Calgary Folk Music Festival Day 1: Arrested Development and The Heavy Heavy set the vibe with a funky set
By Hannah Caparino, July 27 2025—
Calgary Folk Music Festival kicked off its 45th annual festival with a lineup that combined nostalgic beats with modern tunes. While labelled a folk festival, the festival was encompassed of artists that are masters within their respective genres and brought energy and fun to the first night of the four day celebration of music.
Thursday night saw the opening of the two primary stages, the National Stage 4 and the ATB Main Stage. With both stages garnering large crowds, each audience member was able to relish in live music while sitting relaxed on grass.
Starting the recap with performances at National Stage 4, the indie and melodic band Jolie Laide began their set with a haunting melody. Their guitar strums danced between four-four time and three-four time, with each song on the set list feeling reminiscent of indie songs that were wrapped in a mix of dark acoustics and post punk influence. Most songs that were featured are from their sophomore album, Creatures. The band consisted of two lead singers, Nina Nastasia and Clinton St. John, who harmonized their voices to create a layered performance. The four person band took the indie genre and created songs that were thought provoking and explored how music was the response to internal struggles, conflict, strife and more. Through their strums and support of the drums, people were seen swaying to their moody choruses.
The next performer at the ATB Mainstage needed no introduction. The Grammy Award winning band, Arrested Development, electrified the night with their R&B and funky songs. The band was an absolute crowd pleaser and included songs like “People Everyday” and “Tennessee”. The crowd was dancing to the beat and taking in every lyric from the group and the lyrics ring with themes of defiance and unity. The bass lines and guitar riffs are a showcase of talent as the solos would excite audiences. Many of the lyrics are intentional and hooked all listeners through their dancing and engaging with them through a call and response of various lines. People were clapping along and dancing to the groovy beat and experiencing the unification of music. Lead singer, Speech (Todd Thomas), spoke a lot about oneness through music and using music as a vehicle to create collective experiences.
The final performance of the night at National Stage 4 is the UK based band, The Heavy Heavy. The band’s discography and set list is inspired by the grooviness and psychedelic tracks found during the 1960’s. The band’s energy was infectious as the audiences viewed the band’s positive and high energy. Songs like “Cherry” have a nostalgic sound with it’s soft rock inspired chords with the drum fills complimenting the chorus. Compared to the soft rock songs on the set list, the band balanced their list with the psychedelic inspired songs like “All My Dreams”. The guitar techniques used like the guitar licks, full strums, and palm mutes add texture to the performance. The band closed out their performance with more of their soft rock, smooth riffs, and fun bops.
The first day of Calgary Folk Music Festival started the weekend with thrilling performances that set the bar for the rest of the weekend.
For information about the rest of the festival can be found on the website.