Salamander serving up homegrown sounds

Rideau Park will buzz with the sound of homegrown Manitoba artists this weekend at Brandon’s fourth annual Salamander Summer Music Festival.

Community members are invited to pull up a lawn chair and support local talent at the three-day event, which begins Friday evening and features 21 performers.

Festival president Jennifer Watson described this year’s music lineup as showcasing “a little bit of everything” — from the El Salvador dance group Shipaki, drag performances and yoga in the park to musicians and bands of all genres.

“The people who came together to make this happen are people who are so passionate about providing local artists a place to show off their talents, and that’s really what makes us, I think, different,” she said.

Watson said the festival has a “really friendly, chill vibe” where people can indulge in food from five different vendors, including Ukrainian and Salvadoran franchises, and check out the artisan market and merch tent. An area of the festival will also be dedicated as a kids zone with facepainting, making friendship bracelets and outdoor games.

“We’re very Manitoba core. We like to take everything that is the best about Brandon and sort of show it off in a weekend,” Watson said.

Roots 10 Collective is returning to the festival grounds this year, but this time the five-person band is debuting original music songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Murray Evans said is exciting.

The Westman-based band started as a tribute act 13 years ago performing music by the Beatles, songs from The Band’s “The Last Waltz” concert film and more.

“We’re kind of leaving the tribute shtick behind, you know, and just concentrating on our own material because there’s more art in your own songs than there are in covering other people’s songs,” Evans said.

After recently retiring, he said it’s been fun to dive into writing music full-time.

During winter, he travelled to Thailand and India, where he wrote songs such as “Hello Little Star” and “Light Yourself on Fire.”

“It’s super rewarding,” Evans said.

Roots 10 Collective has an acoustic Americana sound and recently welcomed trumpet and cello player Crystal White to the band, which has added another element to their sound and influenced Evans’ songwriting, he said.

The band recorded six new songs in the fall and have been releasing the tunes every few weeks. They plan to play a setlist of about 10 songs on Saturday at 8:25 p.m.

“We’re excited about bringing this new show to anyone who will listen to it,” Evans said.

Other performers include singer-songwriters Jan Ek, Heidi Hislop, Mike Lamb and Louden King. Alternative hip-hip group 11:22, indie punk-rock band Solaire, Prince Eddy and the Wrecking Balls, the Wheat City Jug Band and country-rock band Kates Outlaw are also taking the stage.

“I’m super excited for a good number … like most of the bands, but especially to see Kates Outlaw and An Unexpected End on Sunday night,” Watson said.

The festival is run by more than 100 volunteers who collectively put in nearly 1,000 hours of their time to make the event operate smoothly, she said.

“It takes a small army to pull off something on this scale.”

Since 2023, the festival has seen a 10 per cent increase in ticket sales each year, “which is pretty good for a small startup festival,” Watson said.

Last year, the event saw between 600 and 700 people gather to enjoy music in the park over the weekend.

Watson said volunteers are “really hoping to pack the park” again this year despite the heat.

As of Tuesday, Environment and Climate Change Canada was forecasting sunny weather with a high of 29 C on Friday and Saturday, and 28 C on Sunday with a 60 per cent chance of rain.

The festival will move forward rain or shine, so long as no thunderstorms occur, Watson said.

“If it’s cool and drizzly, we’ll put on ponchos, and if it’s hot, we’ll just have more Freezies,” she said.

The park has shaded areas and volunteers will ensure people in attendance stay hydrated and cool.

“We are just super excited to put this on every year and think everybody should come out and enjoy it,” she said.

Ticket information is available on the festival website, including the addition of senior pricing for day and weekend passes.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com