The 32nd annual Brandon Folk, Music, & Art Festival is just around the corner and this year it promises to have a little bit of something for everyone. The event which is scheduled for July 22-24th will once again take place in the North-East corner of the Keystone Centre Grounds – Under the Trees! This years music headliner on Friday night is Ron Sexsmith, a singer/songwriter from St. Catherines, Ontario. Closing Saturday night will be Little Miss Higgins and the Winnipeg Five while John K Samson and the Winter Wheat will close the weekends festivities on Sunday. Other artists performing this weekend include the likes of the Dust Rhinos, Kev Corbett, Jess Rae Ayre and the Dirty Catfish Brass band. For a complete breakdown of the weekends schedule you can click here. In addition to the music there will be also be a community marketplace where artists, craft-makers, and not for profit organizations will be selling their wares and showing demonstrating their work with the audience and other artists. If you find yourself getting hungry there will be plenty of food vendors on site with a little variety for everyone. Festival goers will be able to select from everything from fish tacos to a bannock taco and from perogies to sushi platters. Tickets are available now through their web site at http://brandonfolkfestival.ca/tickets/.

Ridley Bent is back with his latest release Wildcard the anticipated follow up of Rabbit on My Wheel showcasing the Western Canada based Country artist's keen fascination for characters whose life on the straight and narrow rarely lasts past the nearest exit to a short, crooked road. Ridley Bent continues to weave tales of wisdom and intrigue with titles such as 'Fill Yer Boots' about a truck driving card player, and 'Crooked and Loaded' written about a shootout with a posse of outlaws. Produced by the John MacArthur Ellis and supported by an all star band of country musics finest Wildcard will take your mind away and get your toes tapping as Ridley Bent does what he does best..! On Wildcard the 2009 CCMA nominee and 7-time BCCMA winner's storytelling and songwriting chops are sharper than ever. Although the tales are still as tall as they come, and the characters as large as life or larger, the cast of hard-drinking, fast-driving characters Ridley unleashes on Wildcard tend to be a shade less hell-bent on self-destruction than they are with keeping their lives between the lines and out of the ditch. Channeling the high-energy performance ethic of artists like Dwight Yoakum and Little Feat, Ridley and his band tear a deep strip off the joint with tracks like 'Brooklyn Texas'. Of course these are love stories told the way only Ridley can; tracks that run the gamut from hard and bitter to hardly better, including a beautifully rendered, deliberately down-tempo take on the classic Tom Petty song , 'You Got Lucky' While much of Ridley's new material is drawn from real life experiences he's gathered up on the road, Wildcard still has its share of shady characters, jackknifing tractor-trailers and whiskey-fuelled bar fights. And for those who identify strongly with Ridley's less reasonable characters - the ones who tend to prefer to stir things up with a pistol in one hand and a bottle in the other - there's 'The Blood Trilogy'. A companion EP recorded during the same sessions and co-written with Dunn - a highly satisfying three-song western epic of violence and vengeance informed by Ridley's ongoing fascination with the bleak worlds of writers like John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy. Catch alt country artist Ridley Bent live in concert at Princess Park in downtown Brandon this Thursday night. It’s the second concert in the Summer Lights Concert Series. Show starts at 7pm admission is free!

Brandon's local music scene is about to get a much beeded shot in the arm as fans, friends and supporters of Westman's music scene will have two opportunities to check out four great local bands in one night this weekend at the 40. Plus one lucky local group will win a spot on the roster for this event! Initially the line up was to be 4 X 4 taking the stage at 9pm followed by the Invisible Men, The Junk and Tremendous Dynamite. However due to an unforseen mishap which unconfirmed reports lead us to believe was a horrific gardening accident involving their drummer, The Invisible Men will not be able to make it out for this local rock soire. Event coordinators have decided that one band's loss can be another local act's gain. Aspiring local acts are to submit their band for a drawing to be held at 7pm Thursday. We will announce the winning group right here on www.BDNMB.ca. The lucky band will perform a 45 minute set on the 40 stage from 9pm - 9:45pm this Friday and Saturday nights (July 15th & 16th). If you or anyone you know has been working away on tunes in the basement or garage, here is your chance to hit an actual stage and do your thing in front of a crowd! Submit band names and contact info to FM1PR1@gmail.com Please put 4 band Extravaganza in the subject line. Entry deadline is 5pm Thursday, July 14. Local heavy rock quartette "The Junk" are one of the bands slated to play this weekend at The 40 during the 4 band Extravaganza. The affable rockers describe themselves and their sound this way: "10 years ago 4 shotgun hobo types drifted together to make music their way, the only way! Loud and nasty! For God's sake don't invite them in!! your very souls will be at risk! and your hearing!! All hail the junk!!" Show starts at 9pm cover charge is $5.00 both nights. This event will be video taped by WCG then aired on WCG Channel 12. Air date has yet to be determined. This is an 18+ event. All members of each band that enters must be of legal age.

Looking for a fun and exciting way to spend a Saturday night in Brandon this summer? Why not head down to Rideau Park for an outdoor screening of the popular Walt Disney movie Zootopia courtesy of Fountain Tire and their 60th anniversary celebrations. To help celebrate their 60th anniversary Fountain Tire has partnered with Westman Dreams for Kids in Brandon for a movie night on Saturday, July the 23rd with the movie set to start at 9:30 pm. Doors will open at 6:00 pm and included in the festivities this night will be face painting, door prizes, a food truck and games. This is a free event for the whole family and guests are encouraged to provide a donation to the Westman Dreams for Kids. Rideau Park is located at 305 Park Street in Brandon, MB and year round plays host to a variety of different recreational activities including an adventure playground, the Kinsmen Pool, a water spray park, paved walking paths, and a snowboard and toboggan hill.

Part 2 of the Summer Lights Festival is set for this Thursday night with another free concert set up in Princess Park. So we decided to track down the man with the plan to get more info on the popular concert series. Summer Lights Festival Coordinator Dylan MacDonald just happens to be out east in the Middle of his summer tour with his band The Middle Coast. So we asked him how he manages the balancing act of planning a festival while he`s halfway across the country, among many things. Here`s our conversation via correspondence: Captured in an intense mid gig moment, guitarist, singer, songwriter and festival coordinator Dylan MacDonald is one busy dude this summer! (Photo submitted) FM: Your band the Middle Coast has had an incredibly busy year with tons of shows. Just how many have you played so far and how many are on the calendar for the remainder of the summer? DM: We have been busy indeed! I believe we are around the 130 mark in the last 12 months which doesn’t include travel days! We’ve already done quite a few summer festivals and we’ve got probably 8-10 still to go! FM: When and where is the next Middle Coast gig? As I write this I am in a hotel room in Charlotte Town PEI, we just played at Cavendish Beach Festival here, what a blast! FM: How do you find the time to do duties with the Summer Lights Festival? DM:We do a ton of planning together in the van when we are on the road which is great! Summer is also unique because it is mostly weekend slots due to summer festivals being the “thing to do” from May – Sept. This allows me to be in the office working all week! FM: How many years has the festival been running? DM: We did a few one off concerts in past years, however, last year was the first year the we presented a concert series! This year is also special because we are actually including a festival in addition to the series! We will still offer the 3 free concerts in Princess Park (June 16 (Valdy), July 14, August 18) but will also present a ticketed full day festival on September 10th. FM: Will there be street / food vendors in the area? DM: Absolutely! Both the Concert Series and Festival will have vendors – Looking forward to that! FM: Give us a brief overview of the festival layout in Princess park. DM: Well we of course have our fantastic artists playing on the existing Princess Park stage. We bring bleachers down for the event and we will even see our “Musicians vs. Politicians” hockey game return to 7th street adjacent to the park. Side stage we have our “Free food table” where guests can enjoy some complimentary locally made bannock and honey before slipping over to the musician merch booth to grab a record or T shirt! FM: I've heard several positive comments regarding the free Valdy concert last month. You had a chance to meet him right? What kind of a guy was he and what was the best thing you took away from your chance meeting with one of Canada's legendary musical artists? DM: Valdy was a total sweet heart and I had a blast hanging out with him while he was in town! Definitely a quirky dude! Valdy still plays 200 shows a year even at 70 years old which is amazing! He attributes his longevity and success to the fact that he simply loves playing music and doesn’t care about fame and money etc.. I think that’s important! FM: Unfortunately that first free concert in the Summer Lights Series featuring Valdy had to be moved inside due to inclement weather. Will you be using the same location for the next concerts if there is rain? DM: In the case of poor weather we will be indeed be back at McDiarmid Drive Church! FM: Tell us about the next artist set to perform this Thursday night (July 14th) for the Summer Lights Concert Series. DM: Ridley Bent is a fantastic alt country performer who I have seen a couple times now. Amazing songs, top notch musicianship and Ridley is great with a crowd! Ridley Bent recently released his fourth album entitled “Wildcard” He’ll be performing tunes from his recent CD and much more this Thursday night during his live show at Princess Park in Downtown Brandon for the Summer Lights Concert Series. Show starts at 7pm admission is free! (photo submitted) FM: As Coordinator of the Summer Lights Festival since day one, what are your hopes for this Brandon event? DM: It’s great to see more live music shows coming through Brandon and I hope this program continues to grow! FM: Thanks again for taking the time to do this Dylan! Best of luck with the remainder of your tour and enjoy the rest of your summer!! DM: Thanks Frank! It was a pleasure. Hope you have a great summer!