Ottawa’s CityFolk Festival kicks off Wednesday night on the Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park, marking its 30th anniversary with a wide variety of music.
The five-day festival will take place from Wednesday to Sunday.
CityFolk spokesperson, Joe Reillytold, told CTV Morning Live Wednesday the festival is a “fun way” to kick off the fall season and mark the end of summer.
“It’s kind of a little chill and we kind of love that about it,” Reilly said.
The festival started out as a small folk event in Victoria Island in 1994 — around the same time Ottawa Bluesfest started — before moving to Brittania Park.
When it started facing financial challenges, “the team with Bluesfest stepped in” to help and keep it going, he adds. That was when it was moved Hogs Back Park for several years.
It was moved to Lansdowne later, with a new name – CityFolk – and a wider scope of music, he says.
“So, there’s a bit of everything in there,” Riley added. “But there’s still some folky stuff at the core of it all.”
Here’s a sneak speak on some of the performers:
JUNO Award- wining singer-songwriter, Hawksley Workman, is kicking off the festival Wednesday with his folky ballads at 7:30 p.m.
“He can be rocking it out, and he can have beautiful quiet-folky ballads. And you never know when he’s going to serve up in his set,” Reilly said.
Explosions in the Sky will take to the stage with instrumental music on Friday at 7:20 p.m.
“It can be so provocative,” Reilly said while talking about their music. “It has the tendency to take you somewhere else.”
Half Moon Run is scheduled to play Saturday at 7:20 p.m.
Reilly says the band members met when they were students at McGill University and built a staged show that is difficult to miss.
Milky Chance will take to the stage Saturday at 8:45 p.m.
“The world is on fire for these guys,” Reilly said.
Wednesday:
The Beaches: 8:45 p.m., TD stage
Hawksley Workman: 7:30 p.m. a, FASKEN Stage
Softcult: 7:20 p.m. TD Stage
Pater: 6 p.m. at TD Stage
Thursday:
Gretta Van fleet: 8:45 p.m., TD Stage
Crown Lands: 7:20 p.m., TD Stage
Fred Eaglesmith: 7:40 p.m. FASKEN Stage
Charlie Edward: 6:00 p.m., TD Stage
Jacob River Milnes: 6:30 p.m., FASKEN Stage
The Tennessee Cree: 5:30 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Friday:
Rise against: 8:45 p.m., TD Stage
Explosions in the Sky: 7:20 p.m., TD Stage
Cat Power Sings Dylan ’66: 7:40 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Soen: 6 p.m., TD Stage
Kellie Loder: 6:30 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Amanda Lowe Warnakulasuriya: 5:30 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Cinno: 5 p.m., TD Stage
Saturday:
Milky Chance: 8:45, TD Stage
Half Moon Run: 7:20 p.m., TD Stage
Jamie Fine: 6 p.m., TD Stage
Katie Tupper: 7:40 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Alanna Sterling: 5:30 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Almyr Jules: 5 p.m., TD Plays the Plaza
John Muirhead: 6:30 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Sunday:
Jason Isbell and the 400 Units: 8:55 p.m., TD Stage
Maren Morris: 7:10 p.m., TD Stage
Alejandro Escovedo: 7:50 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Billianne: 6 p.m., FASKEN Stage
CityFolk Slam: 5:30 p.m., FASKEN Stage
Sonia.G: 5 p.m., Plays the Plaza
More information about the full lineup and schedule is available online.