Winnipeg Folk Festival unites bands from around the world

On Thursday,Winnipeg Folk Festivalartistic directorChrisFrayerstood at the gates of Bird's Hill Provincial Park, and watchedpeople come through.

It's the first of what Frayer calledthe "best four days of the year," and festival after festival, hebeganthe same way.

"This is the first place I go when I get out here [I]come and watch them open up the gates," he said.

"That's how we know it's game on."

World-wide search for music

Frayer is personally responsible for finding and booking bandsfrom all over the world for the Winnipeg Folk Festival.In 2016, he's gathered 75 from nearly a dozen differentcountries.

"I went to Israel last year.I went to Budapest, Hungary. I've been to Seoul, South Korea It's a bad life," he said, laughing.

His year typically starts with aconference in New York in January, where he watches a number of bands and makes his first picks.

"So, what everybody's seeing is a little bit of a taste of that journey around the globe [I'm]bringing it all back home for these four days in July."

According to Frayer, the "bringing it all back home"part is not only a challenge for bands that are based far away in 2016, the most difficult one to book hailed fromBrooklyn, N.Y.

"Lucius They're kind of blowing up in the United States," he said.

Frayer reported struggling to book the five-member, indiepopgroup, calling them "super, super busy."

"They're doing tons of touring in Europe so they're actually coming all the way in just to play on Sunday and to do a workshop in the afternoon," he said.

Others, including Yemen Blues, a band Frayer discovered while in Jerusalem, are staying a while longer.

"We've got bands from Ethiopia, bands from Benin and Togo, bands from France, bands from Germany," he said.

First-timers toseasoned volunteers

During a sound check in Minneapolis, Kim Garcia of The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers a Los Angeles-based grouptold CBCthe band would be driving to Winnipegfor the first time.

"We just played Toronto Jazz Festival and Montreal Jazz Festival such an amazing experience. I'm really excited about Winnipeg," she said.

The band, which Garcia said started as a group of friends who went to the same church, is scheduled to stay at the Winnipeg Folk Festival between Friday and Sunday. They are most looking forwardto sharingtheir sound with a new audience, she said.

"I just love everything about [gospel music]," Garcia said.

"The sound, the origin; where everything comes from. The writing. American gospel music with the lyrics [it's] just so sad and beautiful. How can you not feel that?"

Upon arriving, the band is likely to seeDanyaJaworski, who has volunteered with the Winnipeg Folk Festival for more than 20 years.

The opportunity to meet musicians,Jaworskisaid, isthe most interesting aspect of spending time backstage. Throughout her time volunteering, she's collected an array of memories.

"Richard Thompson wanting to see the world soccer match," she said, recalling some of her favourites.

"He was a big fan. We were able to find a small black and white [television], hook it up at the back of the ice cream crew in the food area and he got to watch the game and he was eternally indebted."

Another time,Jaworskisaid, a young man delivered a letter to the media tent, requesting to meet hip hop artistK'naan.

"He was an activist in the city working with disadvantaged youth andK'naandid eventually meet with him, he got the letter. So, those kinds of highlights are things you never forget," she said.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival runs until Sunday.