ali Henry with Eric Thompkins at 8:30 and on Jan. 22 more local talents take to the stage, including Keith Cummings, who performs at 7 p.m., Derek Joyce at 7:30, Rosewoods Diary at 8 p.m. and Statistics at 8:30 p.m. at Art Space, above Books & Co., 1685 Third Avenue. These events are by suggested donation of $10 per person.
Strings & Things takes place Jan. 23 at Art Space at 7:30 p.m. featuring virtuoso vocals and guitar by past festival favourites, Dala, and the YouTube, finger-picking guitar sensation from Toronto, Ewan Dobson.
Matt Epp and Jake Morley are featured Jan. 24 during the beards and bards concert at Art Space at 7:30 p.m., while folk fusion sees the Daniel Lapp Trio and Pharis & Jason Romero at the Prince George Playhouse at 7:30 on Jan. 25. The folksy husband-and-wife duo Pharis and Jason Romero of Horsefly share their captivating sound, followed by the lively Daniel Lapp Trio, marking a return to Prince George for the show-stealing fiddler but the first time he has performed at Coldsnap.
Things come full circle with the final event taking place at the Ramada Ballroom as Coldsnap partners with Le Cercle des Canadiens Francais de Prince George for Danse, Danse, Danse, an evening of French-Canadian folk music with Vazzy and the Quebecois musician, Yves Lambert.
For all the details on Coldsnap 2013 visit www.coldsnapfestival.com/coldsnap2013.
Stay tuned for more information about the free workshops offered by the musicians, where the public gets an inside look into a variety of themes. Check the website for more updates.
