Heritage Music Festival announces 2019 musical lineup

June 27, 2019 · 0 Comments

Written By MARNI WALSH

Described as a “four-piece, all killer, no thriller rock band,” Sweet Fire will open for the headliners at the Heritage Music Festival this summer.

SweetFire will take to the stage at Centre Dufferin Recreation Centre on Friday, August 9, with the evening of music beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Co-Chair of the Festival, Bobbi Ferguson says, “The Rotary Club is excited to welcome The Washboard Union as our Friday night headliner for the HMF this year. We are also very fortunate to have SweetFire open the show to get the party going. You will not want to miss the talent and star power that these two bands bring to Shelburne.”

The Kitchener based band, SweetFire is co-fronted by musicians Jesse Webber and Ryan Brohman. Jesse Webber is a member of several bands including LoFi Mind, Carry On, and The Crazy Diamonds. Ryan Brohman is also a band member of LoFi Mind and Carry On, as well as Philharmonic Funk.

The two musicians “have drawn from all of their early influences ranging from Tom Petty, The Foo Fighters, Queens of The Stone Age and many more” in order to create their own unique sound for SweetFire.

According to their press, SweetFire played the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 2009. That same year they shared the stage with The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Stone Temple Pilots, Phillip Sayce, Kiss and many more on the main stage at The Ottawa Blues Festival. SweetFire is “a heavy hitting rock band and a force to be reckoned with. Not one to be missed.”

Headliners, The Washboard Union, will open following SweetFire at 7:30 p.m. on August 9. The Juno-winning Breakthrough Group of the Year and Canadian Country Music Association Group of the Year is led by step-brothers Aaron Grain and Chris Duncombe and their friend David John Roberts.

The Washboard Union share an “innate love for the art of songwriting and storytelling” and are one of the most talked about bands in Country music. They have performed to audiences from North America to Europe.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Shelburne, the Heritage Music Festival and Fiddle Championship features a variety of entertainers, as well as Canada’s top fiddlers.

“The HMF committee is so excited about this year’s festival and the amazing bands we have lined up,” says HMF Chair Bobbi Ferguson. “Last year’s Fiddle Championship saw an increase in contestants of more than 200 percent over recent years and 2019’s contest is looking promising as well, with a number of new contestants already signed up.”

The Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship starts with the playdowns on Saturday, August 10 at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex, with Canada’s top fiddlers in competition for thousands of dollars in prizes.

Community events include: camping; local Bands and Brews at Fiddle Park after the fiddle parade on Saturday; and a non-denominational church service at the arena, followed by a Pork BBQ next door at the Agricultural Fair Grounds to close the events on Sunday.

The 2019 Heritage Music Festival will take place in Shelburne from August 7 to 11.

Playdowns for the Fiddle Competition begin at 10am on August 10 and the Championship will start at 6:30 p.m. the same day.

For more information visit: heritagemusicfestival.ca.