*Karla Anderson (AB) Intimate and direct songs with understated-but-powerful instrumentation.

*Annie Lou (YT) Northern solitude and grit wrapped in Southern old time string band music from songwriters Anne Louise Genest and Kim Barlow.

*Asani (AB) Fresh traditional Aboriginal vocals incorporate jazz and blues, underpinned by drums and rattles.

*Natacha Atlas (UK) Electronic beats fuse with North African and Arabic sounds, often in collaboration with a diversity of international artists.

*Avett Brothers (USA) This high-flying ensemble incites stomping audience sing-a-longs with theirbrotherly harmonies and twangy acoustic punkgrass.

*Axis of Conversation (AB) A broken-hearted dance party of strings, samples and stolen noises covered in Canadian snow.

*Baskery (Sweden) Three sisters perform high voltage bluegrass with a no-holds-barred punk attitude.

*Bette & Wallet (NS) Foraged fiddle tunes, unearthed melodies and repurposed lyrics that synthesize Maritime and Quebec traditions.

*Debashish Bhattacharya (India) Ground-breaking slide guitarist renowned for his dynamic improvised raga music and broad-ranging musical grounding.

*Greg Brown (USA) A wickedly sharp observer of the human condition with a worldly hillbilly's take on the poetry of love and grooves from the Delta, the plains and hills.

*The Burning Hell (ON) A cinematic multi-instrumental circus built around the black wit and cracked genius of songwriter and history teacher Mathias Kom.

*Caracol (QC) Her acoustic music is filled with raw emotion and draws from folk and Jamaican rocksteady with an indie-pop and vintage '50s feel.

*The Cat Empire (Australia) Mashup a smorgasbord of ferocious grooves into their own funky musical hybrid.

*Coolooloosh (Israel/USA) The cultures and streets of Jerusalem and Baltimore are personified in a fresh hip-hop-jazz-funk mash-up.

*Delhi 2 Dublin (BC) A dubwise, Bhangra-based electro-acoustic collaboration that meshes Irish and North Indian folk melodies.

*DJ Dolores (Brazil) Rooted inventive electronic beats from northern Brazil villages that engage the mind and motivate the feet.

*DJ Logic (USA) This master turntablist and collaborator mixes tablas into drum 'n' bass, re-imagines jazz, co-anchors rock bands and meshes MCs with Afro-Cuban rhythms.

*Dojo Workhorse (AB) Dan Vacon and gang create soulful, honest rock with an eclectic fusion of backing vocals and instruments.

*El Puchero del Hortelaño (Spain) A quintessential Andalusian band constructs urban flamenco rock with a unique twist.

*e.s.l. (BC) Uniquely orchestrated songs that range from heartbreaking ballads to roaring gypsy-punk dance numbers.

*David Essig (BC) Wise songwriting from a virtuoso instrumentalist who's penned classic Canadian folk songs from Delta blues, bluegrass and country roots.

*Etran Finatawa (Niger) Hypnotic nomad's desert bluesunites theWodaabe and Touareg tribes on an evolving journey built around laid-back guitars, driving rhythms and compelling voices.

*Roberta Flack (USA) This musical legend has been killing us softly with her insightful and effortless soul for over 40 years.

*Michael Franti and Spearhead (USA) A global troubadour who moves hearts, minds and limbs with his passionate soulful and funky protest music.

*Fribo (UK) Fresh and inventive 'nu-Nordic' artists explore historical links between British, Irish and Nordic traditions.

*Chris Gheran (AB) has a working man's demons to exorcise, complaints to make and passions to turn into tunes that pulse in your right brain.

*Ghostkeeper (AB) Idiosyncratic stories told through raw outsider blues and heartfelt pop.

*Thea Gilmore (UK) Sharp, astute songs that are deceptively populist and deceitfully dark.

*Haydamaky (Ukraine) Exotic, daringmusic that melds traditional sounds with the heavy groove of a punk rhythm section.

*Joe Henry (USA) Producer extraordinaire and the creator of memorable, intelligent lullabies that detail the lives of heroes and ordinary folks.

*Hill Country Revue (USA) Modern southern rock and blues represents a return to Northern Mississippi's juke-joint one-chord trance blues.

*Robin Holcomb (USA) This pianist and cultural iconoclast's adventurous compositions are elegantly simple and utterly original.

*Honeybear (AB/US) Low-key, mesmerizing and charming indie-folk songs built around the ukulele.

*Jon and Roy (BC) Intoxicating new urban folk with worldly influences and sounds.

*Jordan Klassen (AB) Quietly intricate, delicate melodies with poetic and whimsical lyrics.

*Konono N°1 (Congo) Thumb-piano wizards create distortion-fuelled traditional trance music on their home-made sound system.

*Library Voices (SK) Sophisticated hooks and melodies plus complex harmonies and anthemic choruses.

*Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans (AB) Original, 21st century punk-influenced country music and vivid depictions of the Canadian west.

*Madison Violet (ON) Channel vintage music into tumbleweed pop loaded with harmonies, stringed instruments and lovely tales of heartache and loss.

*Dan Mangan (BC) His trademark rootsy laments use razor-sharp phrasing and sage poetry to evoke the wonder and absurdity of everyday life.

*Man Man (USA) Torchbearers of the unusual, these enigmatic multi-instrumental experimental rockers create strange, beautiful and profound sounds.

*Laura Marling (UK) A Victorian ghost sent to the future, she constructs acoustically lush indie folk around her husky voice and dark insightful songs.

*Mauvais Sort (QC) Reinvented Quebecois music through a global exploration of old folk rhythms.

*The Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Project (BC/USA) Steve Dawson and his stellar band create modernized 1930s country blues with co-conspirators Robin Holcomb, Del Rey and Geoff Muldar.

*Geoff Muldaur (USA) A singular approach to American music from a producer, composer and roots music force.

*Ohbijou (ON) A seven piece pop orchestra whose tender compositions eulogize humbling encounters in a city's changing streets.

*OX (ON) Textured dust bowl soundscapes make an alt-country/indie hybrid.

*Po' Girl (BC) Homespun urban roots music that's fluid and joyous with back-porch harmonies and a sultry ambience.

*Finley Quaye (UK/USA) His multifaceted, multi-ethnic catalogue mashes pure pop to the underground, characterized by his sweet voice and feel for a soul groove.

*Peatbog Faeries (Scotland) The future of Celtic dance music is an adventurous melting pot of fragmented fiddle and pipe tunes, deep dub bass lines and spacey electronics.

*Steve Pineo (AB) His large bag of songs, virtuosity and versatility have made him an oft-covered songwriter.

*Del Rey (USA) Country blues, ragtime, classic jazz and hillbilly boogie through the sensibility of an autodidact trailer-park esthete.

*Romantica (USA) Catchy, richly arranged pop-folk with rural influences, from Minnesota via Ireland.

*Tom Russell (USA) A quintessential songwriter whose music and powerful observations help reinvent the Americana genre.

*Shakura S'Aida (ON) gives life to '40s and '50s blues, performs original, funky, boundary-pushing songs and acts in films and theatre.

*Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens (USA) Authentic, classic and rich soul music characterized by her sweet raspy tones and backed by a smooth band.

*JR Shore (AB) At the crossroads between Texas and Alberta lives the musical soul of this storyteller, social commentator and performer.

*Samantha Savage-Smith (AB) Sparse, stripped-down accompaniments support her strong voice and lyrics inspired by a love of classic songs.

*Stars (QC) Loved for their knack for creating melodic, literate, sophisticated pop songs in a natural, off-the-cuff manner.

*St. Vincent (US) After time in the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens's band, multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark's solo work is cinematic, eerie and dramatic.

*Sunparlour Players (ON) Dark-but-delicate rhythms from folk revivalists who find poetry in their own backyard.

*The Swell Season (USA) At the group's core are the stars and songwriters of the sleeper hit film Once, The Frames's Glen Hansard and classically-trained Czech pianist/vocalist Marketa Irglova.

*Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir (USA) The spirit, history and sounds of African America are brought to harmonic, percussive life.

*Timber Timbre (ON) His sound is characterized by a confident, hushed voice, understated guitar, strings, keyboard flourishes and a subtle beat.

*Frank Turner (UK) Folk-punk strummery from a post-millennial troubadour whovociferously preaches the gospel of action.

*Ian Tyson (AB) has forged a distinctive trail over his long career; his new songs reflect Alberta's cultural landscape and the disappearing cowboy.

*Ukrainia (ON) From the streets of Kyiv to Ottawa, they'll kick your kishka with vintage Ukrainian music, hardened by the members' rock roots.

*United Steelworkers of Montreal (QC) Play a unique brand of blue-collar swing and gospel-based alt-country featuring historical ballads, dry wit and tall tales.

Additional Info
Don’t Let the Folk Fool You: Calgary Folk Festival Defies ...
Festival Director's recommendations for things to do in and around ...
Festival by-the-numbers
Full List of Performers - 31st Calgary Folk Music Festival

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