From Viking ballads of the North Atlantic to Sardinian canto, Trinidadian steel pan to homespun bluegrass, Haitian harmonies to songs of the Canadian experience – the Mission Folk Music Festival brings you world-wide music in just a few short weeks.

Packed into a roster of around 20 artists is a startling range of music and musicians from nearby and around the world, and from varied music persuasions, backgrounds and genres.

This year the festival welcomes one of folk music’s most iconic and enduring voices with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Tom Paxton. From other points around the globe come the stunning harmonies of Sardinia’s Tenores di Neoneli, the gorgeous, haunting voice of the Faroe Islands’ Eivør, the powerful rhythm and vocals of Cuba’s Desandann, and more. From across Canada, the festival welcomes high-energy jigs and reels of Quebec’s Les Tireux d’Roches, Connie Kaldor’s rich voice and compelling songs, and the remarkable collaboration of Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana.

Artistic Director Francis Xavier Edwards says of this year’s festival: "After more than two decades of programming the festival, I still find that each year is more surprising than the last. This year's festival in particular is remarkable to me because it is full of both new and old faces in a very rich roster of diversity. The artists and the music that is out there in the world never ceases to astonish. That is what this festival is all about for me — musical amazement. We invite people from both near and far to share in this wonder."

The festival offers three evenings of showcase main-stage concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Three daytime stages run concurrently Saturday and Sunday beginning at noon. Other on-site features include the folk art and import market, a CD tent, the Festival Store selling festival souvenirs, a variety of great food purveyors and a shaded licensed area, the Festival Bistro, with a main-stage view.

The Breakmen (B.C.)

With a potent blend of bluegrass, old-timey folk with vintage country influences, this four-member Vancouver-based outfit is known for its tight harmonies, creative instrumental work and contagious stage energy.

Michael Jerome Browne (Quebec)

MJB is a true renaissance musician, equally adept on guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica and an array of other instruments, as well as a vocalist of incomparable and wide-ranging talent. Whether performing a wailing blues tune, an unbridled soul song or a country ballad, this Canadian Folk Award-winning ‘Solo Artist of the Year (2008)’ packs the acoustic punch of a multi-member band.

Jane Bunnett & the Spirits of Havana (Canada / Cuba)

The boundary-breaking Toronto soprano saxophonist, flutist and bandleader visits with her formidable, handpicked seven-piece collective known as the Spirits Of Havana. Bunnett has forged a riveting amalgam of Afro-Cuban and Western Jazz forms, winning a 2009 Juno for ‘Best Contemporary Jazz Album’ for her “Embracing Voices” recording with the Spirits of Havana and Desandann, also appearing at the festival.

Canefire (Canada, Cuba, Trinidad)

Combining Trinidadian calypso with Latin rhythms, jazz, and blues, Canefire is a Toronto-based 7-piece band that takes the steel pan sound to new places. The group plays original music created by leader and pianist Jeremy Ledbetter.

Desandann (Cuba)

Haitian song / Cuban soul. The arresting, spiritual voices of this legendary ten-person choral ensemble celebrate the legacy of Haitian a cappella music from the Camaguey region of Eastern Cuba. Singing in English, Creole and Spanish, their rich and complex harmonies, deep basses and soaring sopranos unite to create one of the most distinctive and evocative choirs in music today.

Eivør (Faroe Islands)

Born on the mystical Faroes, which lie halfway between Iceland and Norway, we welcome the Islands’ leading female music artist. Eivør Palsdottir is 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 - as well as a virtuoso of rock, jazz, folk and even opera.

Kevin Fox (Ontario)

His voice has been described as an “amazing instrument”. Halifax-born Fox combines his prowess on the cello, which he skillfully bows, plucks, taps and loops, with great songwriting chops to create a lush and captivating musical tapestry of cello-driven folk/pop.

The Gallus Brothers (USA)

These Bellingham-based musical brothers play great guitar and percussive suitcase goodtime ragtime blues with a flair for fun and the spirit of an old timey minstrel show.

Headwater (BC)

Vancouver-based Headwater’s blend of elements of country, bluegrass, old time and rock has made them one of the busiest acoustic roots bands on the West Coast. With can’t-beat instrumentation comprised of guitar, banjo, mandolin, steel guitar and upright bass, this young four-member band also delivers with harmonies and classic songwriting.

Connie Kaldor (Quebec)

Connie is a Juno-award winning singer who has flourished on the folk music scene since she was a young Prairie gal, in large part due to her immense gifts as a live performer. More than a great musical experience, a Connie Kaldor performance is an opportunity to hear what this gifted chronicler of the human experience has both to sing and to say.

Colin Linden (Canada)

Of how many artists can it be said that keep getting better over three decades into their career? Colin Linden can certainly be considered a member of that select club, and a singer, songwriter and slide guitar virtuoso of stunning skill and originality.

T. Nile (BC)

Tamara Nile turned heads on the folk scene from the minute she first stepped off the ferry from Galiano and onto the stage - not all that long ago. With a unique sound merging folk, rock, roots and country, the songwriting skills of a veteran word-smith and a banjo on her knee, this singer’s star continues to rise.

The Outside Track (Ireland, Scotland, Canada)

The Outside Track brings together five young musicians from Scotland, Ireland and Canada to create a cutting-edge modern traditional music that ranges from classic ballads to self-penned originals.

Tom Paxton (USA)

Tom is a folk music legend, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winner (2009), author and inspiring singer and songwriter with a 40-year career that began in the famed Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s. His songs, as Judy Collins says, “are beautiful and timeless, and meant for every age."

Tagaq (Nunavut)

Tanya Tagaq Gillis’ vocal musicality is ground-breaking in its’ the diversity and depth, her voice and music ranging from whispers and haunting melodies to full-force songs of passion and power. Inuit throat-singing is part of this Nunavut artist’s sound, but you can add in ‘hip-hop infused’, ‘primal’ and sometimes even ‘orchestral.

Tenores di Neoneli (Sardinia (Italy))

From the village of Neoneli in Sardinia, the four remarkable male vocalists of Tenores di Neoneli sing canto a tenore – a traditional complex harmonic style of singing so unique it has been included on Unesco’s World Heritage List. They are joined by two players of the launeddas, an ancient Sardinian woodwind instrument.

Les Tireux d’Roches (Quebec)

The six talented singers, musicians and storytellers of Les Tireux d’Roches (“Rock Throwers”) deliver a unique repertoire that stays true to the Québécois tradition while incorporating fresh contemporary influences from around the world.

Ken Whiteley (Ontario)

One of Canada’s finest musical statesmen, Ken Whiteley has been called a “playing encyclopedia” for his depth and range of musical styles, covering everything from blues and gospel to music for kids. Drawing from the deep wells of many traditions, Whiteley creates something fresh that communicates themes of freedom, love, spiritual aspiration and social comment. In addition to performing on his own, Ken will accompany Tom Paxton.

Tim Williams (Alberta)

Songster, Musicianer, Music Physicianer – Tim Williams is a 40-year veteran of the North American roots music scene with a passion for traditional blues and a lifetime spent roaming across music’s abundant landscape . A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Tim is “a walking, talking history of the blues that struts soulfully down timeless avenues” (Calgary Herald).

Tickets are now available. Advance discount passes (available July 1-23) are $85 for the weekend, $60 for seniors, $55 for youth, and $10 for children. At the gate, adults pay $95 for a weekend pass, seniors pay $60, youth $55 and children $10.

On-site camping by reservation is available at a nominal charge. Passes, tickets and information are available at www.missionfolkmusicfestival.ca and 604-826-5937. Weekend passes only available at: Shoppers Drug Mart in Mission, Tom Lee Music and House of James in Abbotsford.

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