Shine On Festival

The Unbelievable Bargains

Delf Gravert

Beavercreek Park, Kerry, MB // August 21-24

Big names // n/a

Local talent // Carly Dow, The Revival, The Unbelievable Bargains, Little House

Cost // $40 advance at Music Trader (includes full festival and camping for the weekend). Day passes available at the gate.

Free parking.

www.shineonfestivalofmusicandart.com

 

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Once a hidden gem of the local festival scene, the Shine On Festival of Music and Art is coming into its tenth year. And for the past decade, it’s one festival that has been consistent in keeping things intimate (weekend passes are capped at 400 tickets), affordable (advance tickets cost only $40) and fun loving (think massage circles and a carpeted dance floor).

“Shine On is just for the goofy at heart,” explains organizer Tabitha Gamble.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, organizers are planning some ‘shiny’ new additions to this year’s fest. For the first time ever, shiners can now party in the Sandilands Forest on Thursday night, now making the festival a four-day endeavor. Other additions in store include art installations, a comedy show, and a geodesic dome that will house up to 20 hammocks (what else?).

And for those regretting the decision to pass on this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival, Shine On might be the perfect place to seek solace. The infamous Trading Post will be open for business for the first time at Shine On, thanks to an impromptu, yet binding, trade for a didgeridoo performance. This is the kind of stuff that will be passed mouth-to-mouth until it becomes local music festival legend. And while details remain hush hush, there are a few more Folk Fest-esque surprises in store for attendees, or so the rumour goes.

Amid the compendium of new additions, the music of course remains the glue holding it all together. In this way, the tenth year is just as much about looking to the past.

“Because it’s our 10-year there’s just going to be a lot of classic Shine On bands,” Gamble explains.

Steve Basham, who has in one shape or form played all but one of the past Shine On festivals, is returning again this year. His band, the Unbelievable Bargains, is fresh off the release of its new album, Boiled Egg.

Basham cites the “sheer hang-out-ability of the festival” among his favourite qualities of Shine On.

It’s the campy, welcoming space that keeps the bands coming back just as much as the audience.

“There’s not really a separation between the bands and the audience.”

There might be some extra anticipation in the air leading up to the tenth year of Shine On, but the ticket cap remains real. Shine On hopefuls without advance tickets might need to beg, borrow, steal (or trade) if they want to be a part of its making.


A limited number of advance tickets are available at Music Trader (97 Osborne St.).

Part of the series: 2014 Summer Festival Guide

Published in Volume 68, Number 29 of The Uniter (August 5, 2014)

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