This weekend’s Mission Folk Music Festival has gone more global than usual. It features several artists who’ve either emerged from abroad, earned a decent living overseas, or are rooted in music from outside of Canada due to family background.
One of the most intriguing examples is Dongyang Gozupa, a Seoul-based progressive rock band that incorporates Korean traditional music along with the sounds of psychedelia. “The energy between all the members of the band manages to reach the last spectator in the audience,” declared Israeli music journalist Gil Rouvia. ”I don’t know of any similar band that performs their music in such a unique way.”
Check out Dongyan Gozupa on the Main Stage on Saturday (July 22) at 5 p.m. In addition, this trio will play the Fraser Stage around 2:15 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (July 23).
Then there’s Tennyson King, who’s out with a new single called “Rubber Tramp”. It’s about someone who lives in their vehicle, nomadically exploring the world around them with ultimate freedom. In some respects, it resembles King’s life. The Hong Kong-born and Ontario-raised musician spends much of his life on the road, repeatedly touring in Australia, China, and other far-flung locales.
King, who was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award this year for his album Good Company, lives part of the year in New Westminster. Check him out on Saturday at 2 p.m. on the Market Stage and between 3 and 4 p.m. on the Ursa Minor Stage.
On Sunday, King will perform again on the Ursa Minor stage between 12:10 and 1:10 p.m. Then, he’ll move to the Workshop Stage for another gig that day at 2:15 p.m.
Mission fest performer views music as medicine
Another act worth checking out is Alysha Brilla. She has earned three Juno Award nominations for self-produced albums. Plus, she won an international songwriting contest for her lyrics in her son “Immigrant”.
Brilla’s father is Ismaili. His family roots go back to Tanzania and, further back, to western India. Her mother is of European ancestry.
Brilla has incorporated Indian themes or raised concerns about human rights abroad in her videos.
“Music connects, music heals, music is a medicine,” Brilla once told CBC. “I believe music will be used more and more in the critical ways that we are shifting and moving towards this world being a better place.”
Brilla will perform in concert at noon on Saturday on the Market Stage. The following day, she will be on the Ursa Minor Stage between 12:10 and 1:10 p.m.
Watch the lyric video of “Love” by Alysha Brilla.
For more information on the Mission Folk Music Festival, visit the website. Follow Pancouver on Twitter @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
