My first day at the Dawson City Music Festival started in Whitehorse on an early flight with many of the musicians up to play at the festival. A pretty extensive tour from the hotel van driver soon followed and the "blink and you'll miss it" city began to take shape.

At the peak of the gold rush, this Yukon city housed 30,000 people all hoping to make it rich on gold or the people looking for it. There are now 2,000 year-round residents and in the summer the population doubles. The annual music festival, now 33, takes over pretty  much every hall, venue and park. Already a home to lots of artists, the mix of tourists and regulars must be even more striking this weekend. Over coffee this morning on Front Street, I sat next to a German couple, then outside totally eavesdropped on these Southern gents on a park bench waiting for their wives to come out of the shops.

My first taste of music came via the live CBC North broadcast at the Oddfellows Hall. Shotgun Jimmie, Amelia Curran and Coole and Downes (Simone Downes of 100 Dollars). Then it was off to  MC the main outdoor venue for a pretty mad night of dancing care of Shotgun Jimmie and band, Shout Out Out Out Out and Rich Aucoin.

The sky only got a little dusky grey, the beer tent hopped all night, and steadily all the free condoms in the ladies' disappeared. The midnight sun is quite a heady thing.

Tonight it's the CBCRadio 3 showcase at the Palace Grand, but before that a rare apperance by Whitey Houston. I shall report back tomorrow...