Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Tyme Music Festival

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Big River, SK
Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Tyme Music Festival

A home for bluegrass, old-time and more in the heart of the Canadian prairies. Jam, camp, dance! http://www.northernlightsbluegrass.ca

06/15/2026

We have another FREE workshop coming up that you can attend!

Tune Accompaniment Workshop with Mary Liv 🎻✨🎶

Sunday, June 21st, 12:30pm-1:30pm
The Bassment, Saskatoon (202 4th Ave N, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0K1)

Join us for a free workshop that focuses on accompanying fiddle tunes! Olivia will go over fiddle backup on different instruments, reading chord charts, etiquette, the mystery of crooked tunes, and more.

Olivia is a touring musician under the name Mary Liv. She also teaches music and fills in for various artists. Liv will be teaching the Youth Jam Class this year.

Stick around after the workshop for the jam at The Bassment (1:30pm-3:30pm) and try out what you've learned!

Thank you to the City of Saskatoon for supporting this event.

06/13/2026

Arguably the quintessential bluegrass sound, the banjo has been a staple instrument at our music camp for years and years! This summer we're thrilled to offer space for folks to pick up a banjo and start fresh, or to bring existing skills along for a focused week of improvement! We have four whole classes to choose from this summer all of which will be taught by amazing folks, and spots are limited in each of these classes so get your registration submitted right away to avoid missing out! 😊 🪕

Camp Registration available at northernlightsbluegrass.com/music-camp/classes/

06/11/2026

Camp Instructor Spotlight! ✨ Beginner Guitar ✨

Bright, feisty, and fierce, this banjo playin’ troubadour of exceptional talent and vision has been gracing stages around the world for the past 20 years. Eliza Doyle is a Juno and International Award winning artist who, together with her band can be described as “sweet as honey and raw as hide”. Her past discography goes back to 2003, and since then, she's recorded on 23 albums, toured Canada, the US, Europe and the UK extensively, and crafted her musicianship to rise in excellence as a leader in this province as a banjo player, performer, teacher, leader and songwriter. Recently, she has co-founded Community Arts Mentorship Program which Holly Yuzicapi (Standing Buffalo Dakota/Lakota Nation) which delivers arts programming and mentorship to Saskatchewan's remote and under-resourced communities. Currently Doyle is working on a new album "Lay Your Cards Down", and is continually working on new music and inspiring those around her.

06/08/2026

Camp Instructor Spotlight! ✨ Beginner Clawhammer Banjo ✨

Growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, Mark Boer got his start in music by reaching for the guitar nearly 20 years ago. After playing in numerous bands as a guitar player and songwriter throughout his early years as a musician, he grew interested in discovering melody and songwriting through different instruments, leading him to the banjo. When learning the banjo, Mark was immediately drawn to the tradition and timeless melodies of old-time music, which not only fostered his deep love for the genre but also paved the path for the distinct sound of his musical duo, The Western Thistles, who are actively recording and performing in Canada.

Mark is always excited to spend time jamming, swapping banjo licks, nerding out on banjo tone or sharing his passion and insight on clawhammer with others. Mark looks forward to being a part of this year’s 2026 festival as an instructor as well as a performer!

06/06/2026

This just in! Today’s bluegrass brunch at will have pinch-hitter Ryan Shotton subbing into our lineup on the mandolin!!

See you there, folks - tunes and brunch from 12-2PM today! This’ll be the last of our regular BG brunches until September, so come on down to catch these players and get your pancake fix all at the same time!😊🎻☕️

06/05/2026

Volunteers, we're looking for you! That's right, you there! Yes! YOU!
For our music camp and festival to run smooth and successfully, we are always looking for people willing to help us fill a whole host of roles and handle odd jobs! Music is made better with more folks lending a hand, and we are grateful for everyone who pitches in. Volunteering for camp/fest is also a great way to work off your festival pass cost and save those dollars for snacks, vendors, and artist merch!

If this sounds like a community that you'd like to be a part of, head to https://northernlightsbluegrass.com/volunteer/ to submit a volunteer application form! Questions? Send an email to our Volunteer Coordinator, Scotty, at [email protected]

📸 by little jack films

06/04/2026

If you’ve been wanting to check out Scott Woods, here’s your chance to win tickets for his upcoming Fiddle Country tour!! 🎶🎻🤠

Enter to win by sending an email to: [email protected] with the subject line: "Scott Woods" and include the name of your favourite Canadian Fiddle tune! One lucky entrant will receive a pair of tickets to their June show of choice!!

** Contest entries will only be accepted until 6:30PM CST on June 4th/2026 **

Scott Woods brings a high-energy night of classic country, western swing and Canadian old-time with an incredibly talented group of musicians for a top notch fiddle variety show that delights audiences of all ages.

06/03/2026

Did somebody say FIDDLES? Regardless of whether someone did or did not mention these fabulous 4-stringed instruments, we figured it would be a great day to feature the 4 unique fiddle classes we will be offering at this year's Music Camp! With skilled instructors from the east, west, north, and south of North America, there's a little something for everyone looking to pick up a bow and get to fiddlin' this summer 🎻🌲

Registration for our annual Music Camp can be found on our home website, northernlightsbluegrass.ca!

06/02/2026

Time for another edition of NLBOT's Music Hall! Tune in to CFCR to hear the latest tune selections and upcoming event information from Northern Lights! 📻 🎶

05/31/2026

Camp class sellout alert!! If you're procrastinating your registration, now is the time to act! You've got one more month until Earlybird registration wraps up (June 30th) after which prices will go up! 💰

Still on the fence about which class to take this summer? TUNE IN to CFCR 90.5 FM from 9-11am this morning to hear Camp Co-Director Aiden walk you through all of this year's instructors, and take a listen to music from all of 'em in one handy radio show episode! 📻

CLASS REGISTRATION HEADS UP!
As of this week, we've only got 2-3 spots left in each of the following camp classes:
- Vocal Harmony 👯🏻‍♀️ with Holly Gilroy and Aiden McRorie Wilson (1-800-POLKA)
- Intermediate/Advanced Clawhammer Banjo 🪕with Hanna Traynham (New Floyd County Ramblers)
- Intermediate Old Time Guitar 🎼 with Ashlee Watkins (New Floyd County Ramblers)
- Beginner Mandolin 🎶 with Michael Taylor
- Sing Out Strong 🤩 with Bri Huot-Boer (Western Thistles)

Address

Big River, SK
S0J0E0

Telephone

+13063734190

Website

http://www.northernlightsbluegrass.com/

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