The annual CityFolk Festival is taking over Lansdowne Park from Sept. 15-18.
From visiting university students to Ottawa locals, the festival has promised to entertain and assist all attendees in discovering new music, according to media relations representative Joe Reilly.
Despite the name, the idea that the lineup will be folk-centric is anything but true.
Reilly, a Carleton graduate, said he thinks the best parts of the festival are the artist diversity and the discovery of new music.
“[Festival co-ordinator Mark Monahan] has prided himself on making CityFolk into a discovery festival with lots of fresh sounds and exciting names in music . . . often acts that are just taking off,” Reilly said. “For instance, back in 2013, Mark brought Kendrick Lamar to the Folk Festival just as the hip hop sensation was starting to make waves . . . and today he is regarded as one of the most important voices in hip hop and all contemporary music.”
Reilly said CityFolk has transformed over the past few years due to Monahan’s assistance.
Monahan is also the founder, lead executive, and artistic director of Bluesfest. After CityFolk, formerly known as Folk Fest, began to experience financial difficulty in 2011, he and his team took on the festival, changing its name, artist diversity, and event location.
“[CityFolk] moved to Lansdowne Park and [was] renamed . . . to reflect the diversity of music featured at the festival, as well as the fact that it was now centred in the core of the city,” Reilly said.
Another new addition to the festival is Marvest, which was introduced in 2015. It takes places around the Ottawa area, particularly within the Glebe, and exhibits local artists for free.
According to Reilly, the Marvest performances were inspired by the South by South West music festival in Austin, Texas. The performances are aimed at filling the city with music and bringing shows to people who may not be attending the main CityFolk Festival, he said.
Since its inception in 1994, CityFolk has experienced a vast change.
This year the lineup stretches far beyond rock, folk, and indie, and will be featuring big names in rap and R&B such as Joey Bada$$ and Bryson Tiller. Attendees will also get the chance to see other well-known musicians including James Bay, Vance Joy, and X Ambassadors.
