Terry Wickham, producer and creative director of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, spends his entire year searching for just the right artists to showcase on the stages of his folk festival. Terry has been producing the festival for 38 of its 47 years.

Right off the top, we talked about the “new” audience for the Festival and which artists he booked for the next generation of Festival-goers.

Arrested Development, Buffalo Traffic Jam, Cat Power, Leif Vollebekk, Of Monsters and Men, Milk Carton Kids, Amble, The Womack Sisters, Thee Sacred Souls, etc.

Nathaniel Rateliff, Arrested Development, Amble,  Corb Lund, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Annie and the Caldwells, etc.

Terry takes us through the years and artists that stood out.  Also, a handful of nights that became legendary.

I asked him, “Where are his new audiences coming from?” and he reminded me that kids 12 and under get in free, and anyone slightly older gets in for half price. Which means that whole families can attend, and those younger family members are the newest music fans.

I loved the fact that if he gets a call from someone who can’t afford the tickets, he’ll work something out.