2012 Ottawa Folk Festival one for the record books

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Festival organizers today announced unprecedented attendance numbers for the 19th edition of the Ottawa Folk Festival, with 25 to 30 thousand music fans showing up for the five-day event, doubling last year’s audience. This does not include the free programming, where estimates range from four to five thousand attendees. The event was staged at the newly configured site at Hog’s Back Park.

“The combination of free programming plus the major acts we brought in resulted in a very successful year,” says Mark Monahan, the festival’s executive director and head of programming. “Fans really enjoyed the changes we made to the festival site, so we hope to continue to improve and to build on this success.”

In its sophomore year under the new direction of Monahan and his team, the festival offered many new twists. New sponsor, TELUS was welcomed aboard as presenting sponsor. “TELUS is pleased to have supported such a remarkable event – from the tremendous fan turn-out to the incredible performances of all the talented artists,” says TELUS vice-president Michael Sangster. “The Ottawa Folk Music Festival truly brought the community together in an unforgettable and enjoyable fashion. What a fantastic way to finish the summer.”

Other featured acts included Lindsey Buckingham, Great Big Sea, Kathleen Edwards, Patrick Watson, and Dan Mangan, with multi-Grammy winner Bon Iver wrapping up the festivities.

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Media contact(s)

AJ Sauve ajsauve@ottawabluesfest.ca

Joe Reilly joe.wavelength@sympatico.ca

Ottawa Folk Festival deemed a great success

Congrats to Galaxie Supernova Award winners Gordie Mackeeman and His Rhythm Boys!

Monday, September 10, 2012

From the opening note of the National Anthem by Arthur McGregor (of the festival’s founding sponsor the Ottawa Folklore Centre) to the closing tunes of Bon Iver, the line-up was universally praised as very inclusive and highly entertaining.

Another aspect of the ‘fest that was of great interest to music fans was the Galaxie Rising Star Program, which presents the Supernova Award for outstanding live performance. This award provides bursaries to rising Canadian music talent at festivals and events across Canada.

Chosen by a jury appointed by the Ottawa Folk Festival, eligible artists were expected to meet four criteria: 1) be part of the 2012 Ottawa Folk Festival line-up; 2) be Canadian; 3) have released at least one album and 4) have not previously won a Galaxie Rising Star Award. Jurors were required to watch performances by all eligible acts over the course of the festival and then met to deliberate and choose a winner. On the final night of the festival, Gordie Mackeeman and His Rhythm Boys were announced as the winner for their riveting performance and awarded a $1,500 bursary, as well as potential airplay on the Galaxie channels.

“The competition for this award included some amazing talent,” says Ottawa Musician and Folk Festival staffer Ana Miura. “Having seen Gordie Mackeeman and His Rhythm Boys at this year’s Ottawa Folk Festival, I would say the jury got it right.”

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Media contact:

Ana Miura amiura@ottawafolk.com

(613) 247-1188 ext. 302