In less than two weeks, the 12th annual Deep Roots Music Festival will be taking place in downtown Wolfville. The Deep Roots Music Cooperative’s mantra is to foster “an enduring community, celebrating and enriching our culture through music.” The festival features primarily folk and blues musicians, as well as dancers, visual artists, and children’s music. It runs from September 24th to 27th.
As the former Summer Student Assistant Coordinator, I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of the preparation for this year’s festival. The most amazing thing about Deep Roots is the unwavering and passionate dedication of the Festival Committee and festival volunteers. The Festival Committee is made up entirely of volunteers, many of whom have full-time jobs and families. Yet, they have the energy and talent to organize the festival year after year. It takes months of preparation. To see their love of music manifest itself in the beautiful production of the Deep Roots Music Festival is completely inspirational.
Last year I went to only the free events during the festival. The experience of being surrounded by music for an entire day was incredibly fulfilling and memorable. Wolfville becomes filled with musicians and performers and artists who all really care about connecting with their audience and the community. The Farmer’s Market has outdoor music, a parade that takes place in the town around noon (featuring gorgeous giant puppets!), and Paddy’s hosts evening concerts. Even if you can’t make it to or afford the priced events, there’s still many events to take part in that are free.
Additionally, the Deep Roots offers student pricing on tickets and passes. The festival schedule has more details on performers, events, workshops, and pricing.
Two exciting highlight concerts of this year’s festival feature maritime-based Old Man Luedecke and Matt Andersen on Sept 24th, and Canadian folk legend Sylvia Tyson on Sept 26th.
For more details about the festival, or to volunteer, refer to their website or email [email protected].
