The first Edmonton Folk Music Festival was held in 1980 as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of Alberta. It took place in Gold Bar Park. The festival was such a success that it became a regular event. The next year, the EFMF moved to its current venue, beautiful downtown Gallagher Park located on the southern slope of the North Saskatchewan River valley. The festival draws thousands of people from around the world, performers and spectators alike.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival showcases various subgenres and styles of folk music, including folk rock, country, Celtic, gospel, blues, bluegrass, roots, worldbeat, and others. Past main stage performers at the festival include world-renowned artists and bands such as Michael Franti, David Byrne, Van Morrison, Neko Case, David Gray, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Steve Earle, Norah Jones, Loreena McKennitt, Oysterband, Great Big Sea, Stan Rogers, Joni Mitchell, k.d. lang, and others.
The festival has six stages that host concerts, jam sessions and workshops during the daytime hours. In addition to main stage and side stage concerts by individual artists and bands, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has artists collaborate on shared stages. On-site services include food and beverage vendors, beer garden, family area, crafts, recording and memorabilia sales, and more.
The festival relies on over 2,000 volunteers which helps to keep ticket prices down and makes the event affordable to a wide audience. The EFMF is a not-for-profit event dedicated to showcasing the best of folk music. It is supported by corporate sponsors and donations.
The festival is extremely successful and sells out very quickly. Tickets usually go on sale in early June (equally divided between online and in-person sales) and the line-up is always announced on the Wednesday before ticket sales open. The EFMF draws about 20,000 attendees per day, which makes it one of the biggest music events in North America, as well as one of the world's most popular folk festivals.
Photo: edmontonfolkfest.org
