Ray Mitch & The Coal Miners and Stephen Wilson Jr. will make their first Edmonton Folk Music Festival appearance by taking the event’s main stage this summer. The festival on Wednesday announced its full artist list and main-stage schedule for Aug. 7-10 in Gallagher Park. Several main-stage performers are returning guests – like Serena Ryder, Aysanabee, Allison Russell and Danielle Ponder – but organizers say 60 per cent of artists are new to Edmonton. “Finding that balance of diversity and range with returning and new artists is always a challenge and this year I’m very pleased with where we landed,” producer Terry Wickham said in a press release. The lineup also includes the Blackburn Brothers, Charlie Cunningham, Jupiter & Okwess, Madi Diaz, Monophonics, Secondhand Dreamcar and Taj Mahal. The full list is available online. Only two main-stage performers had been revealed previously: The Roots and Mt. Joy, who will close Saturday and Sunday night, respectively. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Organizers said prices were not raised from last year’s $234 for an adult weekend pass or $109-$115 for a single-day pass. “I think people are sick of inflation, so ticket prices are exactly the same as they were last year,” said Wickham, adding they were able to keep prices the same while accommodating high fees for performers by cutting down the number of artists from 65 to 58. The press release said there will be more food vendors than last year as well as more accessibility and shade tents. While Wickham is optimistic about ticket sales this year, the biggest worry he has is wildfire smoke. “We’ve been able to handle heat, wind, rain, but wildfire smoke could be an existential crisis for us if it comes in,” said Wickham, adding that every outdoor festival deals with this in Canada during the summer months. The long-time producer said poor air quality exceeding 10 on the Air Quality Health Index could pose a risk to performers’ voices, with the potential of them cancelling their sets. “You couldn’t ask Robert Plant or Allison Krauss to sing in 10 or 10-plus,” said Wickham. “They wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t let them.” With files from CTV Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg
