The Friday nooner was in thanks to sponsors and guests. The old guard from the early years were there and reminiscences and laughter ruled. The festival collared us, one by one to pose for archival photos. Brunch and drinks were provided. I think it was Mariachi Ghost who performed on stage, providing an energetic backdrop to the goings on.
I was dozy by mid-afternoon and wandered over to Stage 5 where Kassa Overall, Ethan de L’Air and Arlo Maverick swapped leads. It was a loud and driving backdrop but I managed to doze off, laying in the shade. Somewhat refreshed, I moved on to the big Stage 6 tent where Lightfoot’s daughter, Meredith Moon, and band were performing. This was a surprise discovery. Meredith is a pleasant singer with some very nice songs in her repertoire. Backed on guitar, fiddle and stand up bass and performing on guitar and banjo she presented “Poseidon,” “Soldier’s Joy,” “Louisiana Trees” and “Spanish Steps.” On “East City Blues,” she offered a whistling break, which was well received. Meridith earned a bunch of new fans with this set.
I headed back to the beer garden to pick up a cider then wandered over to Stage 4 for “Fair Play,” where Leif Vollebeck, Wild Rivers, James Vincent McMorrow and Leith Ross were collaborating before a packed out crowd. Adding licks and harmony vocals was the name of the game and good fun was had by all. Leif launched into “Purple Rain” with the guitarists swapping electric leads. They closed down with a sing-along on “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” that morphed into “Helpless.” A great end to a fun session.
Margaret Glaspy and band were first up on the main stage offering high energy rock and strong singing. Tweener Benj Rowland performed on guitar and hurdy gurdy with nice vocals. Bab L’Buz from Morocco were loud and exotic with singer Yousra Mansourmof performing on an odd, electric, two-neck guitar and three-string something or other (oud?) combo. I headed over to the food trucks, opting for Vietnamese this time.
Tweener Allegra Kreiger performed on electric guitar, with compelling vocals and edgy, obscure lyrics. She hooked some fans. Wild Rivers were next, a tasty ensemble that featured the lilac-haired lead singer Devon Glover. Lead guitarist Khalid Yassein provided nice breaks and the band closed to loud cheers. I missed Julianna Riolino’s tweener spot that led into the penultimate slot with The Cowboy Junkies. I’m afraid, my impression of this group has been colored by their dubious behavior at the Canmore festival several years back, a sentiment shared by several friends. That said, I can’t really give an objective assessment of their performance as, by this point, I was seriously fading. They started off with “Sweet Jane” that began with a lot of distorted lead guitar. I spaced out after that and, after chatting with friends, called it a night.
