Calgary Folk Club celebrates 52 years of hosting local, national and international talent

It all began in 1972 and hasn't let up,  through disco, punk, grunge, metal and more, as the Calgary Folk Club has hosted events for 52 consecutive seasons.

Even COVID-19 couldn't stop them: the club Iwas able to live stream concerts during the lockdown, when live music was off-limits.

Not bad for a musical genre that relies more on finger-picking, lyrical mastery and human-powered harmony than 21st century technology.

"We are the oldest folk club in North America -- probably the world,"  said Suze Casey, volunteer artistic director of the folk club. "We can't quite figure that one out yet, (but) none of the artists that I've spoken to are aware of anyone who's been running continuously (for that long)."

Performances take place every second Friday from September to November, and then from January to April. It's launching the second half of this season with a lineup that features two Alberta artists, John Wort Hannam and Tim Buckley, who will play together as a duo called The Woodshed and then separately with their bands.

"The Calgary Folk Club really is about celebrating live music," she said. "Giving people a place to be upfront and personal and close so it's a very intimate kind of environment."

Since 1986, the shows have been hosted at the Dalhousie Community Centre with close to 300 people in attendance. It's run by a dedicated group of about 40 volunteers.

Casey is in her 39th year as artistic director and is in charge of scouting talent and coordinating performances.

"We really focus on bringing in artists that are nationally and internationally known and you get the opportunity to just really develop a connection in a way that you can't in a bigger hall," she said. "We've had Rita Coolidge, Buffy Sainte Marie, (and) Judy Collins here, now those are special ones that we do and our club members get the benefit of that, because the ticket price is higher than our usual $35."

Casey says folk music in Calgary resonates with people who enjoy the genre and want to share their passion.

"There's nine folk clubs in Calgary," she said. "There's no other city on the planet that has more clubs, they're lucky if they have one, maybe two."

Paul Bazinet is the volunteer general manager in his 42nd year donating his time to the club. And like the other volunteers, he loves the music.

"We've all gotten involved and we just have a great time as a great bunch of people," he said. "It's nice to create something and have people enjoy it."

Bazinet says folk music lovers could go to a local pub and hear a band play, but he says listening is such an important part of folk performances.

"You come here, it's a concert and it's always been run as a concert," he said. "People are here to listen to the music or listen to the lyrics."

HOMECOMING

John Wort Hannam and Tim Buckley both won a Calgary Folk Fest songwriting contest sponsored by the Calgary Folk Club, John in 2004 and Tim six years later.

Buckley says it's a little like a homecoming being invited to play at the community centre. His passion for folk music started as a teenager.

"I saw Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Guy Clark, John Hiatt perform in the round at the Jubilee Auditorium and I remember that being like really transformative for me this whole kind of story and guitar thing," he said. "The Calgary Folk Club was one of the first places that I feel like gave me an opportunity to really play on a bigger stage, bigger crowd, and all that kind of stuff."

Wort Hannam didn't grow up listening to folk music but he took to the storytelling aspect of the genre. When he's performing, he'll watch the audience to see how his songs are impacting them. He says The Woodshed with Buckley is something that was in the works for years.

"But me being in Lethbridge and him in Calgary and just both busy with families and life and stuff like that and so it's been really, really good to sort of finally start playing with Tim and working on tunes,' he said. "I think it's a cool setup tonight because it's The Woodshed which is the project me Tim have and then it's Tim's trio and then it's my trio, it's gonna be a lot of fun."

The January 19th show is sold out but tickets are available for the livestream: https://www.showpass.com/double-bill-john-wort-hannam-ab-with-t-buckley-ab-livestream/ (https://www.showpass.com/double-bill-john-wort-hannam-ab-with-t-buckley-ab-livestream/)