The Revelstoke Music Festival is hosting its 10th annual event this Friday and Saturday at Centennial Park in Revelstoke.

Formerly the Mountain Beats festival, Music Director Heidi Bell says the name change to Revelstoke Music Festival was made partly because it was easier to locate it on the internet, and to broaden the scope of the festival. They are, however, hanging on to the Mountain Beats as the theme of the festival. “There’s still people that came 10 years ago that are calling it the Beats and Blues still,” jokes Bell.

The festival has picked up a new production company called Northwest Global Entertainment. Bell says they are trying to upgrade the festival and be a bit more professional on the production end in order to create a more seamless experience for the performers. “We really want to create a professional arena for them to play in.”

The society is also trying to grow the festival to set the stage for having bigger name performers in the years to come.

The musical theme varies from year to year. Each day is loosely based on the styles of the headlining acts each evening. “This year we have blues -- Chicago Blues and world gypsy flamenco music. What I do is take the headliners and I kind of stick in a variety of different music to come with it,” says Bell. “I try and piece in a variety of different kinds of music around those headliners. So this year I have done that and we’re a little bit more bluesy and folksy this year, as well as a little more blues, folk and world beats this year, and next year we might take it where you have a little more funk, soul and jazz [for example].”

Bell welcomes everyone to come out to the festival, including music lovers of all ages. “It’s really bringing a little bit of culture into the Interior, you know? There’s a lot of culture in the cities -- in Vancouver and Calgary, but we don’t get as much here in the Interior, with it being a small town, so that’s my aim. It’s just to be able to bring that and share that with people.”

She programs more of the world acts in the afternoons so that children have an opportunity to come out and see the performances before bedtime.

The fans’ age span is from little kids until the older generation, says Bell. “I do try to include music that everyone can enjoy, and that’s why our genres switch around, so I think there are a lot of locals that come out and enjoy spending that time listening to the music and kind of having that kind of festival atmosphere all together.”

“Part of our aim, even with just the volunteerism, it can bring people together with the spirit of festivity and allow that sense of community involvement to grow.”

She said all of the musicians are amazing at their craft. Bell says that although many will not be familiar with some of the acts, if you ask around in music circles, all of the performers come highly recommended by fellow musicians.

“We try and have it just be such a wide variety of music so there is something for everybody,” says Bell.