Summer Events and Places to Be - Courtenay Music Festival

Looking ahead to summers` pleasures, as one does on any sunny day in spring, a favourite subject of contented contemplation is the Courtney Music Festival. Named as one of the top 25 summer festivals in North America, it is easy to see why . Shaded by leafy trees, with open grassy areas for seating, the location is large and spread out enough to easily acommodate the crowds who wander between the three different caping sites, six stages, the food area, the vendors, the beer gardens, and the happening, hands on, kids area. Hopefully not in that order. The Tsolum River borders one side of the festival , the perfect place to cool off on a hot summers day between performances.

  Taking place this year on July 6,7, and 8, this year`s lineup features Emmy Lou Harris (!!!:)) and Canadian new stars The Sheepdogs. Not that this festival has disappointed in other years, what a thrill it was to see David Crosby last year. And Arrested Development, on their first trip to Vancouver Island,  I learned as I chatted with Speech when they walked over to check out some of the other bands playing. In the mellow vibe of a sunny afternoon in the Comox Valley, they strolled across the field, through the people, in peace.

The previous year, I and a group of friends who are regulars, coming up and camping every year, had the honour of seeing the band Little Feat perform with their original drummer, Richie Hayward, who had not been well for some time. It was a great performance, the final concert on Sunday evening, so many of the bands groovin' hits from their glory days. Hayward passed away a month later.

 That same year guitar god Adrian Belew was an earth shaking tour de force of power rock. Together with an energetic female bass player and a drummer evocative of Thor, they produced a trancelike driving sound which had me hurrying to the merchandise tent.

Sometimes the performers come to you . . .

That is another of the happy by-products of a music festival, you hear and see performers you might never otherwise know about or experience. Arlo Guthrie, Bruce Cockburn, K'naan, Steve Earl and Taj Mahal are other big names who have performed since the festivals' beginning in 1998. There are many others, local talent, independant types, up and comers. Such a broad range of talent is present every year, performing solo, in different combinations, hundreds of performances, and also workshops, that it isn't possible to see them all, only have a great time trying.