Staff, volunteers 'popping up tents' as Northern Lights festival nears

Max Merrifield, artistic director of Northern Lights Festival Boral, says his first year booking bands for the eventhas been enlightening.

"This year we wanted to do something big,"Merrifieldsaid.

The festival is exploring new ground with a four-day format, starting with the "next wave of Indigenous music"on Thursday night's all-Indigenous lineup.

"We have one of the most influential Indigenous singers of the sixties [Buffy Sainte-Marie,] and A Tribe Called Red is one of the foremost artists of our time," Merrifield said.

"It's really expanded my horizons as to who was out there."

Despite the big change, Merrifield said Northern Lights hasn't lost sight of its folk-festival roots.

"We're a folk festival, but we book music that might not be considered folk," he said.

"We're focused on songcraft, the craft of playing an instrument. That's what ties the festival together."

Merrifield said organizers arein the process of "popping up tents," and that bands are trickling into the city. But there's still work to be done.

Volunteers are still needed, and Merrifield said organizers will find work that suits individuals' personalities.

For more information on the festival, visit their website.

Here's a Spotify playlist to preview the music you'll be hearing all weekend.