Organizers of Greater Sudbury's summer music festival, Northern Lights Festival Boréal, announced the festival's 2010 lineup with Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie taking top bill.

“With his new solo album, The Grand Bounce, being released in the spring of 2010, it is the great honour of the Northern Lights Festival Boreal to present Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles in concert as the feature headliner of our 2010 festival,” Paul Loewenberg, the festival's artistic director, announced.

“Downie's use of stories and myths about life in Canada, along with his wild antics and rantings on stage, has helped enshrine The Tragically Hip as a home-grown and much-beloved Canadian band,” a press release from Northern Lights Festival Boréal (NLFB) said.

The festival, Canada's longest continuously running folk festival, features artists from all over Canada, and this year runs July 9-11.

Also headlining the festival are Cuff The Duke, a band that toured with Blue Rodeo, and The Sadies, one of Canada's favourite live bands, Loewenberg said. It isn't the first time the bands have appeared at the festival.

“Cuff the Duke first performed at our festival in 2005, and in the last five years have released their third and fourth albums.”

“(The Sadies are) Canada's kings of indie, surf, outlaw, country and bluegrass return also with two new albums since their  last festival appearance,” Loewenberg said.

Another one of the festival's major acts is Amelia Curran.

“She just received the Juno award for best roots and traditional album last week," Loewenberg explained. "This artist is a prolific songwriter with a string of great CD's under her belt.”

The festival also holds a local talent hunt, the Meltdown, for acoustic performers and bands. The accoustic auditions took place at the Laughing Buddha, while bands auditioned next door at the Townehouse Tavern.

The winners of the Meltdown talent hunt's accoustic auditions are Marc Serre and Jennifer Holub.

“Jennifer is from Manitoulin Island," Loewenberg said. "She really knocked us out at the auditions. Marc Serre has been performing part time for years. He has a great batch of songs."

Bands Pistol George Warren and Pelvis won the band auditions.

"Pistol George Warren have been playing for a year," Loewenberg said. "They play alt(ernative) country, rock and some blues. Magic Pelvis (consists of) 18 and 19-year-olds who are a funk and fusion band. They are writing some great songs.”

Having won the Meltdown competition, Pistol George Warren, Pelvis, Holub and Serre will perform at the festival.

For the younger set, Fred Penner, TV host and actor, will return again this year.

“A gentle giant with kind eyes and an undeniable ability to make you feel good about yourself, this musical master brings 25 years of commitment, consistency and depth to a career that skillfully blends the many genres of performing and communication,” Loewenberg said.

The festival has been forced out of its usual venue at Bell Park this year because of construction at the Grace Hart Amphitheatre, and will instead take place at Laurentian University.

“Bell Park will be mud until next March,” Loewenberg said. “We will be at the athletic fields of Laurentian University.”

The festival is also raising its prices this year.

“Last year we reduced them due to the recession, so now we are back to what we normally charge," Loewenberg explained. "There is a member's discount and that means savings from concert events throughout the year.”

But the change of venue to Laurentian University may mean tickets sell out quickly, despite the increased price. Laurentian University is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010 and will be having a number of activities on and off the campus the same weekend of the festival, Chris Mercer, Laurentian University chief of staff, explained.

“We expect to have 1,000 alumni on campus in the residences,” Mercer said. “We look forward to having alumni participate in the Northern Life Festival Boreal in the evenings.”

Normally the festival can draw between 15,000 and 20,000 during the three day event, Loewenberg said. Having the festival on site at the campus when the university is full of alumni could be good for the bottom line, he added.

Day passes to the festival are $10. Tickets to the headline shows are $25 on Friday, $40 for Saturday's Gord Downie show, and $30 on Sunday, and are not covered by day passes. Festival goers can also purchase a $70 festival pass that includes all
shows from Friday evening to the end of the festival on Sunday. Children under 10 are admitted free.

For more information about Northern Lights Festival Boréal, visit www.nlfbsudbury.com or phone 674-5512.

This article is reprinted from Northern Life.