In the interest of full disclosure, I'm the communications director for this festival. That said, it's a volunteer position that I do because I think it's a great event. For those of you who don't know, Coldsnap is a weeklong winter music festival that takes place in British Columbia's northern capital, Prince George. I actually just got this lineup yesterday and the announcements are going out today, so North By East West is going to be the first national site to pick up on this. Canadian artist abound with the Great Lake Swimmers, Joel Plaskett, Maurice, Dala, Delhi 2 Dublin, and a bunch of Prince George and northern BC artists. Read on:

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Joel Plaskett, Great Lake Swimmers to Headline Coldsnap 2010

PRINCE GEORGE - Joel Plaskett and the Great Lake Swimmers are among the artists slated to take the stage for Coldsnap 2010, Canada's winter music festival. The full lineup was announced last night by Jo Beattie, Artistic Director for the award-winning festival that will be taking place from January 22 to January 30 in Prince George, British Columbia.

"The lineup this year is a mixture of big names and old favourites," says Beattie. "On the one hand we've got stadium fillers like Plaskett and the Great Lake Swimmers, both of whom are coming fresh off of international tours and critically acclaimed albums. On the other, we've got crowd-pleasers from past years that our audiences really wanted us to bring back. Between the two, we're hoping to attract our core supporters while at the same time expanding our audience to include those who might not have found a reason to come out in the past."

Things kick off on Friday, January 22 with Vancouver-based fusion artists Delhi 2 Dublin, whose mixture of Celtic, Dub, and Bhangra beats earned them the title of world recording artists of the year at the 2009 Western Music Awards. The following night the sound heads south as the stage is filled by Jacksonville, Florida artists the Lee Boys, coming back for the third time. They will be joined by special guest Maureen Washington (a former Prince George resident now based in Victoria) and Prince George's own The Freedom Singers Choir, taking the Coldsnap stage for the first time.

On Sunday, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Joel Plaskett makes his Prince George debut on the stage of the PG Playhouse. Plaskett, a fixture of the independent Canadian music scene since his days with Thrush Hermit in the 1990s was one of shortlist nominees for the 2009 Polaris prize on the strength of his latest album "Three." The Halifax-based musician has also received numerous awards including nine East Coast Music Award wins, a first-place finish in the 2008 Great American Song Contest and the Billboard World Song Contest, and numerous Juno nominations, including songwriter of the year. Beattie says "Earlier this year, Joel played the Cultural Olympiad with Sarah McLachlan and the night before he joins us he'll be performing at the Orpheum in Vancouver. This festival is getting attention from music fans across the country."

Monday to Wednesday, the focus is on local acts as eighteen artists from in and around Prince George take the stage for the "Live at Art Space" recording sessions. "What we're doing here is capturing the sound of Prince George," says Beattie. "While we're bringing in artists from around the world, we've also got a huge range of talents right here at home. This compilation is being designed to showcase that. It is also a tribute to Jim Brinkman, the owner of Books and Company and long time arts supporter."

In something that's become almost as much of a tradition as Coldsnap itself, Thursday sees the return of Welsh singer Martyn Joseph. "Not bringing Martyn back would be almost as bad as not having the festival at all," says Beattie. "He's such a fixture here, Prince George is his second home and his shows always sell out. We're really pleased to welcome him back." Joseph recently won released his 30th album to global praise, and will be supported by Toronto duo Dala, whose mixture of folk and pop has earned them two Canadian folk music awards and an invitation to be the only Canadian group to take the stage at the 50th anniversary of the prestigious Newport Folk Festival.

The party keeps going on Friday as Louisiana's the Red Stick Ramblers and Victoria's Maurice share a double bill. Both have played Coldsnap in the past and both have had huge audience demand for a return. "It's great when you have acts that come to play here that no one knows anything about, and they turn out to be big hits," says Beattie. "Maurice have just released their impressive first album, and the Red Stick Ramblers are finishing off a tour that's taken them around the world. They're both going to be at the top of their game"

The festivities come to a close on Saturday, January 30 with Ontario band the Great Lake Swimmers. Like Plaskett, the Great Lake Swimmers were shortlist nominees for the 2009 Polaris Prize thanks to their critically-acclaimed album "Lost Channels." "The Great Lake Swimmers are great closers because they really have something for everyone," says Beattie. "Their fan base encompasses young and old, folk, pop, rock, and indie. Their music is stunningly beautiful.We're really pleased they're coming out and capping off a great week of music."

Other artists will be announced in coming weeks.

Aside from musical acts every night, both Saturdays will see Coldsnap artists conducting workshops for established and aspiring local musicians. "This is something we've done in previous years that has always been a hit," says Beattie. "Coldsnap is about celebrating music in our community, and there's no better way to do that than by inspiring residents to start making their own. This is a great opportunity to learn from people who've managed to make a name for themselves by recording and touring around the world."
A special youth focus workshop will be led by The Great Lake Swimmers and other musicians to be announced.

The first Coldsnap festival was held in 2008, growing from its roots as a summer folk festival that had been ongoing since 2004. Since then, it has expanded to an award-winning week-long celebration of music that includes a diverse range of artists from around the world. "There are few winter music festivals in the country," says Beattie. "There are a lot of summer music festivals, but a strength for Prince George is in the winter, when people come for the skiing, the skating, and the other outdoor activities. That's one of the reasons why we made the decision to switch over to a week in January. You can spend the day on the slopes or on the ice and then cap the day off with a performance from some world-class musicians. There's really nothing like it."

As Canada's winter music festival, Coldsnap has received attention and accolades from across the country. Most recently, Beattie accepted the Northern Pride Award from Northern BC Tourism in recognition of its years of success. "That's a really great thing to receive at this point in time," says Beattie. "It's a testament to the strength of the shows over the past eight years, and hopefully means good things for us going into the next decade."

Tickets for the festival go on sale November 9, and are available through Books and Company (250-563-6637), Studio 2880 (250-562-4526) and Meow Records (250-564-6369) and UNBC's Bookstore (250-960-6424)

The full schedule and more details about the festival are available at www.coldsnapfestival.com or coldsnapfest.tumblr.com. You can also receive updates and take part in contests by finding "ColdsnapFest" on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. The festival is slated to run January 22 to January 30, 2009.

Media contact: Andrew Kurjata, Coldsnap Communications Director, coldsnapfest@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/coldsnapfest
MySpace: myspace.com/coldsnapfest
Twitter: twitter.com/coldsnapfest
YouTube: youtube.com/coldsnapfest
Flickr Group: flickr.com/groups/coldsnapfest
CBC Radio 3: radio3.cbc.ca/profile/coldsnapfest

Coldsnap Festival 2010 Schedule of Events, January 22-30 (as of October 26, 2009) GENRES ARE DENOTED IN [ ]


FRIDAY, JAN 22, RAMADA HOTEL
DELHI 2 DUBLIN [WORLD FUSION-CELTIC/INDIAN DUB]
www.delhi2dublin.com

2 SATURDAY, JAN 23 DAYTIME WORKSHOPS
WITH THE LEE BOYS and DELHI 2 DUBLIN

SATURDAY, JAN 23, RAMADA HOTEL
THE LEE BOYS [SACRED STEEL] from Jacksonville, Florida
www.leeboys.com

with THE FREEDOM SINGERS CHOIR from Prince George, British Columbia
www.myspace.com/freedomsingerschoir

and special guest MAUREEN WASHINGTON from Victoria, British Columbia (formerly of Prince George)
www.maureenwashington.ca

SUNDAY JAN 24, PRINCE GEORGE PLAYHOUSE
JOEL PLASKETT from Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.joelplaskett.com

MONDAY JAN 25, ART SPACE
TUESDAY JAN 26, ART SPACE
WEDNESDAY, JAN 27 ART SPACE
"LIVE AT THE ART SPACE" 3 NIGHT RECORDING WITH LOCAL ARTISTS

THURSDAY, JAN 28, ART SPACE
MARTYN JOSEPH [FOLK] from Cardiff, Wales
www.martynjoseph.com

DALA [FOLK/POP] from Toronto, Ontario
www.dalagirls.com

FRIDAY, JAN 29, RAMADA HOTEL
THE RED STICK RAMBLERS [CAJUN] from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
www.redstickramblers.com

MAURICE [POWERPOP/ROCK] from Victoria, British Columbia
www.wearemaurice.com

SATURDAY DAYTIME WORKSHOPS FOR YOUTH
WITH THE RED STICK RAMBLERS AND OTHERS TBA

SATURDAY JAN 30, PRINCE GEORGE PLAYHOUSE
THE GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS [INDIE/FOLK] from Toronto, Ontario
www.greatlakeswimmers.com

Opening with song circle of northern women performing, artists TBA

MORE ARTISTS TO BE ANNOUNCED IN COMING WEEKS