The initial Guelph Banjofest was so much fun and such a success they’ve decided to do it again, only bigger.
The second Banjofest goes March 9 to March 11, featuring 12 different acts over three days.
In addition to the afternoon and evening sessions at Silence, a fringe event has been added to be held at the ANAF building.
“We had a great year last year and sold it out in a few weeks in advance, plus we had lots of fun, so we decided to do it again,” said organizer Ian Molesworth.
Friday night’s fringe element was the brainchild of local musician and artist Greg Denton.
“This year we wanted to make it a bit more eclectic, last year was mostly bluegrass and old time music,” Molesworth said.
“The fringe element is aimed at getting younger fans of banjo out and it’;s along the punk and alternative line,” he said.
That show will feature Stinkbox, Anthony Damaio and Hard Up.
“These are bands that do their own thing. They’re highly energetic,” Molesworth said.
He said the goal of the festival is to provide great music and hopefully break even, which the first one did. There is talk of perhaps moving it to a bigger venue down the road (Silence can only hold 75 people) but Molesworth said that intimacy adds to the experience and Silence has been great to work with.
For a full list of this year’s acts and ticket info, go to www.banjofest.ca.
The event also has a Facebook page.
This year’s event will also see a Deering Goodtime Banjo generously donated by Folkway Music raffled off at $5 a ticket.
