Coldsnap, the Prince George winter music festival, has announced the mainstage lineup for the 2020 festival which will take place January 24 to February 1.
This year’s festival features musicians from across the country performing a wide range of genres ranging from energetic Americana, to soulful songs of social justice, to an East Coast-style fiddle kitchen party, and even a hip-hop happening.
Things kick off with a Friday night bluegrass-style dance party at the Ramada Ballroom featuring Big Fancy from northern B.C., The Eliza Doyle Band from Saskatchewan and Foghorn Stringband from Oregon. These bands promise to provide a full blast, boot-stompin’ hoe-down. On Saturday, the Ramada will be rockin’ with hip-hop sensations Rebecca Solomon and Rich Mac from Williams Lake, Kimmortal from Vancouver and Snotty Nose Rez Kids from Kitimaat Village.
These musicians are masters of using music to discuss themes of race, gender, identity and community building with unparalleled energy that leave audiences dancing and sweating. On Sunday we will feature another specially-priced Coldsnap for Kids at the Prince George Playhouse with Kelowna-based family rock band The Oot ‘N Oots.
Sunday evening will continue at the Playhouse starting with the soaring voices of Nove Voce, fresh off a first place win at the 2019 National Music Festival, and continuing with Khari Wendell McClelland and the Sojourners who draw deep inspiration from their African-American history to sing uplifting songs of joy and freedom and deliver rousing messages of social justice and civil rights.
And that is just the first weekend. Tuesday January 28 will see the Playhouse host an International Folk Jam with The Trials of Cato, hailing from North England and Wales, along with Twin Bandit from Vancouver and Prince George’s own amazing Amy Blanding.
Thursday continues at the Playhouse the incredible songwriting talents of multi-Juno award winning story-song singer David Francey, as well as multi-award winning Twin Flames from Ontario, who use music to create a sonic landscape that spans Canada and the Arctic. In 2019, Twin Flames partnered with UNESCO to write the official song to celebrate the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Friday moves back to the Ramada Ballroom with an International dance party as Coldsnap teamed up with Le Cercle des Canadiens Français de Prince George (CCFPG) to help them celebrate their 60th anniversary. The evening will feature the amazing energy-filled trad-based sounds of Bon Débarras and their daring jigging and vivid body percussion, as well as guitar virtuoso Alpha Yaya Diallo – one of the hottest performers on the current world music scene.
On Saturday, we will finish off an amazing week of music with a Coldsnap Ceilidh, featuring Cape Breton supergroup Beòlach with their innovative and exciting arrangements of traditional Cape Breton, Scottish and Irish tunes for fiddle, bagpipes, whistles and piano, as well as the astounding, dynamic, Irish-influenced fiddle virtuoso that is Kiérah, from Vancouver.
Regional performers fill out the rest of the line-up, and we continue the free “Come In From The Cold” IceJams and Workshops throughout the city that make Coldsnap one of the most anticipated cultural events of the year.
The lineup can be found now at coldsnapfestival.com and will be updated as events are finalized.