After one night of world-class music, the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society has called an end to the 31st annual ROOTSandBLUES festival.
“The SAFMS follows a ‘safety first’ approach to ensure our patrons, volunteers and community health and safety is a priority,” says David Gonella, executive director. “Cancelling the 31st annual ROOTSandBLUES was a difficult decision to make and one we did not take lightly.”
As communities in the north and south Shuswap face evacuation orders and alerts, and following direct communication with local fire officials and the RCMP, the Society made the difficult decision Saturday morning.
Despite the smoke and raining ash, acclaimed Canadian country rockers Blue Rodeo belted out hits Friday night, while new fans swarmed the Barn Stage to move to the cumbia and hip-hop beats of Cuba’s La Dame Blanche. Earlier Friday, Quebec’s famed folk group Le Vent du Nord made the best of a power outage with an a capella set.
“With our songs and good cheer, we just sent love to everybody,” says Blue Rodeo guitarist and singer Greg Keeler.
The SAFMS will be in contact with ticket holders with more information in the coming weeks.