Wild Mountain Music Fest located near Hinton Alberta, at the Entrance Ranch is always a pleasure to attend and this year was no exception. Well manicured lawns greet guests in a plethora of campers, tents, motorhomes, 5th Wheels and even truck/canopy/foamy combinations. Scores of volunteers already have fencing, stages, washrooms, checkpoints, water stations etc set up and ready to go long before the first concert goers arrive Friday afternoon/evening.
When in ‘Big Sky Country’ you can be sure of two things – unbelievable views of the Rockies hundreds of miles off in the distance, and fabulously fast changing beautiful skies to dazzle those of us hemmed in by mountains 24/7 (BC people) Along with those fabulous skies and cloud formations, the occasional hard rain is gonna fall and so it did tonight – but the rain couldn’t drown the enthusiasm of both audience and bands on stage.
Kane Incognito, last year’s winner of the Wild Mountain Mashup contest, kicked off this year’s 3 day celebration. Loud, proud and thrilled to be on the stage, they had the audience up and dancing throughout their set.
Of other notable mention are of course The Family Stone. A last minute addition to the roster after another band pulled out unexpectedly, The Family Stone had the house rockin’ and brought back nostalgic memories of Grade 10 – the transition between Disco and synth hair metal. I’m amazed at how many of their songs I not only recognized but out and out found myself singing the words too after all these years. The band was phenomenal and judging by their smiles they had as much fun as us.
Rounding off the evening in the last downpour was powerhouse Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar . I debated calling it a night after The Family Stone but found myself about-facing and briskly scooting back to see who this was! With two ladies on main vocals (one on drums to boot), 2 women back up singers, and two guys on guitar and bass – Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar played a mean set driven by stunning vocals of the deep seated growly kind (my favorite.)
Off to bed and rest up for Day Two featuring the one and only Tom Cochrane, Matt Mayes (we finally get to see him!), Scott Cook, Wolf Parade, and many more.. can’t wait to hear some new bands and find another new favorite or three!
Stay tuned for highlights from Saturday and Sunday coming.
©nightMair Creative.com
all rights reserved
all pics © of Wild Mountain via Twitter
