Canadian, world music icons headline Islands Folk Festival in Cowichan

Canadian, world music icons headline Islands Folk Festival in Cowichan

Published 9:40 am Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Concerts, community, and connection equals a folking good time as the Island Folk Festival celebrates 42 years at Providence Farm from July 24 to 26. (Chadd Cawson/Citizen)

Kick off your shoes for a folking good time as the Island Folk Festival celebrates 42 years at Providence Farm from July 24 to 26. (Chadd Cawson/Citizen)

Islands Folk Festival celebrates 42 years at Providence Farm from July 24 to 26, this year featuring performances from Canadian and world music icons.

“After 42 years, we all feel incredibly fortunate to be the stewards of what is surely becoming one of Canada’s great long-running festivals,” said artistic director Jack Connolly. “With that comes a responsibility to keep it viable, fresh, and to keep improving the audience experience while creating a place where people can step out of everyday life. Every year, for one weekend, we get another chance to transform Providence Farm into a different world; a place where families spend real time together, kids are safe, the air is decorated with hummingbirds and melodies, and strangers act like friends. The world becomes small enough that you keep running into the same people all weekend, and those encounters add up to a tangible sense of community; it feels beautifully counter-cultural, grandma’s in charge, and artists are celebrated.”

Some of this year’s top acts include Susan Aglukark, Shred Kelly, Yukon Blonde, David Francey, Black Umfolosi, Empanadas Ilegales, and PINDN, Noah Zacharin, Leeroy Stagger, Pony Gold, Waleed Kush, Earthly Delights, The Vaudevillian, Nastasia Y, and many more who will have their time to shine.

Organizers made the decision to increase the artistic budget to bring several icons of Canadian and world music to Providence Farm at once.

“This investment has also allowed us to pick a little bouquet of local music heroes to celebrate alongside the national and international icons,” said Connolly. “For instance, PixElle who will be kicking things off musically on Friday evening with their own set on the Islands Stage will get the opportunity to perform before legendary Inuk performer, songwriter and author Susan Aglukark on Sunday afternoon.”

There are three main outdoor performance stages, and other unique musical spaces.

“The Chapel Stage offers completely acoustic performances without amplification,” said Connolly. “The building itself resonates like an instrument, so it’s a chance to hear music the way it would have sounded before electricity.”

Adding to festival’s atmosphere is the Heritage Workshop Stage were together several artists explore themes ranging from funny or peace songs to murder ballads.

Connolly says one of the festival’s biggest additions is a Garden Workshop area inspired by The Vaudevillian whose washboard and spoon workshops were a huge hit last year. This area allows people to participate through singing, jamming, instrument workshops, yoga, and other hands-on activities led both by artists and community members.

“We’ve expanded the workshops with daily tea and yoga sessions, bluegrass basics with Tad Ruzsel, and singing and jamming workshops with Jenny Lester,” said Connolly. “We’re hoping to grow our Instrument Petting Zoo so people can try instruments they might never otherwise have the chance to play. Adults don’t often get permission to simply try something new, and we think that’s important.”

Also important: to connect with one’s creative side. The festival has created an art-making area where one can even get some guidance from counsellor and art therapist Sundari Crossman.

Since last year the festival has seen significant upgrades in everything from signage, to campgrounds, lighting, and garden workshops.

With all three days full of awe-inspiring artists, what fills Connolly’s cup is the opportunity IFF gives local performers.

“We try to treat every artist with the same respect, whether they’re coming from across the street or across the country,” said Connolly. “That means artists like Fighting Words, Beverley McKeen, and Bill Levity shine on the same stages as Yukon Blonde, David Francey, Susan Aglukark, and Black Umfolosi.”

See the full artist schedule at islandsfolkfestival.ca.

Until July 23, full weekend passes are $175, or $87.50 for those 16-18, while children 15 and under get in free. These prices will slightly increase at the gate. All tickets are available by calling the Cowichan Folk Guild office at 250-748-3975, or through the festival website.

Visit the IFF website if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer.

For three days the festival becomes a parallel universe where people spend less time looking at their phones and more time looking at one another, Connolly says.

“It’s a chance to slow down, reconnect, and remember what it feels like to be part of a community,” said Connolly. “I hope people leave discovering music they’ll carry with them for years or an experience that reawakens the artist or art appreciator within them. I hope they fall a little more in love with music, make new friends, and most of all leave feeling a little more inspired about life.”