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Arts

Lovefest 2024: Sampling of Musicians

Lovefest 2024 is coming to Cortes Island on Saturday, August 10. The full slate of performers has now been confirmed. Today’s program is going to be a sampler from five of the acts: 6 Foot Johnson, Doc Fingers, Elise LeBlance, the Adonis Puentes Cuban band and Ann Mortifee 

“ It’ll be a great  day of music; it’s a family affair. There’s food, of course, and all the crafts vendors and  there will be massages. There’s a kid’s tent. We’re going to have fun and games for kids. It’s the Cortes annual music festival. This is for the people that are here in the summer and of course, the year round residents that live on Cortes. We like to feature our local musicians and we like to bring in new bands that people haven’t heard.   Doors open at 11:00 AM, the music starts at noon, Lovefest will probably go till 9:00, PM,” explained Rex Weyer, one of the Festival’s principle organizers.  

Early arrivals at the 2023 Love Fest – Roy L Hales photo

Tickets are on sale in the stores: the Cortes Market, Cortes Natural Food Co-op, Squirrel Cove General Store and Gorge Harbour Store.  Early Bird Prices:

  • Adult – $40
  • Family – $80
  • Under 18 – $30

Rex Weyler: “They’re also on sale at Friday Markets. I’m there every Friday.” 

Cortes Currents: Let’s go to the sampling:

Cropped image from 6 Foot Johnson’s Facebook page

The audio version of this story opens with a short clip of 6 Foot Johnson  which CKTZ News reporter Louis Belcourt recorded just prior to their 20th year anniversary performance. You can listen to it in the podcast above.  

Rex Weyler:  “Six Foot Johnson is going to play. We’re really excited about that. This is a Cortes band that’s been playing for a long time. for decades, and great musicians.”

“We have Doc Fingers, great BC musician. I knew Doc Fingers in the seventies and eighties, when he used to play in Vancouver all the time. He’ll bring his band, really good music.”

Weyler’s co-producer, Benji Coey emailed that Doc Fingers has been on the Vancouver scene since 1972: “Doc plays an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, pop, boogie-woogie and originals and has toured Europe regularly.” 

‘Good Times Roll’ is from a 2017 recording of the Doc Finger’s Trio. 

Rex Weyler: “We have Elise LeBlanc, a country singer from Cumberland. She plays with a fiddle player. They do just great western swing style fiddle music.  She did an album in 2011 called ‘Runaway Kites’ and her most recent, The Fiddle and the Fire, is excellent, just released last year.  You can find her on Spotify and BandCamp and so forth. She’s got a website.” 

“The Fiddle and The Fire” is from a 2023 recording of Elise LeBlanc & The Ridgeriders

Rex Weyler: “The Adonis Puentes Cuban band that people love so much is coming back.” 

Puentes has been a headliner at the last two Lovefests and his song  Sabor A Café was a shortlisted nominee for World Music Album of the Year at the 2014 Junos. 

This sampling closes with a clip from possibly the most internationally recognized singer/songwriter living on Cortes island. 

“Ann Mortifee is going to do  a retrospective of her career. I also knew Ann in the seventies in Vancouver. Ann has always been an extraordinary singer. She lives here on Cortes Island now, and we’re really fortunate to have Ann on the island and double fortunate that she’s going to do a set for us at Love Fest.”

‘Nobody Gets My Child’ is taken from the Ecstasy of Rita Joe

Rex Weyler: “I found out that  August 10th, the day of Love Fest, there will also be a massive shooting star exhibition  put on by the universe. So as the music’s ending, we’ll be showered in shooting stars. The grand finale will be the shooting star display in association with the Universe and Love Fest.” 

Some Links for Musicians at Love Fest 2024

Top image credit: Doc Fingers – submitted photo

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