It’s official: Toronto’s Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival adds award-winning guitarist and singer-songwriter Sue Foley to this year’s event lineup for the weekend.
Fresh off the release of her latest album, 2021’s Pinky’s Blues, Sue will close-out the three-day event, rounding out the highly acclaimed roster that includes award-winning musicians across blues, rock, jazz, folk, roots, and more.
Registration is free but donations will be collected to assist with festival expenses, the main one being remuneration for artists.
Here’s the full line-up:
Friday, Feb. 18 – all times in ET:
Announcer: Jeanne Beker
7:00 p.m. — Josh Ritchie
7:30 p.m. — Taylor Abrahamse
8:00 p.m. — Lynn Miles
8:30 p.m. — Joey O’Neil
9:00 p.m. — Lucy Kaplansky
9:30 p.m. — Jack de Keyzer
Saturday, Feb. 19 – all times in ET:
Announcer: Brian Gladstone
7:00 p.m. — Ori Dagan
7:30 p.m. — Ken Whiteley and Belua Band
8:00 p.m. — Mean Mary
8:30 p.m. — Julian Taylor
9:00 p.m. — Robert Priest
9:30 p.m. — Shari Ulrich
Sunday, Feb. 20 – all times in ET:
Announcer: Laura Fernandez
7:00 p.m. — Graham Lindsey
7:30 p.m. — David Storey Band
8:00 p.m. — Rob Lutes
8:30 p.m. — Suzie Vinnick
9:00 p.m. — Donne Roberts Band
9:30 p.m. — Sue Foley
Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival was founded by Brian Gladstone and is a division of the Association of Artists for a Better World, a registered non-profit organization.
When a festival has been running for 20 consecutive years — in the middle of Canadian winters no less — rest assured, organizers have seen it all. Last year, Brian and his team added ‘pivoting to online due to a pandemic’ to that list and, in 2022, they did it again.
When they started planning for this year’s fête, venues in Ontario were operating at full capacity; in the wake of Omicron’s rapid spread, that lowered to 50 per cent before dropping off all together at the start of the year.
“We had to temporarily pause planning until things stabilized and have since confirmed Winterfolk will not be live in-person for the second year now,” Brian said. “In celebrating our 20th anniversary, we set out to make this the festival’s biggest and best Winterfolk ever — and still plan to do so with everyone safely tuning in online, locally and beyond.
“This year’s virtual celebration is once again affirming what we in Toronto have long-recognized: this city has an unwavering commitment to musical excellence and, especially in times like these, an equally great commitment to our communities.”
Those planning to tune in will need to register online for free access at https://www.winterfolk.com
