Folkfest 4: Review

Artists: Because I missed great chunks of time volunteering, I didn't get to see many workshops and consequently missed some artists altogether. Here're my thoughts on some of the ones I did see or hear about:
The Arrogant Worms- Everyone knows the Worms. They're the same as ever, weaving clever parody and social satire with perfect harmonies yet immature and accessible enough that they're mobbed by hoardes of small children who get only half the jokes. This year Trevor Strong was away to be with his newborn offspring so some guy from Moxy Fruvous filled in.
Damhnait Doyle- Her voice is actually pretty annoying.
The Duhks- I've found Lenny Podolak pretentious since before the shuffle/split of Scruj MacDuhk. Their genre-crossing seems more confused than inspired.
Fiamma Fumana- I actually rather like them. They combine traditional North Italian folk music and intruments (Emilian pipes give a celtic sound) and powerful vocals by Fiamma Orlandi with turntabled beats and electronic samples. Fresh, a bit exotic, danceable, very listenable.
Leela Gilday- Didn't catch much of her, but I liked what I heard. Beautiful voice and solid songwriter, expressing herself as a young First Nations woman in Canada.
Sarah Harmer- Mmmmmmmmmm . . . Saraaaaaah . . . One of the brightest stars in the sky of folk-pop. Lilting, expressive voice, catchy melodies, genuine poetry in her lyrics. She did "Lodestar", one of the sexiest songs ever, in her mainstage set. I'm really into Weeping Tile right now, her band before her solo career took off.
House of Doc- Local bluegrass outfit with a sense of humour.
Martyn Joseph- Didn't really see any of him this year, but I've seen him other years and other places. He's a somewhat evangelical politically left-wing intellectual Christian Welshman but an especially dynamic live performer, capable of seamlessly interweaving multiple songs and spontaneous comments and monologues without interrupting his flow (so can Melissa Ferrick, who is sort of his slightly younger American lesbian equivalent).
Joel Kroeker- Reminded me a lot of Martin Sexton in lyrics, delivery and guitar use, though doesn't seem to have the same vocal range. Not bad at all. Cd stock sold out early Sunday. One to keep an eye on in future.
David Lindley- I've probably heard him before but he didn't stick in my mind. Surprising, actually, as he's pretty memorable. Alone on stage in the middle of a small fort of string instruments, handling musical traditions from all over the world with grace and wit and whipsmart lyrics. One of those artists who bootlegs his own live recordings to discourage others from doing so.
Greg MacPherson- Hometown boy I hadn't been following before but will from now on.
The Nits- Interesting. Lead vocalist has a good sound. Missed them in workshops, though on mainstage they played with samples a bit more than I though necessary. A fun sound, but not what I'd want to listen to everyday.
Xavier Rudd- Didn't really hear him at all, though he was apparently the hit of the festival. Nearly sold out on Friday, had two more boxes of cds shipped in and still sold out Sunday afternoon. Plays a few instruments, including guitar and didgeridoo, and I assume he plays them well because "young, good-looking with Australian accent" can't account for all those sales.
Serena Ryder- Very powerful voice. Seems a decent writer, too. Would have liked to have heard more.
Spirit Of The West- Yay! Five years of individual projects hasn't dulled their group energy a bit. By my standards, a top contender for greatest Canadian band of the century.
Andy Stochansky- Another one I'd have liked to hear more of.
Ember Swift- I like that she labels the genres of tracks on the backs of her cds, but I didn't hear her enough to know if I'd like the tracks themselves.
Tegan and Sara- Lively folk-pop with clean harmonies. I like them, though they don't really stand out to me.
Paul Thorn- Paul Thorn is just too cool for school. Slightly skewed view of the world, way with words and a smoky voice succinctly describe both the mundane and the bizarre.

This Year: They named the daytime stages, which was unnecessary. While they tried apparently to take names from foliage already occurring or introduced to the area around the stage, we still get stuck with cutesy things like "Big Bluestem" and "Snowberry Field". They had three cash machines instead of one, which was wise. The Pope's Hill situation could have been handled better. I'm not happy with the continuing decrease in proper daytime workshops.

The biggest new introduction this year was Firefly Palace, an alternative entertainment to mainstage in the evenings, in what is by day the children's stage (renamed Chickadee Bigtop, of all things). Rather than another folk music option, it offers more "alt" sounds as well as improv and collections of independent film shorts. Didn't check it out this year, but might next year if it makes a return appearance. I commend the idea, specifically targeting younger patrons, but don't think the fest needs to cater to a new demographic at the expense of people who already enjoy the scene, and hope next year's new artistic director understands this balance.