As CKUA Summer continues, we’re looking ahead to Rosebud’s Open-Air Music Festival. This one-day celebration in mid-August brings music-lovers from all over the province to the southern Alberta hamlet.
Paul Muir, Executive Director, Rosebud Theatre & School of the Arts, says that the Open-Air Music Festival had its start during COVID. “We were looking for outdoor things to do, and we began a series of open-air concerts.” That has evolved into an annual one-day festival. Past years have seen headliners such as The Irish Descendants, and Joel Plaskett.
The location? Muir calls it “the festival stage,” and says, “It’s on the green space just west of the opera house. It’s a beautiful, open space. We can only fit up to 400 people, so it’s an opportunity to see some amazing artists up close and personal.”
This year’s headliner is Fred Eaglesmith, and the opening acts are The Three Sisters and Ollee Owens.
Muir says that there will be a beer tent, and takeaway food from Rosebud’s Mercantile Dining Room. Drumheller’s BertaBurritos food truck will be there, too.
It all adds up to a fun day in the sun, and the event has sold out in years past. Muir says, “It’s a way for us to open our offerings to more people, beyond the people who usually enjoy theatre at Rosebud. It’s such a festive environment. For the last two years, the weather has been perfect, so we hope that will be the case this year as well!”
When we check in with the headliner, Fred Eaglesmith, he’s with his wife and bandmate, Tif Ginn, on the road to a gig. Eaglesmith describes the path that has led to his career as a full-time musician with his trademark humour, saying, “I grew up the traditional rock ‘n’ roll way, with agriculture, religion, and poverty.”
Bringing his guitar on the road started early. He says, “I left home at 15. I hitchhiked across Canada. I did that three or four times before I was 20. So I was on the road, playing my guitar in youth hostels, and lumber camps. I fought fires. I just played my guitar wherever I was. So I was sort of a traveling musician before I got paid.”
He made music his full-time career in his early 30s. Now, decades later, he travels with Tif, and with their 17-year-old son, and says, “We’re very lucky, our family. We get to travel around. We usually have a band with us, a full rock ‘n’ roll band. There’s five of us, and we’re all like family. Tif and I travel in a motor home. We sleep in it and live in it. And sometimes we’re playing, and sometimes we’re not.”
It all adds up to a life that Eaglesmith is grateful for. He says, “It’s about the best life you could have in the world, especially because we have our son with us. I mean, who gets to do this, you know? Travel around the world with their family and play music. It’s beautiful.”
Rosebud’s Open-Air Music Festival takes place Sunday, August 16. Find info and get tickets here.
