New year, new digs: Festival Hall Unleashed

Image grabbed from festivalhallcalgary.com

The Calgary Folk Music Festival is still many months away, but the chill of winter won’t stop the organizers from introducing their new Festival headquarters with a rockin’ gig.

The already-thriving Inglewood music scene is also the new home to the Festival offices, which has bounced from spot to spot over the years. The new space, featuring a 180-seat performance venue, will open it’s doors to the public this weekend.

Running all day on Saturday, Festival Hall Unleashed will bring out a variety of artists and sounds, without charge. DJs will dominate the upper floors (bring your old vinyl, and give it a public spin session! Don’t have any vinyl? Go hit up Recordland, less than a block away!) while curators Lorrie Matheson, Paul van Kampen, Kenna Burima, Steve Fletcher, Allen Baekeland, and Brent Cooper will present artists including Tim Hus, Steve Pineo, Jane Hawley, Tim Williams, Kris Demeanor, Chantal Vitalis, Heart Failure Research Unit, Chris Vail, Matt Masters, Mountaineer, Eve Hell, Anne Loree, Agnostic Phibes Rhythm & Blood, Raleigh, Reuben Bullock, SaVK, Kris Ellestad, Jon Gant, Ryan Bourne (who played an intriguing set last weekend at the Laser Cake EP Release party), Danny Vescarelli and Jennifer Crighton.

The full schedule is available on their website. The new heart of the Folk Festival is located at 1215 10 Ave SE. Parking will be an issue, so get there early to secure a free short-term spot on 10th. Doors open at 1:30 in the afternoon, and will keep your toes tapping until well after sunset.