I heard a lot of great music at this year's Winnipeg Folk Festival. I knew I would. Of course, I expected good music from folks I'd heard of and/or seen before like Blue Rodeo, Michelle Shocked, Cowboy Junkies, Jess Klein, Sarah Harmer, Sonia, James Keelaghan, Stephen Fearing, Alejandro Escovedo, Art Turner, Archie Fisher, and Danu.

It was fabulous to see SONiA (of disappear fear fame) live, since I'd never managed to see disappear fear live. It was fun to watch Jess Klein go from receiving polite applause at her first workshop of the festival to having hordes of screaming fans at her solo set on Sunday afternoon.

Fabulous new discoveries? (For me, that is): Scrüj MacDuhk, Kris Demeanor, Erin McKeown, Danny Michel, The Waybacks, Oliver Schroer, Kate Rusby, Luke Doucet, Mark Reeves, the McDades, Njava, the Almost Leather Band, Painting Daisies, Cara Luft, Rick Unruh, The Be Good Tanyas, the Waifs, Mason Jennings, Tom Wilson, Wimme, and Tom Landa & the Paperboys.

The only disappointment? A big one. Brad from Crash Test Dummies was completely wasted when they took the stage for their show and it was pathetic and painful to watch. People left in droves after just a song or two, I stuck it out for a bit longer, but ultimately left before they finished their set, too.