Recording: Grand Analog

Artist: Grand Analog

Song: Around This Town

Recorded at Christie Pits ("Bloor Ossington Folk Festival"), September 21, 2013.

Grand Analog - Around This Town

Full review to follow. Starting out in living rooms and basements in its first year and piggybacking on the local street festival in its second, The Bloor Ossington Folk Festival took a big step up in size and complexity this year, all while holding fast to its mantra of "free music in shared community space". Settling into the topography of Christie Pits, this year's festival included two stages, a beer garden, food vendors and more. Sadly, the weather didn't cooperate on the festival's first day, with a steady rain delaying the setup and keeping the crowds away from the park. Once things got started, it was good music to drive away the cold and damp, with the skies clearing up for the last few acts of the day. Kudos to Saving Gigi and the other locals who pitched in to make this a reality. And remember: "folk music" isn't a genre tag, but a description of music that lives in a community, shared between performer and audience. [Also: you can check out a few more pictures from the day at the MFS facebook page.]

Like most artists at the fest, Grand Analog were celebrating the neighbourhood they live in. With a persistent rain falling on the crowd, the band played a shortened set to help keep the late-starting day on schedule, leading off with a tasty cover of "Let Your Backbone Slide" (to pay tribute to Maestro Fresh-Wes' ascension to Canada's Walk of Fame), and leaving the crowd wanting more after just three more jams.