Groovin' in Salmon Arm

Afro-Cuban jazz groove master Alex Cuba was the headliner at the 25th annual Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES Festival in August 2017.

"I'm from the Latin capital of Canada – Smithers, British Columbia," said Cuba to much laughter before he embarks on his second tune, Directo.

That's what makes the Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES Festival so compelling. Year after year, a talented line up of musicians take to stages spanning the many genres covered under the catch-all roots and blues, from folk, country, bluegrass, boogie, soul and funk to Indigenous, gospel, jazz, Celtic and reggae.

The 26th annual Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES Festival will be Aug. 16 to 19, 2018.

Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne wowed the crowd with his gospel-boogie-woogie fusion.

Headliners include six-time Juno winner Colin James, blues rockers MonkeyJunk, electric blues singer/songwriter Big Dave McLean, country-jazz artist Cindy Church, accordion-playing singer/songwriter Geoff Berner, blues evangelist Harpdog Brown and the West African rhythms of David Thiaw.

The stages are alive from 10 a.m. to midnight with 40 acts, so you can get your dose during daylight, be a night owl, or both.

You can bring your kids and play in the Family Fun Zone; eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks at the food trucks; shop at the vendors selling everything from caftans and feathered boas to hats and jewelry; quench your thirst in the beer garden or wine lounge; and even meet artists post-performance for a chat and CD signing.

Elizabeth Rodriguez is the lead singer of the Cuban all-girl band Maqueque.

Attracting mostly baby boomers and generation Xers, ROOTSandBLUES is the fest for discerning music lovers.

It's family-friendly, not too loud or rowdy or crowded. You may get a whiff of pot, but certainly not be offered ecstasy. 

"It's all about chemistry," said festival artistic director Peter North. "There has to be a mix of new and established acts, ones you've heard before and ones you'll discover. The workshop matches are magic, and you generally just can't help but have a good time."

For instance, you've probably heard of 15-time Grammy winner and bluegrass prince Ricky Skaggs but not of the American-Mali fusion outfit Toubab Krewe.

Shuswap economic development officer Robyn Cyr puts a different spin on it.

"This festival is a huge economic boost for the community," she says to Kerry and me when we meet her in the wine lounge for Cuvee and Ortega from local wineries Celista and Edge of the Earth.

A houseboat is the perfect way to arrive at the Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES Festival. It can also be your floating hotel suite just a 15-minute walk away from the fest site.

"It really is the area's marquee event attracting 35,000 people a year. It's also the launch point to introduce people to the Shuswap as a tourist destination for houseboating, wine touring, dining, arts, fishing, hiking, biking and water sports."

Speaking of which, Kerry and I, our 15-year-old daughter, Grace, and her friend, Lauren, combined houseboating with the fest for an unforgettable summer experience. We picked up our luxury, five-bedroom, 60-foot-long vessel at Waterway Houseboats in Sicamous and sailed the 13 kilometres down the Salmon Arm section of Shuswap Lake to the town of Salmon Arm and docked at the community wharf.

The houseboat was our handy hotel suite, floating just a 15-minute walk from ROOTSandBLUES at the Salmon Arm Fair Grounds.

On the way back, we had time to stop in the middle of the lake for playtime, shooting out of the corkscrew waterslide off the back of the boat, jumping into the water from the top deck, swimming and soaking in the hot tub.