Stir Cheat Sheet: 4 standout songs streaming at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival
From a Mexican-flavoured party starter to trips into blues and Celtic fiddle, here are a few online highlights
Locarno
WHILE THEY’RE being performed online instead of at scenic Jericho Park this year, the concerts streaming via the Vancouver Folk Music Festival right now still re-create some of the gathering’s world-sound magic.
You can stream the free, specially filmed shows through July 25, from the comfort of your couch. Here are some of the lineup’s highlights, from the meditative to the uplifting. And you won’t have to shake the sand out of your sandals afterward.
Locarno’s “El Regalo”
Get the party started at the Rickshaw, with the big Latin-roots sound of this multi-instrumental Vancouver band, in a song they say gives thanks to the gift of music. Mexican-born lead singer Tom Landa and Pedro Mota on launch with guitar rhythms, layering on Kalissa Landa’s violin, and then the bold horn section. It builds to a fun, festive climax that will make you reach for the margaritas.
Vashaan Ensemble’s “Mystery of Love”, by Saina Khaledi’s
The big draw here is watching acclaimed Vancouver musician Khaledi work her featherweight mezrabs (mallets) at lightning speed over the Persian hammered dulcimer called the santur. Reza Honari on the bowed kamanche, Ali Sajjadi on the entrancing oud, and Hamin Honari on the drum keep the driving rhythm for one of the ensemble’s most mesmerizing numbers. (Copresented with the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra.)
Paul Pigat’s “John Henry”
Paul Pigat turns on the slow-burn for a bluesy Boxcar Campfire song that shows off his Warren Murfitt-crafted black beauty of an electric guitar. Backed by veteran players—bassist Rob Becker, guitarist Tim Hearsey, and drummer Chris Nordquist—it’s a song that makes you think of bathtub Bourbon and tin-roof shacks deep in the woods of the Mississippi Delta. Added bonus: they’re playing in a wood-planked studio surrounded by cowboy hats, saddles, and all form of farm memorabilia.
Jocelyn Petit Band’s “Caravan”
And speaking of being transported, the West Coast fiddler dances through the heady Celtic sounds of Britanny, Norway, and Scotland with this concert opener, filmed at the Kay Meek Centre. It’s a beautiful showcase not just for the haunting flourishes of her violin, but for some crack whistle playing by Erik Musseau.
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