Down by the River Festival is quickly solidifying its reputation as Edmonton’s last hurrah of the summer. The folk-Americana-country music festival in Louise McKinney Park returns for its second year from Sept. 18 – 20.
“One person said that it felt like a big bear hug around the community,” says Sahib Quraishi, festival co-founder and organizer. “I really liked that.”
With years of experience organizing the Downtown Defrost Electronic Music and Arts Festival, Quraishi decided he wanted to pursue a long-running dream of curating a “band” festival. Friends had introduced him to Americana music, a contemporary blend of traditional American roots styles — including folk, bluegrass, country, blues and rock. With a career as a talent booker, he had a feeling the genre would do well with an Edmonton audience.
He spent two years honing the idea until the festival launched at its picturesque, riverside site last year.
“No matter how hard you plan something, especially for a first year, there’s going to be holes that need to be fixed,” he says. “The thing we’re really happy about was none of those things were apparent to anyone who went to the festival.”
The event expanded to three days this year, and will still include the Honky Tonk Market, a pop-up western vintage market. It has also increased the number of art installations on site.
“It seems to be paying off,” Quraishi says. “It’s selling really well, so we’re really happy with everything.”
The lineup, meanwhile, was curated from a mix of hand-picked bands and formal applications. “This year we did artist applications and it was pretty crazy,” he says. “We got 300 applications and I listened to every one. It’s hard. It’s so much music to listen to and you want to give everyone a fair shot.”
From that pool he drew Ross Fizzard, a folk singer from Fort McMurray, and Tayler Grace, a local folk-country singer-songwriter, to name a few. Other highlights include: New Orleans Americana act, The Deslondes, Goldie Boutilier, a singer-songwriter originally from Cape Breton island, and the long-running indie rock band The Rural Alberta Advantage.
“There are a lot of cool acts,” Quraishi says. “I’m biased because I book them.”
Organizers also aim to help as many people as possible enjoy those performances. For one, the event is family friendly with kids 12 and under free.
They’re also launching a ticket assistance program for students, people with disabilities or those in financial need. “One of the hardest parts about doing these festivals is pricing them in a way that makes sense economically, but that doesn’t push people away,” he says. “So we try to create these avenues for people to attend and enjoy it.”
While the festival bubble of the last decade might have popped, Quraishi believes there’s ample space for well-organized, grassroots arts events to continue to thrive.
“A lot of the big festivals that are still around have so much money they’re almost too big to go away,” he says. “When you go to them, there’s a certain community vibe missing. I think that’s where we see ourselves come in.”
Down by the River Festival
Riverdale | Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, 9999 Grierson Hill NW | Sept. 18 – 20 | downbytheriverfest.ca
