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Northern Lights lineup to feature Sam Roberts Band, K’NAAN, Bedouin Soundclash, Basia Bulat

The 2018 festival featured sold-out shows and attracted a record attendance of over 13,000 total
bedouin soundclash
Bedouin Soundclash. Supplied.

Sudbury’s Northern Lights Festival Boréal began in 1972 as a one-day event called the ‘Northern Lights Folk Festival’ and has grown and evolved over the years to be the signature music & arts festival of Northern Ontario.

NLFB remains Canada’s longest consecutively running, outdoor music festival.

"Over the years, NLFB has been the setting for numerous scenes in Canadian music history. It’s where Canadian folk icon Stan Rogers first wrote and performed his iconic song Barrett’s Privateers. It’s where a very young Eileen ‘Shania’ Twain took the stage for one of her first festival gigs. It is where many people first witnessed diversity of musical styles from various regions of the world, including a strong component of exciting Indigenous and francophone content.," says a festival news release.

The 2018 festival featured sold-out shows and attracted a record attendance of over 13,000 total. 

The theme for the year’s festival lineup is songcraft - the art & science of penning a great song. This is something that NLFB has celebrated for decades, but 2019 includes a special emphasis on lyrics.

“I wanted to put together a lineup that highlighted the power of lyrics in a number of different styles and contexts.” says NLFB Executive Artistic Director Max Merrifield, “Whether they are folk singers, pop singers, indie rockers, or rappers, you’ll find that most of this year’s artists take command of language and lyrics in intriguing & exciting ways. In an era where image, sonics, and aesthetic have become paramount, I thought it would be interesting to try and elevate the importance of lyrics through the programming.”

The festival has already announced a number of exciting artists, including Canadian rock icons Sam Roberts Band. These 6x Juno winners will make a long overdue return to Sudbury, headlining Thursday, July 4th of the festival.

Tickets can be found at nlfb.ca