Shivering Songs 2015

Category: community 244

Popular Winter Festival to Announce Line-Up November 5.

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Wilmot Church has been the main venue for Shivering Songs since the get-go.

Shivering Songs will announce their initial 2015 festival line-up this coming Wednesday as part of Picaroons’ Winter Warmer launch party.

“We’re really excited about the way things are shaping up this year,” said Graeme Walker, who founded the festival alongside his band mates in The Olympic Symphonium.  “Each year we try and approach programing from two ends.  First, we want to challenge people’s listening habits and offer them interesting options that may be somewhat outside-the-box. At least when thinking about it in terms of a typical singer/songwriter folk festival.  Having said that, we certainly don’t want to alienate anyone so we also want to offer options that are familiar and accessible and that people are comfortable with. With that in mind, we feel really good about the balance we struck this year.”

In just four short years, Shivering Songs has firmly established its place among the city’s seasonal traditions, welcoming some of the country’s top performers to its stage and helping to provide an audience of new ears to many up-and-comers. In that regard, Shivering Songs is a win-win from both sides. Previous performers include Ron Sexsmith, John K. Sampson, Paper Beat Scissors, Catherine MacLellan and Rose Cousins.

While Wilmot United Church has served as the festival’s main venue since the get-go, performances take place throughout the city at many established (and some not-so-established) smaller venues.

“We’ll be hosting music in at least two, maybe three, new spaces this year,” said Walker. “One of which is a very storied space in the city and will prove to be a very interesting backdrop to performances. There are also a couple of unique community partnerships we’re excited to launch.”

So while the city waits to learn the who and where of the 2015 festival, Walker and the others involved are still a little amazed that their idea has made it this far.

“Shivering Songs wasn’t necessarily even meant to see a second year,” he said. “We had toyed with the idea of doing some sort of festival for a while and did the first one as sort of an experiment.  It worked, and just sort of started to snow ball from there.  We love that people are interested in it and that the community as a whole cares enough to be engaged. We’re in a very fortunate position where people continue to support it and understand what it is we’re trying to do.”

Fredericton understands. That’s why many city music (and beer) lovers will join Walker, his band mates and fellow organizers at the York Street Train Station on Wednesday November 5, 2014 at 5:00pm to find out how this year’s festival will help make the approaching winter just a little warmer.

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