Performer Submissions

The 15th Annual Ottawa Folk Festival will take place from Thursday, August 14, to Sunday, August 17, 2008. Submissions will be accepted until February 15, 2008. To apply to perform at the Ottawa Folk Festival, please send a CD and a one-page bio to:

Artistic Director
Ottawa Folk Festival
858 Bank St.
Suite 100
Ottawa, ON
K1S 3W3

Please be aware that the Festival receives a very large number of submissions for a relatively small number of available performance spaces. We do not have the resources to acknowledge receipt of your submission. We will contact you only if we are able to find a place for you in the Festival line-up.

If you don't hear back from us by March 1, 2008, please assume that we were unable to include you in the Festival this time around.

If you live in Ontario or Quebec, you should consider participating in the auditions to be held at Rasputin's Folk Café in March, with the final round taking place at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage in April. See below for more information.

Auditions

Preliminary Round
Saturday, March 15, 2008 (Open Category)
and Saturday, March 16, 2008 (Youth Category)
Noon to 5:00 p.m.

If you are a resident of Ontario or Quebec and have not previously performed at the Ottawa Folk Festival, you are eligible to audition for a performance spot at the Festival. Several awards and cash prizes are also available to selected acts.

Initial auditions will take place at Rasputin's Folk Café (696 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa) as follows:

• Open Category (age 25 and over): Saturday, March 15, 2008 - noon to 5:00 p.m.
• Youth Category (under 25): Sunday, March 16, 2008 - noon to 5:00 p.m.

To register for an audition spot, contact Rasputin's proprietor Dean Verger starting on February 1, 2008. Contact Dean by e-mail at dean.verger@rasputins.ca. Alternatively, you can call him at 613-230-5102, but e-mail communication is preferred. Please do not contact Dean before February 1.

Registration Fee: There is a $15 advance registration fee to reserve an audition spot. This fee defrays the cost of running the auditions. Dean Verger will collect the fee on behalf of the Festival. Cheques are payable to "Ottawa Folk Festival". Your audition spot cannot be confirmed until the registration fee has been received.

Finalists from the Preliminary Audition will be chosen from the Open Category and the Youth Category to participate in the Final Audition to be held on Saturday afternoon, April 19, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage. A panel of judges - including the Festival's Artistic Director, prize donors, media representatives, and members of the Festival’s Youth Committee - will select acts from each category to receive awards and participate in the daytime sessions at the Festival in August.

Please note:

* Performers must be residents of Ontario or Quebec.

* Acts must not have performed previously at the Folk Festival.

* Acts can participate in the audition process for a maximum of two years.

*Each act performs two pieces in the Preliminary Audition and three in the Final Audition.

* Unless Artistic Director Chris White gives advance approval for a change, participants in the Final Audition must perform with the same personnel and same instrumentation as the Preliminary Audition.

* Full drum kits are generally not permitted on daytime stages at the Folk Festival.  This makes it easier to set up the stages, and avoids potential problems with sound overlap from one stage to another.  Auditioning acts should consider using hand drums and percussion rather than a full drum kit.

* An artist under age 25 can have an older accompanist and still be considered to be in the Youth Category, provided that the young artist is clearly the central focus.

* There are 40 performance slots in the Preliminary Audition (20 acts in each category).

* There are 6 performance slots in the Final Audition (3 acts in each category).

* Finalists will receive an honorarium for participating in the Final Audition. Out-of town finalists will receive a travel subsidy.

* Cash prizes are considered to be payment for performing at the Festival in August. No additional fee is paid to award winners for performing at the Festival.

* Cash prizes are treated as taxable income by the Canada Revenue Agency.

2008 Final Auditions

Saturday, April 19, 2008
2:00 p.m. (Doors open at 1:30)
National Arts Centre, Fourth Stage, 53 Elgin St. Ottawa

Finalists from the Preliminary Audition will be chosen from the Open Category and the Youth Category to participate in the Final Audition to be held on Saturday afternoon, April 19, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage. A panel of judges, including the Festival's Artistic Director, prize donors, media representatives and members of the Festival's Youth Committee, will select acts from each category to receive awards and participate in daytime performances at the Festival in August.

And the Winner Is....

Congratulations to this year's Final Audition winners who will be performing at the festival in August!

Margaret Feuerstack & Dave Johnstone (Open Category) have won the One Fret Less Award sponsored by Harvey and Louise Glatt

James Farr (Youth Category) has won the Galaxie Rising Stars Award sponsored by Galaxie – CBC Radio's continuous music channel.

The awards, which include cash prizes, will be presented during the festival weekend.

James Farr is an eighteen year-old guitarist, singer and songwriter from Chelsea who describes himself as having "a penchant for flamenco technique and a passion for songs of squalor." He has been playing guitar since age twelve, and has been influenced by the likes of Chris Whitley, Kelly Joe Phelps, Richard Thompson and R.L. Burnside. James feels that his music represents "a long and deep appreciation for folk forms of all kinds."
Website: www.myspace.com/crookedpilgrim

Margaret Feuerstack, originally from Halifax, has lived in Gatineau for several years. Dave Johnstone is a native Ottawan. The two started out performing old jazz and swing standards together, but Margaret's original songs have gradually become the main focus of their performance. She is known for her subtle intertwining of lyrics and music, while Dave's polished skills as a jazz guitarist add a delightfully witty musicality to the mix. The result is an intricate, engaging sound that Dave likes to call "Fazz" – a creative fusion of folk and jazz.