Mandolin Orange Added to the 60th Anniversary Lineup

Mandolin Orange Added to the 60th Anniversary Lineup

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Mariposa Folk Festival has announced the addition of Mandolin Orange to the 60th anniversary artistic lineup.

This Americana roots duo has helped to redefine the genre for a younger generation, blending storytelling with acoustic elements of bluegrass, folk and country, and amassing an impressive fan base through live shows and online streaming.

Festival Artistic Director, Liz Scott, says she “…first saw Mandolin Orange at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival five years ago when the husband and wife team was in their mid-twenties, and fell in love with their intimate harmonies and sweet-toned folk and bluegrass-tinged vibes.”

Scott added, “Now their songs are at the top of playlists everywhere and they’re loved by audiences of all ages, and they’re bringing their full band to Mariposa.”

Mariposa Folk Festival previously announced that John Prine and Mavis Staples will perform on the festival Main Stage, and has, so far, unveiled about 2/3 of the artists that will perform at the 60th anniversary festival. More exciting lineup announcements will be made in the coming weeks.

The three-day Mariposa Folk Festival takes place July 3-5, 2020, in Orillia, Ontario, on more than ten stages, and features top folk-roots music presentation, along with presentations of story, dance and craft.

All ticket categories are on sale. Kids 12 & under are admitted free. The festival has special pricing for youth and young adults. Onsite RV and tent camping is available.

The Iconic Mavis Staples Joins the Lineup

The Iconic Mavis Staples Joins the Lineup

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Mariposa Folk Festival has announced that the iconic R&B and gospel singer and civil rights activist, Mavis Staples, is joining the 60th anniversary festival lineup.

With a career spanning the social, political and musical eras of the past six decades, Mavis Staples’ distinctive voice has been sampled on recordings by some of the biggest selling artists and she has recorded with many celebrated peers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

According to Artistic Director, Liz Scott, “Mavis Staples is a true Americana treasure, a unique vocalist, a wonderful personality and a sheer delight in live performance. Festival goers are going to witness firsthand the power of Mavis and why she remains a rousing, relevant and
in-demand artist”.

Previously, Mariposa Folk Festival announced that the rare talent, true original and revered songwriter, John Prine, will join the Main Stage. Mariposa looks forward to announcing the addition of some celebrated Canadian artists in the coming weeks.

The three-day Mariposa Folk Festival takes place July 3-5, 2020, in Orillia, Ontario, on more than ten stages featuring top folk-roots music presentation, along with presentations of story, dance and craft.

All ticket categories are on sale. Kids 12 & under are admitted free. The festival has special pricing for youth and young adults. Onsite RV and tent camping is available.

John Prine Coming to Mariposa

John Prine Coming to Mariposa

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Mariposa Folk Festival is kicking-off the announcements for this summer’s lineup with a very big bang.

The rare talent, true original and revered songwriter, John Prine, has signed-on to help celebrate the 60th anniversary of Mariposa Folk Festival taking place July 3-5, 2020.

Prine is one of the most often requested artists by festival attendees and has been high on Mariposa’s artistic wish list for many years.

Artistic Director, Liz Scott, exclaimed, “Few artists have achieved the significance of this rare talent and true original, and his fans are absolutely devout. I am thrilled to welcome John Prine to the Mariposa Main Stage this year, on the heels of another award-winning, highly-acclaimed album.”

Mariposa Folk Foundation President and Festival Chair, Pam Carter, stated, “It’s our 60th anniversary festival, and presenting music icon John Prine is a wonderful way proclaim Mariposa’s storied past”. Carter added, “Our programming will also reflect Mariposa’s importance on Canada’s music scene as a contemporary folk festival”.

The three-day Mariposa Folk Festival features more than ten stages of top folk-roots music, along with presentations of story, dance and craft. All ticket categories are on sale. Kids 12 & under are admitted free. The festival has special pricing for youth and young adults. Onsite RV and tent camping is available.

Album Release Party at Mariposa Folk Festival

Album Release Party at Mariposa Folk Festival

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You’re invited to a party at Mariposa Folk Festival. What could be more fun than that? Join with VK & Legends of THE DEEP in the Mariposa Pub Tent on Sunday, July 7th, 10:45 p.m., to close-out the festival and celebrate the release of their new album, Charm, with fans, friends and family.

VK is the husband and wife team of Steve and Marni Van Kessel. Legends of THE DEEP is a talented collection of musicians, Jamey Heidman (bass), John Lebarr (guitar), Sean Murray (keys) and Roger Stanley (drums), who channel each other’s verve for truly great performances.

VK emerged from the local music scene about a decade ago and have been striking all the right notes ever since, putting out songs receiving critical attention, including from Blues and Roots Radio Worldwide, and building a loyal audience. With three albums to date, their own recording studio and indie label called 112 Records, VK has also been an important factor in the careers of other local musicians, helping them gain a foothold and build momentum.

The genesis of Charm was in 2018 when VK formed Legends of THE DEEP for the live release of their second album Terms & Conditions. This grouping of musicians proved providential and it inspired the bluesy, Americana folk-rock vibe of the new album. Recorded over the long winter months of 2019, the sound and style are rooted in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s tunes of their formative years, yet the themes and lyrics are relevant to folks two decades into the 21st century.

VK and the Legends of THE DEEP2The Mariposa Pub Tent show of VK & Legends of THE DEEP promises a truly special experience for fans of honest to goodness, well-crafted, lush-sounding Americana-folk-rock-blues music. Come to the show and help Steve, Marni and the guys celebrate this important milestone.

You can also see the whole group Saturday, July 6th, 12:00 pm, at the Downtown Stage, and you can see Steve and Marni as part of the Character Sketches Workshop on Sunday, July 7th, 3:50 pm, on the Barnfield Stage.

Celebrating Canada’s Rich Music Heritage – ‘The Last Waltz – a Musical Celebration of The Band – Live’

Celebrating Canada’s Rich Music Heritage – ‘The Last Waltz – a Musical Celebration of The Band – Live’

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Orillia, Ontario, Canada – Festival goers to this year’s Mariposa Folk Festival are in for a very special homage to the seminal group, The Band. Summoning the atmosphere of the group’s famous farewell concert, The Last Waltz, TheBand3a 9-piece all-star band along with special guests called ‘The Last Waltz – a Musical Celebration of The Band – Live’, is being assembled by Juno award winning producer and musical director, Lance Anderson.

It will be a celebration of one of the most famous music happenings in popular music history. This special presentation is part of Mariposa’s celebration of Canada’s rich musical heritage for Canada 150.

According to Artistic Director, Mike Hill, “Mariposa is very proud to shine a spotlight on our country’s rich folk-roots music heritage. One of the most influential groups ever to come out of Canada was The Band. They created the musical foundation of the Americana movement, and roots music was forever changed.” He added, “Our Mariposa audience is in for a very special performance with The Last Waltz – a Musical Celebration of The Band – Live”.

Mariposa Folk Festival takes place July 7th, 8th and 9th, in beautiful Tudhope Park in Orillia, Ontario, Canada, on the shores of scenic Lake Couchiching. The 3-day event features the best folk-roots music on the North American scene as well as story, dance and craft on twelve stages. All categories of ticket are now on sale at the best available price. Kids 12 & under are admitted free. Tent and RV camping is available on site.

Mariposa organizers have indicated that an announcement of a big-name artist will be made in the coming days.

 

Iconic Lucinda Williams is Mariposa’s Saturday Evening Main Stage Headliner

Iconic Lucinda Williams is Mariposa’s Saturday Evening Main Stage Headliner

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lucindaWilliamsLucinda Williams has been maneuvering down a path all her own for more than three decades now. Hailing from Lake Charles, Louisiana – a town with a rich tradition in all of America’s indigenous music, from country to the blues – her creative verve is deeply informed by being imbued with a culturally rich, economically poor worldview. After several years of playing the hardscrabble clubs of her adopted state of Texas, Williams gained a solid enough footing to record a self-titled album that would become a touchstone for the embryonic Americana movement.

While not a huge commercial success at the time – it went out of print and stayed there for years – Lucinda Williams (aka, the Rough Trade album) retained a cult reputation, and finally got the reception it deserved upon its reissue. Jim Farber of New York’s Daily News hailed the reissue by saying “Listening again proves it to be that rarest of beasts: a perfect work. There’s not a chord, lyric, beat or inflection that doesn’t pull at the heart or make it soar.” In calling it “a masterpiece,” Blurt magazine dubbed it “a discovery worth making and music that will live in your heart and mind long after the disk stops spinning.”

For much of the next decade, Lucinda Williams moved around the country, stopping in Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, and turning out work that won immense respect within the industry (winning a Grammy for Mary Chapin Carpenter’s version of Passionate Kisses) and gradually growing a very loyal cult audience. While her recorded output was sparse for a time, the work that emerged was invariably hailed for its indelible impressionism: like 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, which notched her first Grammy as a performer.

The past decade brought further development, both musically and personally, evidenced on albums like West (2007), which All Music Guide called “flawless…destined to become a classic” and Blessed (2011), which the Los Angeles Times dubbed “a dynamic, human, album, one that’s easy to fall in love with.” Those albums retained much of Williams’ trademark melancholy and southern Gothic starkness, but also exuded more rays of light and hope: hues that were no doubt imparted by a more soothing personal life, as well as a more settled creative space.

lucindaWilliams2Those vibes come to the fore once again on her latest release, Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone (2014). While the album stays very much rooted in the here and now, Williams also conjures up the spirit of classic ‘70s country soul – think Bobbie Gentry. The resulting warmth of tone gives the album a late-night front-porch vibe.

It is said you can divide music into three categories: the kind that aims for the head, the kind that aims for the heart and the kind that aims for the hips. Forging two of those connections at once is pretty impressive, but connecting on all three? That’s a rare accomplishment. But it’s not too much to ask of the iconic Lucinda Williams.

Find out more on Mariposa’s Lucinda Williams Pinterest Board.

My Sweet Patootie – Two Parts Exemplary Musicianship, One Part Vaudeville Comedy

My Sweet Patootie – Two Parts Exemplary Musicianship, One Part Vaudeville Comedy

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patootieThis contemporary folk duo from Los Angeles sports a fresh sound with beautifully harmonized vocals, Acoustic roots group, My Sweet Patootie, brings twining vocal harmonies, monstrous finger style guitar, fiddle, percussion and abundant charisma together in one perfect package.

Complete with tall tales and corny jokes, they deliver a modern-day show that has been described as “two parts exemplary musicianship, one part vaudeville comedy”.

Their upbeat show is a carnival ride with good-time finger-snapping tunes and carefully placed heartfelt ballads.

Their vintage-style song writing is rooted in folk and Americana.

Throw in a penchant for light-hearted satire and a love of old-time artists, and you get a sound they liken to “Green Acres for the New Millennium”.

Birds of Chicago are a Must See!

Birds of Chicago are a Must See!

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birdsChicagoBirds of Chicago is one of the most compelling duos on the Americana music scene.

A fractured country-soul voice wrapped in silver and gold tones, the sound they produce is compelling and honest.

With echoes of mountain gospel, dollops of street corner doo-wop, and the cool vibe of classic soul, their music goes straight to the heart of things.

Almost any night of the year you can find them at some festival, theatre, pub, VFW hall, living room, or roller rink, dovetailing their voices, and singing songs of hope, despair, love, electric seahorses, honey bee apocalypses, and ice cream.

It’s wonderful, original stuff. They’re a must see!

Check out our Birds of Chicago story board on Pinterest. While you’re there, click on Follow Board to get updates.

Elephant Revival: Bound to Take Mariposa By Storm

Elephant Revival: Bound to Take Mariposa By Storm

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elephantRevivalEvery once in a while, a truly original, fantastic-sounding group comes along and creates excitement on the Americana music scene.

Meet Elephant Revival!

Transcendental folk is perhaps the best way to describe their exciting musical stylings.

They are a troupe of accomplished players and vocalists, composers and songwriters that incorporates elements of Scottish/Celtic fiddle tunes, original folk pieces, traditional ballads, bluegrass, gypsy, psychedelic country, indie rock, reggae, jazz and an occasional hip-hop beat into a pleasing sonic mélange.

Individually and collectively, they have performed with or opened for a wide range of celebrated performers from Bela Fleck and Little Feat to George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic – how cool is that?

Five simple words represent the ethos of this unique grouping of talent that shares a commitment to responsible environmental stewardship, “Where words fail… music speaks.”

Mariposa Folk Festival is very pleased to welcome Elephant Revival to our stage. Once you see them perform live, we are pretty sure that you will be pleased too!

Check out our Elephant Revival story board on Pinterest. While you’re there, click on Follow Board to get updates.