Vancouver Folk Music Festival announces 2023 early-bird tickets now on sale; provides sneak peek at lineup
Among the confirmed artists are Celeigh Cardinal, Susan O’Neill, Blick Bassy, and Las Cafeteras
Vancouver Folk Music Festival—taking place July 14 to 16 at Jericho Beach Park—announced today that early-bird tickets are now on sale. It’s also offering a sneak peek at four confirmed acts for the 46th annual fest, which almost didn’t happen. (In case you somehow missed it, read the full back story on just how close the beloved festival nearly ceased to be entirely here.)
The full 2023 festival line up will be announced in early May.
Among the 2023 artists are Susan O’Neill, who hails from Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. The singer-songwriter has been described as “audacity personified, a free spirit, a real performer” with a timeless voice that’s “equal parts balm and blowtorch”.
A Métis soul-folk songstress from the Northern Prairies, Celeigh Cardinal (pictured at top). who’s “quickly becoming one of the great Canadian voices”, won the 2020 Juno award for Indigenous album of the year, for Stories from a Downtown Apartment.
Cameroonian-born singer-songwriter Blick Bassy blends the blues with samba, bossa nova, folk, and other genres into a sound all his own, singing in his native Bassa.
Las Cafeteras, a Chicano band from East Los Angeles, fuses spoken word and folk music with traditional son jarocho. The group sings about civil rights, the United Farm Workers, immigration, and more as a means to help foster positive change.
“Thanks to an outpouring of support and a lot of folks' hard work, dedication and enthusiasm, we’ve made major progress in a very short time,” Erin Mullan and Anne Blaine stated on behalf of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society’s board of directors in a release. “A 46th annual festival is really happening! The board has been busy meeting together, and with many others, to plan, rebuild, finance and organize the presentation of the 2023 VFMF based on last year’s version. Artists are being engaged, festival operations are gearing up, staff is coming on board, and we’re thrilled that tickets are now on sale. We’re looking forward to the exciting work yet to come, and to seeing you in the park again this summer. We thank you all for your continued support!
Early Bird weekend passes at adult, elder, student and youth rates are on sale until June 5. Early-birds are the most affordable tickets of the year, with prices going up on June 6.
More information is here.
Related Articles
In new film at Vancouver Short Film Festival, the well-known influencer and stylist digs movingly into what it means to raise a teen girl these days
Arthur Arnold conducts Alexander Mosolov’s Symphony No. 3, a brooding yet joyful work with a storied history
This final edition of North Van Arts’ long-running annual event features engaging music and glowing images, all in serene outdoor settings
Intimate duet to begin with no end explores the artists’ respective religions with care and intensity
Shows range across disciplines, from the Australian dance-and-drumming offering Manifesto to the roundtable discussion Listening as Activism
A world premiere from Johannesburg-based composer Thuthuka Sibisi is on the program, with Christopher Gaze as master of ceremonies
The 18th annual edition of the wide-ranging event builds thriving community by emphasizing historical and cultural diversity
Gryphon Trio and Marion Newman lead a powerful performance that confronts historical trauma through poetry, music, and film
Plenty is in store, from Portuguese fado singer Carminho to cooking star Yotam Ottolenghi, culture-fusing songstress Arooj Aftab, and beyond
Singer-songwriter journeys through heartbreak and joy in North Shore Jazz concert as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival
Dutch accordionist Erica Roozendaal explores themes of abuse and childhood instability in her heartfelt solo performance
Performance stars creator Rick Maddocks alongside flamenco dancer Maria Avila, soprano vocalist Dory Hayley, and talented musicians
Astrolabe Musik Theatre presents Farshid Samandari’s The Greater Sea and Gheorghi Arnaoudov’s Notes of the Phantom Woman
Fuelled by curiosity and spontaneity, the acclaimed performer looks beyond the Chopin repertoire that made his name
All-ages show by Cause & Effect Circus incorporates high-level skills, inventive lighting, and fun sound effects
A guest of the Vancouver Chopin Society, the veteran musician risked it all to stand up against tyranny
Howard Dai’s Dream Machine pulls inspiration from Taiwanese game shows, while Paige Louter’s Nod acknowledges chronic fatigue
1 Santosh Santosh 2 Go touches on the model minority myth with hilarity and heart
Alt-rock band Meltt, D.O.A. frontman Joe Keithley, and singer-songwriter Ché Aimee Dorval are among the Burrard Stage highlights
Stellar local musicians play seminal, sassy funk in North Shore Jazz presentation as part of Vancouver International Jazz Festival
In renowned one-man show I Wish I Was a Mountain, the award-winning British poet leans on rhythm of deep musical influences
Wurlitzer organ, Azerbaijani folk music, rousing chorales, and more culminate in a Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performance at the Orpheum
Newest production to feature Sound the Alarm’s lineup of seasoned singers mines soundtracks of Disney and Hollywood classics
Three concerts at RockRidge Canyon resort in Princeton highlight chamber works prepared by the artists during a week-long intensive
Presented with Boca del Lupo, the accessible production by the U.K.’s Seven Circles encourages interactive learning
In Western Gold Theatre’s spare staging of Caryl Churchill’s taut, wry work, roles rotate across performances with some astonishing results
The violinist’s Fantasy Vignettes interweaves Baroque music, costume changes, and sewing machines