I have a dreadful confession to make: I’ve never been to a concert before. At least not in the the colloquial sense of the word. Sure, I’ve been to various symphonies. Jazz festivals. The opera even. Not exactly the kinds of events you go to dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with the expectation of drinking beer, entering into the fray of some kind of mosh pit, and smoking…substances. Anyway, I think you get what I mean.

What seems like ages ago, I got the opportunity to attend CBC East Coast Sessions one evening to hear Nathan Wiley and Jill Barber playing. I think that was my first real introduction to the fantastic folk music that’s produced both here and across Canada. Lots of these artists are also featured on CBC Radio 3.

Well, this weekend, Cokebaby and I made an impromptu overnight trip to Wolfville to catch the Deep Roots Music Festival. And, even though I didn’t leave there with the newfound ability to crowd surf, the concert we caught was pretty spectacular. To be honest, we had never heard of the festival until it was mentioned by a friend earlier this summer. Can someone say “best kept secret of Nova Scotia”?

Although we went to hear Garrett Mason, a new fave of Cokebaby’s, we were impressed by the line-up leading up to them as the concert’s finale. Through a series of work schedule conflicts we didn’t think we’d actually make it to the event this year. But, we did and it was so great that we’re planning on making a yearly trip of it.

Deep Roots Music Festival is a weekend of great talent with bands playing all around Wolfville in many small venues along with formal concert halls. One note to restaurants though: if you’re not staffed to serve the surge of customers, you might want to mention it to them at the start of the meal and not an hour after the order is placed. I’m looking at you Library Pub. The only reason I’m willing to give a second chance here is because your food was delicious and server was friendly.

If you get a chance, check out some of these artists that we heard on Saturday night:

Annabelle Chvostek—One of my faves from the evening. She’s also playing at The Company House in Halifax, tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m.
Sultans of String—A musically diverse group, playing a range of world music.
Ari Hest—Another fave from the evening. His ballad “When and If” was just lovely.
Steve Poltz—Also the MC for the evening, he was absolutely hilarious. Check out this Sewing Machine video to see just a sample of what we got.
A.J. Croce—Indescribably talented on the piano.
Garrett Mason Trio with guest Steve Marriner—The guest blues-harmonica player was a pleasant surprise.

Finally, if anyone knows how I can get my hands on a Deep Roots logo tee (women’s size small, preferably in dark brown) please get in touch with me. You will be my garment hero.