The Montreal Folk Festival has a new home

The Montreal Folk Festival began eight years ago on a small outdoor stage at the Terrasse St-Ambroise, but has since outgrown those modest origins. This year’s edition will run from June 17 – June 21 at the sprawling Esplanade du Centenaire, just south of the Lachine Canal, and walking distance from the festival’s roots at Terrasse St-Ambroise.

This year’s lineup includes a half dozen ticketed indoor shows, including the legendary Bruce Cockburn, Tom Rush, Cuban-Canadian singer Alex Cuba, and The Echo Hunters. In addition to the higher-profile ticked events, there are dozens of free outdoor shows, including sets from Basia Bulat and The Stray Birds, as well as official late-night after-shows at neighbourhood watering hole Bar de Courcelle.

The festival has always had a family-friendly approach, which this year includes a larger family camping zone, where up to 100 families can camp out beside the canal on Saturday night. In an effort to give back to the South-West Borough that has been home to the festival since its start, festival organgizers have expanded the Lhasa de Sela Youth Bursary for Excellence in Music, which provides financial support and mentorship for two young musicians in need each year, along with the opportunity to perform at the festival.

We caught up with the festival’s founder Matt Large to discuss what to look forward to from this year’s edition, and how the festival has evolved over the years. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit montrealfolkfest.com.

Montreal has no shortage of festivals; what was the initial goal with Montreal Folk Fest?

Although we are known as a festival city, we have never had a high-profile Folk Fest like other Canadian cites (Edmonton, Winnipeg, Mariposa, etc.). Our goal was to provide a family-friendly cultural space for Montrealers. The South-West Borough has embraced us, as have both Municipal Government and businesses, and it is our home.

How has the festival evolved over the past eight years?

Very slowly and very conservatively. We feel blessed to have public and private support and are very concerned about how we allocate those resources. We built the festival slowly, always booking amazing talent, offering a family-friendly environment, serving amazing food and beverages, and caring about our guests.

How did the decision to host the festival in the South-West Borough come about?

Peter McAuslan was a major supporter of our efforts from day one. One of the original co-founders, Dave Cool, who now works for an amazing company called Bandzoogle, was working at McAuslan at the time, and he built our first stage, so that we could offer the first edition of the Folk Fest at the Terrasse St-Ambroise.

The South-West Borough soon jumped on board as a major sponsor, and as we moved sites to Îlot Charlevoix, they stuck with us. Now, on our new site at Esplanade du Centenaire, the borough is more integrated than ever. It is such a great place to be.

What can you tell us about the new outdoor location (Esplanade du Centenaire)?

It is a great green space located just south of our namesake, the Lachine Canal. We encourage people to come to Folk Fest by metro Place St.Henri, or bike along the bike path and leave your bike with us in our free bike depot. You can drive, of course, to roughly St. Patrick and Pitt, and there you will find street parking in the neighbourhood, or there will be a lot across the street available for a fee.

We will have three stages running Friday night, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Food trucks galore! McAuslan brew and wine by the glass. Please don’t bring any outside alcohol. A huge Family Area including activities for kids of all sizes, and Saturday night camping under the stars.

Parts of the South-West Borough have become fairly gentrified over the last few years; has the festival had to adapt to that neighbourhood change in any way?

I can’t say that any of the gentrification the south-west is experiencing has affected the fest in any way. There are always two sides to the gentrification of urban spaces; from our standpoint, however, the amazing people doing business in the south-west, creating art in the south-west, and living in the south-west, have become part of our growing family.

How did the Lhasa de Sela Youth Bursary for Excellence in Music come about?

Although the south-west is attracting new residents who have some sort of financial privilege, there are still many in the community who need a little help. We understand how much the community supports us; without that support we wouldn’t exist, so we wanted to give back. Lhasa was an inspiration to so many around the world, but particularly in Montreal. When it came time to name the bursary, our choice was clear. Lhasa’s family gave us the go ahead and we began the search for recipients in earnest. This year, we are so pleased to be able to support a young saxophone player and a young singer from the south-west.

Which acts are you most excited to see at this year’s edition?

This is not at all fair, because we really love all the acts we have booked. Every act has something extraordinary to share. But personally I am stoked for Bound and Tethered, a young duo to watch, The Stray Birds will blow your mind, The Slocan Ramblers are the best young bluegrass band in the country, and Bruce Cockburn is a seminal artist who we have wanted to present for a long time.

The Montreal Folk Festival runs from June 17 – June 21. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit montrealfolkfest.com.