Tag Archives: Mad River

Stories from Lovefest 2024

Brenda Hansen, with her brother Dwayne and Kenny Hanuse, greeted the audience of Love Fest 2024 with the ‘Klahoose Welcome Song.’ (You can listen to it, sung in the ʔayʔaǰuθəm language, in the podcast version of this story.) 

Close to 700 people purchased tickets, performed, or were at the event on Saturday August 10. Cortes Currents went backstage to interview some of the performers and record clips of their music. 

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Folk U at the Friday Market Live Music: Rick Bockner

On July 21, Manda Aufochs Gillespie welcomed Cortes Island songwriter/guirtarist Rick Bockner for the fourth in a series of Friday Market Live Music shows under the big tent in the Village Commons.

Rick began playing guitar at age 7 and was fortunate to be given his first lessons by Pete Seeger, a family friend. Rick was part of the influential San Francisco band Mad River from 1967-69, before moving to B.C. and settling in the Kootenays.

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Rick Bockner: Paths of Beauty

His musical roots go back to the McCarthy era, when the United States was purging itself of anything that could be labelled communist. Pete Seeger gave him tips on how to play the guitar. He was a member of the psychedelic rock band Mad River, which released two albums in San Francisco before it disbanded in 1969. On Cortes Island, he is somewhat of a musical icon. In addition to being a songwriter, he is one of the key organizers of Lovefest and the face of CKTZ’s Lip Syncs for the past decade. In this morning’s interview, Rick Bockner talks about paths of beauty.

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