The second day of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival was a great one (aside from the fact that I lost my jacket, boohoo)!
Our first stop was the Big Rock Beer gardens of course, where we met up with Bryn, last year’s Grasshoppin’ Contest Winner! It was so nice to chat with her about our experiences and join forces in convincing people to enter for next year! Which you can do by clicking here!

After the beer gardens, we went to the hill to check out Gord Downie & the Country of Miracles. Our friends had a great spot on the hill and were generous enough to share their tarp with us.

After Gord Downie played, it was time for Ben Harper. He was supposed to be playing with his band the Relentless7, but unfortunately a band member was seriously ill and unable to perform, so instead Harper played an acoustic set of songs from throughout his entire musical career.
Prior to the concert, I had read some negative reviews of Ben’s work with Relentless7, saying that it was more loud & rocky than fans had come to expect from the normally chill Ben. Personally, I’m a bigger fan of rock n roll than Ben’s trademark chill funk, so I was kind of curious to see Relentless7. However, I’m sure I was in the minority and that many of his long-standing fans were actually more satisfied by his “greatest hits” set than they would have been had he played with the band.

Tonight we’re most excited to see Tanya Tagaq, an Inuit throat singer who has worked with the likes of Bjork and Kronos Quartet.
If anybody finds a black leather jacket at the festival, let me know! Ha!
Jenna

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If you want to live vicariously through Parker and Jenna this summer, follow Big Rock Brewery on Twitter or visit the Grasshoppin’ Contest Facebook Page.

But, if you want to BE Parker and Jenna next summer, enter the Grasshoppin’ Contest!

It’s been a little while since you’ve heard from our Grasshoppin’ Contest Winners.

Jenna and Parker recently wrapped up the third of five tour stops at the Calgary Folk Music Festival and then took the long weekend to recuperate. Now, they’re back on the folk fest trail, with their fourth stop smack dab in their hometown of Edmonton.

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival kicked off August 4^th and this is Jenna’s blog about how it’s going so far!

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Last night was the first night of the EFMF, and it was a fun little reminder of the things I love about our homegrown festival. It’s the number one event for running into friends and family during an Edmonton summer—even the ex-pats come home for the weekend.

 Although it’s always nice to spend some time catching up with long-lost friends in the beer gardens, Van Morrison, who headlined last night, apparently doesn’t allow drinking (or cameras!) at his shows. I can finally see why he played the Wednesday night, rather than headlining the weekend! He put on a moving performance, but expecting 20,000 fans to refrain from a Grasshopper during his show is a bit much; I don’t want to insult a legend, but I wanted my Big Rock!

Despite our stone cold sober state, we had a lovely evening watching the sunset and lighting our candles on the hill.

 Tonight, the festivities continue with Gord Downie and Ben Harper!

Signing off,

Jenna Turner and Parker Thiessen, your festival legends!

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If you want to live vicariously through Parker and Jenna this summer, follow Big Rock Brewery on Twitter or visit the Grasshoppin’ Contest Facebook Page.

But, if you want to BE Parker and Jenna next summer, enter the Grasshoppin’ Contest!

Stop #3: Calgary Folk Music Festival

I can’t believe we’ve never been to Calgary Folk Music Festival before!

Some neat things about the festival:

1-It takes place on Prince’s Island Park, in the middle of the Bow River. I didn’t expect such a lovely setting!

2-There are TONS of food vendors (a whole “marketplace” full of them), and lots of tantalizing choices for every meal.

3-The festival features activities and installations to check out in between your favorite acts. Some of the coolest were the yoga sessions, the Calgary Public Library’s “living library,” and “SQUEEEEQUE,” an art installation featuring an igloo made of speaker boxes!

Parker and I checked out a number of stellar acts, our top picks being:

1-MAN MAN!

This eclectic band from Philadelphia had the crowd dancing frantically from beginning to end. The music was great, but the performance was even better, featuring a trumpet, flute, sousaphone, guitar, bass, drums, xylophone, a million other instruments, and of course a generous helping of feathers and confetti!

2-Corb Lund!

How could we not love this Alberta icon? The highlight was when Corb announced that we’d gotten to the serious part of the show, and hoped we’d all bear with him. Parker decided to take that moment to sneak off to the bathroom, only to come running back a moment later when Corb started playing “Rye Whiskey!” Serious stuff, indeed!

3-Konono No.1!

We HAD to stay till the last minute to catch these guys before our flight home. Sure, we saw them in Winnipeg, but these electric thumb-piano masters from the Democratic Republic of Congo must be enjoyed whenever possible! We danced until the very last second of their set, and then ran to catch a cab and fly home. Can’t wait to see them again in Ottawa!

Now we’ve got a weekend off until Edmonton Folk Music Festival, on our home turf! Can’t wait, it’s going to be a blast. Hope to see you all in the beer gardens!

If you want to live vicariously through Parker and Jenna this summer, follow Big Rock Brewery on Twitter or visit the Grasshoppin’ Contest Facebook Page.

But, if you want to BE Parker and Jenna next summer, enter the Grasshoppin’ Contest!