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From Celtic to samba and reggae, the Vancouver Island Folk Festival has it all

Family-friendly festival features musicians who perform on several stages throughout the beautiful grounds of Providence Farm

Music lovers come from all over Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and western Canada to attend the Islands Folk Festival hosted by Providence Farm, located just outside the city of Duncan.

The line up this year includes music for dancing and music for listening. It will be impossible to sit still when Coig, a Celtic supergroup from Cape Breton are playing. Winner of the 2014 Canadian Folk Music Award for Traditional Album of the Year, winner of the 2014 Music Nova Scotia Award for Traditional/Roots Recording of the Year, and nominee for the 2015 East Coast Music Award for Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year, Coig play with an infectious energy.

Bombolesse is a Samba Reggae band from Quebec. Singing in French, Portuguese, Spanish and Creole, mixing funk and rock & roll with rhythms of Brazil, Bombolesse deliver an explosive show that leaves dancers thinking and thinkers dancing.

Matuto is a New York based band who merge the forro folkloric music of Brazil with the sounds of American bluegrass. This innovative group question boundaries, and revel in cultures colliding, as they explore new musical possibilities. When tired from dancing, listen to the songs of Shari Ulrich, a singer, songwriter, film composer, two time JUNO Award winner and a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Roy Forbes is regarded as one of the most eloquent songwriters of his generation. His high, soulful voice, percussive guitar playing and introspective lyrics have earned him critical praise.

Fred Eaglesmith is a Canadian alternative country singer songwriter, who inspires comparisons to icons like Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen.

This family friendly festival features many musicians from near and far, who perform a variety of music on several stages throughout the beautiful grounds of Providence Farm. Buy a weekend pass to the festival and become a member of the Islands Folk Festival family for the weekend, only 2,000 passes will be sold. Check out the festival website for more information about camping, tickets, and musicians.

Weekend passes for the 2015 Islands Folk Festival July 24 to 26 are on sale now, available online.