Under blue skies and the sweltering July heat, festival goers once again gathered at Prince Island Park, laid out their blankets and tarps for another day of live music.
In the evening, SYML took the ATB stage. The indie artist has spent over 2 decades bearing his soul through his music. For this year’s festival, he performed some of his deeply personal and emotional tracks. This includes “I Wanted to Leave”, a popular tune in its own right that became even more recognizable after it was sampled by Lana Del Rey for her song “Paris, Texas”.
The singer also performed the song “Girl”, a song he wrote for his daughter who went through health struggles early in life. SYML's instrumentals are simple during the performance, just him on acoustic guitar or piano. Yet it is this simplicity that makes each piece so moving and allows his music to resonate with festival attendees.
The next performer was Goldie Boutilier, a Canadian singer from Nova Scotia. Her songs featured in hit shows and movies such as The Hunting Wives and The Handmaid. From the moment her performance began, she had the audience mesmerized with the way she freely danced, posed and strutted around as she sang.
Accompanied by her girl band, Boutilier performed many of her popular pop/rock hits such as “Cowboy Gangster Politician” and “The Angel And The Saint”. Cigarette in one hand, martini glass in the other, the singer commanded the stage with her captivating vocals and fiery energy.
Thundercat was the final performer at the ATB Main Stage. The multi-Grammy-winning artist has collaborated with artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars. Armed with a six-string golden bass, his performance was akin to a jam session between him, his drummer and keyboardist. During the set, he blended elements of RnB, funk and soul with complex jazz solos that the audience could not help but groove along to.
To the crowd's delight, Thundercat performed “Funny Thing” and “Them Changes”, two of his most widely-known songs that feature the artist’s signature funky baselines. The singer ended the set with an explosion of energy, and as he left the stage, the fervent audience begged for an encore, chanting “one more song”. Thundercat fulfilled their request, returning one more time to perform “She Knows Too Much”.
Information about performances, tickets and passes for Calgary Folk Music Festival 2026 can be found here.
