With banjo and harmonica in hand, the Squamtones are part of an expended lineup of music at this year’s Squamish Wind Festival.
The Squamish-based duo, Cam Salay on banjo, guitar and bass and Matt Blackman with slide guitar, harp and harmonica, will be joined by stand-up bass player and vocalist Tim Kramer.
Along with eclectic up-tempo originals, their covers range from Mumford & Sons and Neil Young to the Rolling Stones and the Tragically Hip.
“We met at the Living Room Restaurant. Cam was playing solo and I went to see him with my wife. He asked me why I don’t come up and join him,” said Blackman, who will be performing on Friday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. after Bluesberry Jam, a five-piece rocking blues band.
The artists form part of the lineup at the third annual Squamish Wind Festival, which runs from July 21 to 24 at O’Siyam Pavilion Park and the surrounding area downtown.
The community event showcases art and music, along with food trucks and a craft beer garden. Making Waves, an art exhibit in the Squamish Arts Council building featuring painting, sculpture and weaving by local artists, takes on the theme of wind, waves and sky.
On Thursday, a family movie night under the stars will be showing Kung Fu Panda 3 and, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, the Squamish Academy of Music is presenting a production of Shrek Jr. performed by their Broadway or Bust camp, followed by a half-hour musical production by the junior camp.
Sunday highlights wind and water sports with sailing, paddle and trainer kite demos and a hour-long kiteboarding show by top-rated athletes, including Canadian champion Sam Medysky. The day starts with a paddling demo by Squamish Nation at 9:30 a.m. and also includes free kite trainer lessons at Newport Beach at noon.
“This year, we expanded music to all day Saturday,” said festival director Dave Thomson. “Fifty per cent of the festival arts programming is local from Squamish and the Sea to Sky Corridor.
“We want to do our very best to keep the Wind Festival as a free festival so everyone from the community can have the chance to come out and enjoy it.”
Ta’kaiya Blaney, singer, environmental activist and First Nations advocate from Tla A’min Nation, will be opening Friday night with her powerful lyrics, followed by Bluesberry Jam and the Squamtones. The night closes with House Arrest, a cover band rooted in R&B, soul and reggae.
Saturday afternoon’s line-up includes local bands Emma & Friends, the Overcomers, and Vancouver-based Flowshine.
Thomson is especially excited about a last-minute find, the Burn Ins, to wrap up the afternoon set starting at 4:30 p.m.
“We haven’t explored the Squamish area much, it’s new territory for us and we’re really excited,” said Kristine Lyall, the Burn In’s bass player, who will be performing with lead vocals Aaron Lyall and her husband, Aaron Mokry, with “guitar licks so tasty they make your mom’s cooking look bad.”
Playing originals and a few covers, the blues-rock band is from Elkford, a small community in the East Kootenays, but has been on the road for the past five years and now considers themselves performers without a real home.
“We realized that this is what we want to do, what we’re made for.
“We quit our jobs, bought a motorhome and didn’t look back. We sold the motorhome because we didn’t use it much and now we live out of our van,” said Lyall.
The entertainment continues into Saturday evening with Tanga, Disco Funeral and indie-rock band Magik Spells. The festival grounds will have DJ Praiz and beatboxer Emotion-Z leading an interactive DJ Jam Zone for adults and kids during intermissions on both Friday and Saturday.
