Hannah Epperson performs at the 2020 Tongue on the Post Folk Music Festival, held inside a kiln at Medalta. - SUBMITTED PHOTO Lyle Rebbeck
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Tongue on the Post Folk Music Festival is returning to Medicine Hat for its 16th year. The annual festival, which features Canadian folk music artists, will once again be held online due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, however organizers say that won’t hinder the experience.
“The thing we’ve discovered with the live streams that we really like is the fact that we’ve reached an audience and a demographic that weren’t always able to make it to shows,” Rob Pape, executive director of the Medicine Hat Folk Music Club, told the News.
Last year’s event reached over 85,000 people. There’s no set goal for this year’s attendance, organizers simply hope the music will be enjoyed by those who take part.
“We hope it helps brighten everybody’s week,” said Pape. “Music goes side by side with mental health. I think one thing we’ve learned throughout the pandemic is how much we all rely on the arts… to help get through the day.”
The festival will take place from Jan. 24-29 and will be live-streamed on Medicine Hat Folk Music Club’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and website. Admission is pay-what-you-can.
While the festival will showcase each artist’s music, it will also include a new segment where viewers will learn how to make rawhide rattles, interactive comments from viewers and interviews with the artists.
“Last year AHS wanted us to allow 20 minutes between sets, so what we did to fill that time was began doing interviews,” said Pape. “We got phenomenal feedback from the community talking about how much they really loved the interviews and how it allowed them to connect with the artists, so we’ve decided to continue on with that this year.
“We just felt we needed to push forward. Our community needs to be able to see and hear these shows and these musicians really need the outlet to perform and get paid.”
Lineup for the 2022 Tongue on the Post Folk Music Festival:
Jan. 24: Muriel Erick, Gary Christensen, Karli Frances, Derek Hintz, Reese Klaiber, Greg Herman
Jan. 25: Brenda Mercer’s workshop on how to make rawhide rattles, Ray-Al Hochman
Jan. 26: Greg Carroll, Red Hot Hayseeds
Jan. 27: Dave McCann, Dan Howard (previously recorded)
Jan. 28: The Travelling Mabels, DRFTR, and Sleepy Jean
Jan. 29: Phyllis Sinclair, Richard Inman, Ben Sures
