My personal highlights from the Winnipeg Folk Festival '09

I went to the lake for a few days to continue my escape from reality after camping for 6 days straight at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, but I'm back now with some of my personal festival highlights for you.

I was most excited to see:

• Elvis Costello
• Martha Wainwright
• Vance Gilbert
• Serena Ryder
• Neko Case
• Xavier Rudd

I saw tons of great artists this year, but these guys totally blew me away:

• Hey Rosetta! - My friend Adam gave me a preview on the way out to the festival, but these guys really hit home on stage.
• Patrick Watson - The contraption they used to perform in the middle of the crowd totally sold the geek in me.
• C.R. Avery - Thanks for speaking some hard truths up there.
• Joe Pug - Gorgeous lyrics delivered simply and beautifully.
• Hayes Carll - "She left me for Jesus" is genius, and became an anthem around our camp site.

My biggest upset:

• Missing Martha Wainwright because we took too long getting out there with the last load of camping gear.