Started in 1972, Sudbury’s Northern Lights Festival Boréal will hold its landmark 50th anniversary edition this week, July 7-10.
The festival helped birth a vibrant and diverse northern arts scene, one that has in turn supported the endurance and evolution of the prized tradition.
What’s it all about? It’s a multi-generational musical party, featuring a stage devoted to family music, as well as intimate after-hours concerts.
It features big stage headline concerts, as well as one-of-a-kind “workshop” performances where different artists are grouped together on stage. Expect six stages/venues, four days, roughly 100 shows, many vibes and many styles.
Festival headliners include Alabama soul-rock-psych heroes St. Paul & The Broken Bones; Canadian indie-rock supergroup The New Pornographers; Grammy winning folk/pop icon Judy Collins; as well as West African guitar virtuoso Bombino.
The full schedule, lineup, tickets and info. can be found at NLFB.ca or by phoning 705-674-5512. Kids under 14 are free, and afternoon passes are only $15, at the gate only.
Organizers are also thrilled to welcome a number of other feature artists: masters in a variety of musical styles, including folk, rock n’ roll, indie pop, country, hip-hop, and more.
An example is Paul Collins, hailed by many as ‘the king of power pop’, and an influence of countless rock bands. Collins got his start with The Nerves in 1974, who toured with punk rock pioneers The Ramones and recorded a song called “Hanging On The Telephone.”
It was later made a hit by Blondie, who covered it on their album, Parallel Lines. Paul Collins formed The Beat in 1977, recruiting members of various rock bands to create a high energy group, delivering perfect nuggets of powerful rock n’ roll songwriting - songs about girls, heartbreak, and everything else makes a classic song.
For this special Sudbury performance, Paul Collins’ Beat will be made up of power-pop group Dany Laj & The Looks. This exclusive show puts the Sudbury-loved rock n’ roll trio as the rhythm section for their hero and friend, live on the NLFB main stage.
The Weather Station, the project of Toronto songwriter Tamara Lindeman, will appear on the festival’s Canvas Cabaret stage, Sunday, July 10. Emerging out of Toronto’s vibrant folk scene, Lindeman has released a series of acclaimed, refreshingly creative records over the years.
Now in 2021, The Weather Station leads us into a brilliant and bold new sonic landscape with Ignorance. The record continues to create buzz and garner accolades, having landed at No. 1 on the Canadian Indie Label Chart with Pitchfork giving the single “Robber” a spot on their “The 100 Best Songs of 2020.”
Country-folk fans will not want to miss Li’l Andy and his alter-ego Hezekiah Procter. Pop Montreal calls Li’l Andy “Montreal’s best country songwriter today.” In the past decade, he has released five albums, toured Canada extensively, and has been featured in the New York Times.
His latest release, The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925-1930), is at once music, history, fiction, biography and recorded performance art. The record was recently released as a two-disc, 29-song box set also including a 150-page novel telling the story of Hezekiah Procter.
The tracks were painstakingly recorded on both analogue tape, and using pre-electric, 1920s technology. Overall, it is another stunning example of Li’l Andy’s boundless artistic goals and pure love of early North American roots music.
NLFB said it is thrilled to be welcoming songwriting master, producer, playwright, and composer Ian Tamblyn back to the festival, recently appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. Tamblyn has been a working musician since 1972, and was a performer at early editions of NLFB. He has released dozens of albums, has written 14 plays and over 100 theatre soundtracks.
In 2012, Tamblyn was made a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society for his guiding and creative work in the Canadian Arctic. He has been awarded the Estelle Klein and Helen Verger Awards for his contributions to Canadian folk music. His songs have been covered by numerous artists and there is a tribute album of his work entitled Coastline of our Dreams featuring iconic Canadian folk artists such as Lynn Miles, Susan Crowe, Hart Rouge and Valdy.
From folk-roots artistry to hip-hop creativity, Northern Lights is all about great music, great talent, and vibrant performances. That is why the festival is bringing the pioneering rap artist Myka 9 all the way from Los Angeles, California. Myka 9 was recognized as one of the most stylistically advanced rappers in the 90s.
His first real break was in the 1980s when he received the opportunity to be a lyrical ghost writer on NWA’s first compilation. As a co-founder of Freestyle Fellowship, Myka 9 was instrumental in what became known as the California underground scene, centering around the Good Life Cafe in the early 90s. Myka and other Good Life artists pioneered a wildly creative and often rhythmically complex approach to rapping, producing records full of unique, creative commentary and lyrical acrobatics.
“To say that Freestyle Fellowship significantly influenced West Coast hip-hop is like saying that Jesus was a pivotal figure in Christianity “ says Pitchfork.
Today, Myka 9 is renowned for his often rapid-fire, jazz-influenced, melodic rapping, and often incorporates singing and occasional scatting into his songs.
“My rhymes take the direction of a jazz trumpet or sax solo, like Miles (Davis) or Trane (John Coltrane),” he said in a news release. “If I was to rhyme in the same meter as those notes…that’s my concept.”
These are just a few selections from the talent-packed lineup of 45+ artists, which can be viewed at NLFB.ca/artists.
The 50th anniversary festival promises to simultaneously be the North’s kick-off party of the summer, a journey of amazing musical discoveries, and celebration of Canadian music history. It all takes place July 7-10 at Bell Park in Sudbury, ON.
