NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
Local musicians from left, Stacey Head, East Sanlav and Lauren Sanlav make up the group Metamorfoz who is seen performing during the Tongue on the Post folk Music Festival's well-known local singer and songwriter evening on Friday. There are several live performances set to run until Sunday.
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
This weekend the 19th annual Tongue on the Post folk music festival wraps up with several live musical performances and will be bringing its headline acts back to the college stage as the festival comes to a close Sunday.
Saturday several artists, including Bobby Dave, Jed & The Valentine, John Hewitt and The Eisenhaurs will be amongst performers during eight hours of non-stop live music as Tongue on the Post folk music festival hosts its main day of artists before welcoming a trio of headlining performances Sunday.
“Every one of these artists is a powerhouse,” says Rob Pape, executive and artist director at Medalta.
All-day tickets for $30 are still available and grant music fans access to Saturday’s performances at Medalta which also includes local artisan vendors, food and beverages and a diversity of live music from highly-talented acts.
Doors open at noon Saturday with performances set to begin at 1 p.m.
On Sunday, the festival will move to Eresman Theatre at Medicine Hat College to welcome three matinee performances including Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated singer and songwriter Phyllis Sicnlair, who contributed to growing the music festival in its early days.
Sinclair has released six albums that include Folk and Indigenous chart toppers. Her discography is said to stand as a tribute to her authenticity as she is known to weave Indigenous realities with “spirituality, astronomy and mythology.”
Along with Sinclair, award-winning singer and songwriter Mallory Chipman will also be performing after recently releasing her fifth studio album. Her single ‘Songs to a Wild God’ hit No. 1 on the CKUA charts upon its release and was one of the only indie albums to debut in the National Radio Top-50.
Kyle McKearney and his wife Sarah, who is from Seven Persons, will round out the performances.
In 2022 McKearney was known as one of Canada’s biggest breakthrough independent country/Americana artists by earning two Western Canadian Music Award nominations and was named a SiriusXM Top of the Country semi-finalist.
He has shared the stage with Dean Brody, Our Lady Peace, The Black Crows and Kip Moore and has more than one million global online streams.
“Kyle and Phyllis are two of the most award winning Indigenous artists in Canada right now, they’re just absolutely doing phenomenal things,” says Pape. “And Mallory Chipman, the voice of an angel, she sings these beautiful songs all about Alberta.
“We take a lot of pride in our festival, this festival has grown to have a phenomenal name. Artists love coming to Medicine Hat, they love connecting with the local audience as we have phenomenal support here for music and musicians.”
Tickets are available for Sunday’s performances for $50 beginning at 2 p.m. at the College.
On Friday night, the festival held a popular local singer and songwriter evening that was free to the public.
The roster for the evening included Jack Humeny, Brad Haas, Jason Crooks, Ryan Hornung, Stacey Head, Netty Mac, Greg Herman, Presley Battle, Joy Bower and Connie Johns.
This year the festival honoured one of its founding members who recently passed away in December.
Well-known in the community, Les Pearson played a vital role in founding the Tongue on the Post folk music festival. He also served as a two-term city alderman, founding principal of Eagle Butte High School as well as the city’s first ever inclusion coordinator to improve city services for those with mobility issues.
“He was a larger than life force in helping get the festival off the ground and making connections,” says Pape, who added Pearson was an active volunteer of every festival.
“We very much stay close to our founding members and try to do justice by them with this festival every year.”
Tickets for Saturday’s and Sunday’s both events can be purchased online by visiting topfest.ca. Sunday’s tickets can also be purchased at the door. The News erroneously had the wrong weekend lineup in Friday’s edition.
