Bruce Cockburn, Ani DiFranco to perform free concert marking Winnipeg General Strike's 100th anniversary

Manitoba labour leaders have pulled together a star-studded lineup for celebrations commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.

Musicians with long histories of support for labour movements, including Canadian folk-rocker Bruce Cockburn and singer-songwriter-activist Ani DiFranco, will perform a free concert at Old Market Square in the city's Exchange District on June 8.

Dubbed Rise Up 100: Songs for the Next Century, the event will also feature Manitoba talent likeWeakerthans frontman John K. Samson, Leonard Sumner, and Two Crows for Comfort.

"We want to invite Winnipeggers, Manitobans, and Canadians to come and party with us, come listen to some excellent music and to celebrate our shared legacy," said Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour.

The Old Market Square concert will mark the culmination of a series of events commemorating one of central moments in Winnipeg's history.

A social at the Ukrainian Labour Temple on May 11 has already sold out. A gala dinner at the RBC Convention Centrewill be held on May 15100 years to the day since the start of the strike. Entertainment at the gala will include performances from the cast of the musical Strike!, which is being presented this summerat Winnipeg's Rainbow Stage.

Other free events include a parade on May 25, which will start in the Exchange District before moving down Main Street and Broadway toMemorial Park, across from the Manitoba Legislature.

A concert following the parade will feature a long list of local performers including Sierra Noble, Nathan Rogers and Red Moon Road.