Feist came home to a sold-out crowd at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, November 21, 2011. Bry Webb opened.

If you love ‘em, so they say, set ‘em free. That, at least, is that rationale taken by fans of Secret Broadcast, a beloved once-local atmospheric rock act who’ve moved to greener — ahem, greyer — pastures in Toronto. As a parting gift, the band cut 2009’s Exploding Spiders, the record that landed the band considerable notoriety and incredulous reviews. (“The best thing that’s come out of Calgary since, well, ever,” writes the Georgia Straight. Tommy Chong is pissed.)

Fast forward to the present, and the band’s making its first appearance in Calgary — that'll be on Saturday, July 30 at the Marquee Room — since early 2010. And, as it turns out, they’re also armed with a batch of new songs from their upcoming album, Hungry Ghosts, set for release in September … Read More

My monthly limit of photo uploads on Flickr is maxed out, so a lot of the photos I would like to have included in this slideshow will have to wait until August before being posted.

Sunday was another fabulous day, and one suited to round out the Calgary Folk Music Festival perfectly. Although I left halfway through due to a combination of exhaustion, sunburn and other commitments, there were plenty of acts that I managed to take in during the time I was there.

The day started off with Raleigh, who are quickly becoming one of my favourite local acts. The harmonies created by Brock Geiger and Clea Anais are absolutely stunning, and the gorgeous cello and always changing time signatures only add to the fun.

The same stage was filled by … Read More

Fast Forward Weekly caught up with poet, beatboxer, singer and playwright C.R. Avery on Sunday afternoon behind the stage 5 tent.

James Wilt: How’s the festival been for you so far?
C.R. Avery: Oh, it’s been lovely. It’s been good. You having a good time?

JW: Of course. How have the collaborations been?
CA: Wonderful. I just played with Joseph Arthur, Imaginary Cities and the Head and the Heart. I really connected with those.

JW: So when did you start beatboxing through a harmonica?
CA: They just kind of fell into each other in one show. I was doing blues and the hip hop thing, and I thought that it might be a dorky thing to do. It turned into my meal ticket.

JW: When did you start getting into slam poetry?
CA: It was more freestyle. I was living in Hamilton, and would … Read More

Geoff Berner, when quizzed about the Calgary Folk Music Festival's workshops earlier this week, said it best: "There's a creative risk," he said. "It could be really good or really bad." Braids' Austin Tufts and Katie Lee, in an interview yesterday, reiterated the sentiment — they, unlike those predisposed to free-form jamming, felt they were a band whose music was calculated. For them, jamming with complete strangers was a question mark — as it always is for audiences.

So, there have been hits. There have been misses. And if there's a common narrative to 2011's workshops, it's that klezmer-oddball MC Socalled has been a part of this year's best. Here, according to myself at Fast Forward Weekly's James Wilt, are our top collaborations. In no … Read More