It kind of reads like a dinner party but these Pie Plates, Chocolate Hot Pockets and Artichoke Hearts are not a feast for your belly but your ears! Marvest, a kind of kid brother to CityFolk, brings back a harvest of music to the Glebe with a lineup of more than 50 acts. It’s a local music cornucopia of goodness.
While thousands will head on down to Lansdowne next week to see CityFolk acts like Amanda Marshall, Jack Johnson, Father John Misty and Post Malone (to name a few), one shouldn’t plan to bypass the bounty spilling out into (and around) Bank Street. Like walking up and down the rows of a farmer’s market, there’s much to discover here and new flavours you may not have experienced before. Inspired by Austin’s SXSW Festival, Marvest aims to continue to spotlight local musicians while simultaneously getting festival-goers to explore new and unexpected venues.
“This is a great opportunity for the CityFolk organization to promote local talent by working in cooperation with local businesses,” says CityFolk executive director Mark Monahan. “It gives the musicians a boost by helping them develop their audiences and it helps businesses broaden their customer base.”
Working in partnership with the Glebe BIA, the event strives to forge these important connections between local artists, businesses and the community. While some venues, like Irene’s and House of Targ, are a common place to see live music, others are not the first place you’d go looking for a guitar solo. A toy shop (Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s), a barber (Capital Barber Shop) and spots store (Kundstadt Sports) have all tossed their name, stuffies, combs and kickstands into the list of stops on the Marvest route.
Some may not think Ottawa would have such a vaste collective of diverse musicianship to showcase in a festival of its own but the CityFolk programming team have put together more than enough artists to prove that statement wrong. On the bill this year are: Area Resident; Aviation; Beyond Spain; Bruce Enloe; Bryan Snider; Étoile Noire; Expanda Fuzz; Fire Antlers; Gentlemen of the Woods; Grace Marr; Graven; Jad; Jaycee Lauren; Jessica Wedden; JK3; John Fuoco Band; Kimberly Sunstrum; Liam Lloyd; Maeve Lalonde; Mia Kelly; Mister & His Sister; Morris Ogbowu; Okies; Potential Red; RBLx; Rory Taillon & the Old Souls; RUM FIT MOSEY; Sarah Scriver; Scary Bear Soundtrack; Shadowhand; Silver Creek; Slim Moore and the New Soul Project; Sons of Pluto; Sounds of Stories; Steph La Rochelle; Swim Team; Tariq Anwar; Templeton Grey; The Artichoke Hearts; The Chocolate Hot Pockets; The Heavy Medicine Band; The Jimmy Tri-Tone Band; The Leaning Lights; The Occasional Angels; The Pie Plates; theroyalbrushoff; Thrust; Training Season; Vicki Brittle; and Weird With Cats, among others. Yeah, there's more!
Marvest takes place Friday, September 15 and Saturday, September 16 with a full schedule and venue listing now online. With the lion’s share of the festival taking place in there even the summer rain wash out shouldn’t stop you from getting out and exploring!
