Judy Collins
It began in 1972 as a single day event called the Northern Lights Folk Festival. It has grown and evolved over the years to be the signature music & arts festival of Northern Ontario.
NLFB remains Canada’s longest consecutively running, music festival – with a wealth of inspiring performances and compelling stories. The 2019 festival attracted a record attendance of over 14,000 total.
Closing out the festival’s main stage on Sunday, July 12 will be celebrated American folk artist Judy Collins. (Stephen Stills wrote Suite: Judy Blue Eyes about Collins.)
Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 50-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century.
The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won “Song of the Year” at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits gold- and platinum-selling albums.
Recently, contemporary and classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins. Also, in the 1960s Judy became a tastemaker within the thriving Greenwich Village folk community, bringing other singer-songwriters to a wider audience, including poet/musician Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman. Throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and up to the present, she has remained a vital artist, enriching her catalog with critically acclaimed albums while balancing a robust touring schedule.
Passes are available online at www.nlfb.ca/tickets, and at outlets in Sudbury: Jett Landry Music (1119 Lasalle Blvd.) and Old Rock Coffee (212 Minto St.). For more information visit nlfb.ca or call 705-674-5512.
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