The annual Mountain Shadow Music Festival comes to Cochrane’s Mitford Park on Aug. 23 and 24.
This year’s festival features a great line-up of 10 local bands and two headliners.
Organizer John White said the festival, in its second year, is a way to give local musicians a chance to perform in front of the home crowd.
“I noticed the unbounded talent that appears to be in Cochrane, Bragg Creek, places like that, but people just never got to hear these individuals and these bands,” he said.
“It seemed like a good idea to try to put something together to sort of showcase the local talent.”
The festival runs from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. both days on the stage at Mitford Park.
White said the line-up has something for everyone, including blues, country, folk, zydeco and celtic-rock.
White is enthusiastic about the two headliners at this year’s festival.
Jake Mathews, a country singer based out of Calgary who has had six top 10 country hits, will headline on Aug. 23.
Mathews is the younger brother of country star Gil Grand. His hits include If I Had It My Way and his follow up single Forever’s On Our Side.
Headlining on Aug. 24 is Tim Williams. Williams has had a long career as a musician, dating back to the 1960s.
He’s played with a number of famous musicians including Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, and B.B. King.
“Every year down in Memphis, they have the International Blues Challenge where about 1000 musicians go down and it’s a big competition. He won the solo artist of the year for this year,” said White.
“He’s a very highly regarded musician, raconteur, storyteller.”
White’s band, Smoking Aces, will be playing on Aug. 23.
He formed the blues band after moving to Cochrane from the United Kingdom four years ago.
Cochrane’s Angus Wilson is one of the musicians ready to hit the stage on Aug. 24 for a 45-minute set. Wilson is the entertainment manager at the Legacy Guitar House in Cochrane.
He’s a sought-after solo performer and also fronts the rock band Stoning Mary.
He describes his music as acoustic folk-rock.
Wilson said he finds playing music festivals a wonderful way to connect with old followers and to gain some new ones.
“One of the coolest things about music festivals is that they expose you to some artists that you might necessarily have gone out to see if they were just playing a one-off show,” he explained.
This will be Wilson’s first time playing the Mountain Shadow Music Festival.
“I’ll be doing mostly originals,” he said.
“That’s mostly what I do. I might throw in one cover depending on the set I’m doing and where I’m playing, but they’re mostly something that I’ve taken my own style to.”
Artisans have also been invited to take part in the festival, according to White.
“Everything from jewelry to artworks to greeting cards. What you’d expect at a fair or that sort of thing. There’s also food and ice cream.”
Last year’s festival was held in September, and White said it was a bit cold for a festival, which is why they’re holding it in August this year.
Cochrane’s Fun Bus will be at Mitford Park and the Cochrane Posse will roam the grounds.
“These guys ride around on horses, so they’re great for the kids to say hello,” said White.
“They’re really nice friendly people. If you want your kid to get used to a horse, they’ll let you pet one and tell you all about them.”
More information about the performers is available online at www.mountainshadowmusicfest.com
Tickets are available in advance online or from Tea and Other Things on Second Avenue in Cochrane and will also be available for sale at the gate each day.
