Calgary Folk Music Festival 2026: Festival Picks and Must-Sees
Patrick Watson at the 46th CFMF. Photo by Daman Singh.
The Calgary Folk Music Festival takes on Prince’s Island Park annually to add on to the joys of summer. Year after year, the lineup just keeps getting better. Here are some of our picks as we yearn for summer.
The Psychedelic Furs
It’s no surprise that the ‘furs’ make this list. A cornerstone of the British post‑punk movement, The Psychedelic Furs bring more than four decades of influence to the Calgary Folk Music Festival. The band defined the moody, melodic edge of the era with hits like “Love My Way,” “Pretty in Pink” and “The Ghost in You.” Their sound — serrated guitars, atmospheric melodies and Richard Butler’s inimitable baritone — remains instantly recognizable. After a hiatus in the 1990s, the Furs returned with the Made of Rain (2020). Expect a performance that’s brooding, stylish and steeped in the band’s enduring art‑rock mystique. Find me in the pit crying, just you wait.
- Daman Singh
Mitsune
I haven’t been as excited about discovering a group as I was when I came across the Berlin‑based Japanese folk‑fusion ensemble. Mitsune is for sure to be one of the most most transportive and visually striking performances this year. Built around the Tsugaru shamisen, a three‑stringed Japanese lute, the group blends centuries‑old folk traditions with psychedelic, cinematic, ritualistic, and punk‑inflected energy. Formed in 2018 by musicians from Japan, Australia, and Greece, Mitsune has earned international acclaim for their genre‑defying sound, dynamic stage presence, and lush costuming. Just imagining their work live, Mitsune is bound to be a full‑body experience.
- Daman Singh
Fish in a Birdcage
If you haven’t heard of a Fish in a Birdcage song yet, I’ve got some rules for you as you dive into the Calgary-based orchestral singer-songwriter’s discography:
Rule #48 - Let the violin speak
Rule #49 - Feel a little unsettled
Rule #50 - Allow the strange ones stick with you and pull you in
Fish in a Birdcage has this way of building entire words out of simultaneous tension and restraint, masterpieces that feel all at once confessional and haunting. And finally,
Rule # 51 - Watch Dustan Townsend serenade an audience at an CFMF’s stage, right in his own backyard this July.
- Dianne Miranda
Mariel Buckley
One of my most played vinyls of this year so far is my special pink splatter pressing of Mariel Buckley’s 2025 Strange Trip Ahead, which also earned not only their JUNOs debut but also the Contemporary Roots Album of the Year only last March. Having recently just finished touring around Canada supporting Matt Andersen early this year and soon to be travelling for a Europe tour starting mid-April, her set at this year’s Folk Fest is not one to be missed.
- Dianne Miranda
Bia Ferreira
Brazilian singer, songwriter, and multi‑instrumentalist Bia Ferreira is arriving as as a voice of rebillion, blending soul, funk, R&B, reggae and Afro‑diasporic rhythms into politically charged songs that tackle racism, feminism, homophobia and structural inequality. Her breakout track “Cota Não É Esmola” is a national monument in Brazil, it even became required reading for major university entrance exams — isn’t that cool?. Ferreira’s performances are known for their charisma, audience engagement and unflinching honesty. Expect a set that is musically rich and socially urgent, a rare combination of activism and irresistible groove.
- Daman Singh
Of Monsters and Men
Late last year brought a tidal wave of incredible new releases, and this includes the beautifully breathtaking Of Monsters and Men’s All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade. The Icelandic band, known for pushing the boundaries of indie folk and cinematic storytelling, delivers these sweeping arrangements and lush harmonies that might make you think some songs are too delicate or intricate for the open-air, but I can’t wait to experience it all under the blue sky of the ATB Main Stage surrounded by others closing Thursday night.
- Dianne Miranda
Thundercat
Two months ahead of CFMF, we have been blessed with Thundercat’s newest andlong-awaited fifth album, Distracted. Los Angeles-born virtuoso bassist, composer and vocalist Stephen Bruner brings his signature blend of jazz-infused funk, soil and playful electronic experimentation to the grounds of Prince’s Island park. Fans of BADBADNOTGOOD, Anderson .Paak and Kamasi Washington should pencil this set in their schedule because his return to creating new music after six years finds Bruner at a new peak of his creativity.
- Dianne Miranda