REGINA — Regina will once again have a folk festival.
Last year, the Regina Folk Festival permanently shut down due to financial issues after event organizers skipped hosting an event in 2024. After its shutdown, members of The Exchange wanted to try filling its void.
“We met up with the Folk Festival board, and we talked it over, and we decided that it was worthwhile trying to get something off the ground,” said John Kennedy, executive director of The Exchange.
The Exchange reached out to a marketing firm to consult people throughout the province on their thoughts about the idea.
“The response was overwhelmingly positive. People want the folk festival in Regina, downtown, and that's what we're aiming to give them,” he said.
Details of the event
The Exchange Folk Festival will be a free music event taking place in Victoria Park on Aug. 8.
On Saturday, event organizers revealed most of the event’s lineup.
Notable performers include Montreal-based Indie rock band The Besnard Lakes, and Black Tea, from Saskatchewan, who’ve been top 40 on Canadian rock charts in recent months.
Several local acts are also set to perform, including Regina-based Indigo Joseph, Andino Suns, Zoe James and Black Thunder, along with Saskatchewan artists The North Sound and the Ron Loos Band.
Part of their decision to play Saskatchewan bands was to help promote local talent, noted Kennedy.
“Most of these bands that appear on the list have played The Exchange multiple times, and we do everything that we can to promote local bands, local music; we think it's really important.”
While most of the lineup has been announced, two other performances will be revealed in July, which Kennedy hinted at.
“There's going to be a couple of touring acts that the audience will be very familiar with.”
The festival will also include Indigenous dancing and drumming.
“We wanted to do some kind of tweener entertainment in between, and we wanted it to be significant and culturally significant to our community,” said Kennedy.
The first year for the event will be seen as a learning curve, Kennedy mentioned.
“We want it to go smoothly. We want our partners to be happy, and we want the community to be happy, so we'd like to get as many people out as possible.”
Based on previous feedback, the event could require payment for entry in the future.
“The community wants more touring acts that they've heard of; the bigger the name, the better, and so that's going to require a ticketed event.”
If the event does opt for entry payments, Kennedy assured prices would be low.
