FOLK FESTIVAL: Listening to a legend
Tom Paxton will close down the Mission Folk Music Festival with a performance on Sunday night (July 26).
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Updated: July 16, 2009 8:40 AM
Legend is not a title to be handed out lightly. But for fans of folk music, Tom Paxton is truly legendary.
The performer has been writing and singing songs for more than 40 decades, and while he may not be a household name, you will recognize his work.
Titles like Bottle of Wine, The Last Thing On My Mind and Ramblin’ Boy are among his bigger hits.
“Most people around here would probably know his song, Wasn’t That A Party, made famous by The Irish Rovers,” says Francis Edwards, artistic director of the Mission Folk Music Festival, at which Paxton is scheduled to be the headline act.
Paxton’s talent has always been in demand. His work has been recorded by performers including Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Kingston Trio, John Denver, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, to name but a few.
This year, Paxton’s contribution to the music industry was publicly recognized as he was awarded the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.
“It was heart-warming to see Tom Paxton receive a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, and we are truly excited he’s coming to perform at Mission this summer,” says Edwards.
The 22nd annual folk festival is scheduled for July 24-26 at Mission’s Fraser River Heritage Park.
Having Paxton come to the event, and close out the festival with a Sunday night performance, is a big coup for organizers.
“Tom and his work have had a powerful affect on audiences and other artists for years, and his songs have become part of popular culture,” says Edwards.
As artistic director, Edwards has always tried to bring in a “name” act to headline the festival. Paxton joins an impressive list of headliners including Buffy Sainte-Marie (2007) and Judy Collins (2006).
“Over the last few years I’ve been making an effort to bring in some of the older artists that you may not get to see again,” explains Edwards.
And while he’s excited to have Paxton, Edwards is quick to point out that he will be among a solid line up of musicians from around the world.
More than 20 groups will participate in the three-day celebration of music.
“We have put together another strong line-up from across the globe,” says Edwards.
One of the feature groups is from Sardinia, Italy.
There is a tradition of singing on the Italian island of Sardinia that is called canto a tenore, or tenor chorus.
The group Tenores di Neoneli consists of four men – Tonino Cau, Angelo Piras, Nicola Loi and Ivo Marass – who sing and tour the traditional songs.
At the Mission festival, Tenores di Neoneli will be accompanied by two musicians, Orlanda and Eliseo Mascia, who play the launeddas –an ancient Sardinian woodwind instrument dating back to the 8th century.
“To a lot of people, the music we bring in is quite obscure, but you may not hear this anywhere else,” says Edwards.
Another performer sure to garner a lot of attention this year is Eivør, a singer from the Faroe Islands which lie halfway between Iceland and Norway.
Eivør is the Islands’ leading female music artist. She’s a woman with an extraordinary voice, deeply rooted in her homeland’s strong tradition of epic ballads, chain dance and quarter-note a cappella church music.
Canada is also well represented. Leading the way is singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis, from Nunavut.
Her vocal musicality is ground-breaking in its diversity and depth. Her voice and music ranges from whispers and haunting melodies to full-force songs of passion and power. Inuit throat-singing is part of this artist’s sound, but you can add in hip-hop infused and primal sounds as well.
Edwards is expecting a large turnout for this year’s showcase.
“We attract between 6,000 and 7,000 people each year, which is a good size for us. If we go to much bigger, we will lose the intimacy we have now.”
The Mission Folk music Festival features three daytime stages and a main evening concert stage.
For a full line up of artists and for ticket information, visit the website at:
www.missionfolkmusicfestival.ca
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