We’re deep in the thick of festival season (our favourite season), and next weekend marks an unpleasant apex, when 3 of our favourites, Edmonton, Regina, and Trout Forest take place on the same weekend. It’s tough to choose from among your favourites, so today on the show we’ll lay out the highlights of the two closest (and the ones not sold out) in hopes of reaching a decision. Today is also the day for the Gimli Alternative Folk Festival, and that’s always worth a drive, so a few highlights from that one as well.

Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist

2:00 – 2:30

Willie P Bennett – Down to the Water – Live 1978 – CDN
Lindy – Lake Winnipeg – recorded live on UMFM – CDN – WPG
Lindy – May Not Be Right for You – recorded live on UMFM – CDN – WPG
Lindy – Picture of You – Suspension Of Disbelief – CDN – WPG
Paper Moon – Witness – What Are You Going To Do With Me EP – CDN – WPG
Del Barber – Can’t Turn Around – Headwaters – CDN – WPG
Del Barber – As Far As I Can Tell – Love Songs for the Last 20 – CDN – WPG

2:30 – 3:00 pm

Del Barber – Story That You Tell – Where the City Ends – CDN – WPG
Stan Rogers – Turnaround – Turnaround – CDN
Stan Rogers – The Mary Ellen Carter – Between the Breaks… Live! – CDN
Old Man Luedecke & Lake of Stew – Monsanto Jones – Sing All About It EP – CDN
Shred Kelly – Cabin Fever – In the Hills – CDN
Keri Latimer – Kindred Spirit – Crowsfeet and Greyskull – CDN – WPG
James Vincent McMorrow – Sparrow & The Wolf – Early in the Morning

3:00 – 3:30 pm

Scott Nolan – Montgomery Eldorado – Montgomery Eldorado – CDN – WPG
Gordie Tentrees – Black Seeds – North Country Heart – CDN
Jonathan Byrd – The Fifth Wheel – The Law and the Lonesome
Jonathan Byrd – Prairie Girl – The Law and the Lonesome
Red Moon Road – Do or Die – Red Moon Road – CDN – WPG
Dan Frechette – Where The Water Tastes Like Wine – Lucky Day – CDN – WPG
Jon Brooks – Fort McMurray – Delicate Cages – CDN
Miss Quincy – I Want a Little Sugar in my Bowl – Like the Devil Does – CDN

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Emmylou Harris – All My Tears – Wrecking Ball
Mavis Staples – Wrote A Song For Everyone – You Are Not Alone
Mavis Staples – We’ll Never Turn Back – We’ll Never Turn Back
Serena Ryder – Sweeping the Ashes – Is It O.K. – CDN
The Heartbroken – Tonight, Tonight – The Heartbroken – CDN