It’s a fresh, funky formula for this year’s Harrison Festival of the Arts

The 44th annual Harrison Festival of the Arts in Harrison, B.C., is taking on a different sound this year.

The 10-day festival runs from July 7 to 16 in Harrison Hot Springs and will feature music that draws from African-American soul, funk and R&B.

Music at the Festival typically draws from across Canada and around the world, ranging from traditional music to guitar-based folk and country. This year’s musical lineup hearkens back to the 1960s and 70s African-American pop culture.

The festival kicks off with the opening film on July 7, Summer of Soul, a documentary on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival featuring Black artists from Sly and the Family Stone to Stevie

Curtis Clearsky and the Constellationz will perform their hip-hop/rock fusion they lovingly call “indigifunk;” on the beach Saturday, July 8, at 5 p.m.

Maple Blues award-winning vocalist and multi-instrumentalist performs on the beach on July 13 and 14; Francis’ music is influenced by some of the greatest African-American artists – Bessie Smith and Aretha Franklin.

Ruby Singh and the Future Ancestors perform on the final night of the Festival on the beach stage at 5 p.m. Rapper/composer Singh teams up with guitarist Gord Grdina and Khari Wendall Mclelland, highlighted as “some of Vancouver’s most stellar musicians,” the Festival Society says.

The soul and funk will rock Memorial Hall throughout the festival. Beloved blues and soul slinger Celeigh Cardinal graces the stage on Wednesday evening, July 12, at 8:30 p.m., Cardinal may be familiar face for festival-goers in the Fraser Valley as she’s a frequenter of the Mission Folk Festival.

The Festival closes this year with The Soul Motivators on Sunday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m. Powerhouse vocalists Shahi Teruko fronts The Soul Motivators, adding to an already stunning lineup of powerful female vocalists at this year’s festival.

Tickets for the Festival, a full lineup and schedule are available online at harrisonfestival.com.

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