Celebrating what is widely recognized throughout the province of New Brunswick as the end of unpalatable weather and the unofficial kickoff of the summer festival season, Paddlefest is a great reason to clear your schedule for a long weekend in Saint Andrews. Held from May 16th to 19th, the annual event sees the picturesque town come alive with music, art and paddling/environmental-themed activities. Today they’ve announced the first round of musical acts performing at this year’s festival.
“Paddlefest is a celebration of music, community and the beauty of the East Coast” says Festival Director Luke Macdonald.
“Paddlefest is the unofficial kick off to summer, and after this winter I think we’re all looking forward to summer! Seriously though, we’ve got a diverse lineup of headliners, local favourites and emerging artists from across the East Coast that I’m happy to bring to our little festival.”
The performers announced today for the 2019 Paddlefest lineup include east coast icons Bill & Joel Plaskett, Vancouver/Toronto indie-pop star Hannah Georgas, Saskatoon folk rockers The Deep Dark Woods, Winnipeg songwriter William Prince and Montreal blues master Cécile Doo-Kingué, Isaac & Blewett, Gordie MacKeeman & his Rhythm Boys, Mama’s Broke, The Olympic Symphonium, and Newfoundland’s top-notch horn ensemble Ouroboros. The festival also boasts some of New Brunswick’s showcasing some stellar emerging artists including Bleum, The Backstays, Amy Stone & the Veneers and Kylie Fox.
According to MacDonald, the artists announced today account for roughly a third of the festival’s full lineup.
The festival has been running in different forms for almost 25 years, and attracts a wide range of attendees. The programming tends to run the gamut genre-wise; everything from folk, rock and blues to pop, indie and experimental.
“Programming a diverse lineup with something for everyone is a top priority” says Macdonald.
Venues include the Paddlefest Main Stage located in the town square, historical site Minister’s Island, prestigious hotel The Algonquin Resort, local businesses The Red Herring Pub, The Kennedy Inn & Honeybeans and more.
This year also sees the addition of a concert at the KIRA Amphitheatre, a newly constructed outdoor amphitheater owned and operated by Kingsbrae Garden.
“This year it’s very exciting to be able to utilize a venue like the KIRA Amphitheatre to help make the event bigger, but not too big,” says MacDonald.
“I’m also looking forward to expanding on the community activities and nature/environmental aspect of the event. Representatives from local NGOs will be on hand to discuss important environmental issues facing the region, we’ll be hosting our annual beach clean up, etc. We also have some special film screenings in the works which we’ll be announcing details on soon!”
In addition to the music, the 4-day festival will include paddling events, presentations on local environmental projects, a beach clean-up, kids’ events, a craft market, food vendors, the annual Paddlefest Brunch and more.
The full festival lineup is expected to be announced later this month.
Festival Passes go on sale online Thursday, March 7th at 12:00pm. This year the festival is offering 2 types of Passes:
Ultimate RAPIDS Pass: Includes admission to all official venues (Thursday – Sunday) (subject to capacity) and a FREE Paddlefest Brunch (Sunday)
Main Stage Pass: Includes admission to the Paddlefest Main Stage, The Red Herring Pub & The Kennedy Inn (Thursday – Sunday) (subject to capacity) with a $5.00 Paddlefest Brunch (Sunday)
Tickets for the Amphitheatre Show (Bill & Joel Plaskett and William Prince) also go on sale on March 7th. Tickets for the Main Stage and other official venues will be on sale March 21st.
Tickets and passes can be purchased online.