Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tegan and Sara, Lights: Regina Folk Festival releases 2017 lineup

It's time to start queuing up your playlists and making plans for August 10-13, as Regina Folk Festival shares its 2017 lineup. 

The festival's artistic director and CEO, Sandra Butel, tells CBC's The Morning Edition it can be tough to keep the secret to herself until this time each year, and she even keeps it quiet from her staff.

Eclectic ensemble

"I'm making a cake and I don't want to give you the individual ingredients because, you know, baking soda doesn't always taste very good on its own, and chocolate does," Butel said. "But every year I do literally make a cake ... it's about everything together, and if you get it individually, it's not the same."

Coeur de pirate

9 years ago

Duration 10:16

Quebec’s Beatrice Martin (aka Coeur de pirate) is now writing songs in both English and French. Her latest collection has earned her a Juno song writing nomination.

Headliners for this year's show include identical twin Calgary rockers Tegan and Sara, Canadian chart-topper Lights, and Saskatchewan legend Buffy Sainte-Marie; and they're playing alongside an eclectic mix of acts such as Montreal songwriter and indie star Cœur de Pirate, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Cape Breton-born fiddler Natalie MacMaster, Saskatchewan cousins Kacy and Clayton and DJ Shub, formerly of A Tribe Called Red. 

Here's a sample...

Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara were scheduled to appear at a previous RFF in 2003, but a massive power outage meant that only Tegan was able to make it.

"I've been trying to bring them back so I'd actually have both of them at the same time," Butel shared with a laugh. "I've been working on them for quite a few years. 

Buffy Sainte-Marie takes Polaris Prize

9 years ago

Duration 3:09

The Canadian music icon, 74, wins the $50K annual music prize

Buffy Sainte-Marie

Another headliner who has been entertaining and inspiring fans in Saskatchewan and around the world for decades is Buffy Sainte-Marie, whose album Power in the Blood won the Polaris Prize in 2015 at age 74. 

"Buffy is an icon and she's done so much for the rights of women and Indigenous people in this country and I think that we have to recognize that in addition to that her show is so amazing and she's really awesome to have around," Butel said.

Begonia performs Juniper at CBC

8 years ago

Duration 3:20

Begonia (Alexa Dirks) performs Juniper live in the CBC Manitoba studio.

José Gonzá​lez

Butel describes José Gonzá​lez as a "beautiful" musician who will have "music nerds" salivating once they learn he's coming to RFF. She said she's looking forward to impressing his fans and seeing people discover him in Victoria Park.

Blake Berglund, Kacy and Clayton

CBC Radio listeners in Saskatchewan will be well-acquainted with Saskatchewan artists Blake Berglund and Kacy and Clayton. The latter is a duo of second-cousins who create a subtle, folk sound.

Blake Berglund is a country artist who eschews some of the tropes he says mainstream country music has come to rely on, and focuses on making his music into a work of artistry. 

• A 'soul search': Blake Berglund pours heart and mind into new album

Festival details

The 48th Regina Folk Festival runs from August 10-13, 2017 in Victoria Park in downtown Regina. Between the Mainstage and free, daytime Sunlit Stages and children's area, there are dozens of shows to see. Early bird weekend passes are available now. 

The full lineup so far includes: Tegan and Sara, Lights, Buffy Sainte Marie, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Coeur de pirate, Natalie MacMaster, José González, Vox Sambou, Kacy and Clayton, De Temps Antan, DJ Shub, Les Hays Babies, Begonia, Kobo Town, Como Mamas, William Prince, Blake Berglund, Kiera Dall'Osto, Tomato Tomato, Choir! Choir! Choir!, Ponteix, Ryan McNally, Dirty Catfish Brass Band, and Al Simmons.