Vancouver Folk Music Festival opens with stellar sets under near-perfect weather

The 49th annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival got off to a strong start Friday at Jericho Beach, with near-perfect weather and stellar sets from Aysanabee, Hazlett, and the duo of Tina Dico and Helgi Jónsson.

The evening featured an azure sky dotted with white clouds that turned cotton-candy pink as the sun slowly set over the water. Three full sets and two shorter in-between performances highlighted the Main Stage action.

Aysanabee, an Oji-Cree singer-songwriter from Ontario, opened at 6 p.m. with a performance that leaned rock-n-roll for a folk festival. He performed a semi-unplugged version of his breakthrough hit "Nomads," similar to the version on his acoustic EP released earlier this year. His prodigious two-handed tapping approach to the acoustic guitar was on full display, and when joined by his full band — backing vocalist Kyla Charter, keyboardist-singer Konstantine Aivaliotis, guitarist Adam Hanney, and drummer Miles Gibbons — Aysanabee demonstrated why he is most often slotted into the "alternative rock" genre. Gibbons' rolling thunder and Hanney's heavily overdriven guitar gave "Somebody Else" a primal energy.

Tina Dico and Helgi Jónsson performed as a duo, with both artists highly accomplished solo artists in their own right. Dico, a Danish musician with a beautifully fluid guitar style and a sure hand with melody, got top billing. Jónsson, an Icelandic musician, nearly stole the show when he pulled out his trombone. The two share a musically symbiotic relationship and are also a married couple.

Hazlett, an Australian-born singer-songwriter now based in Sweden, brought a three-piece backing band to deliver new depth and atmosphere to signature tunes like "Blame the Moon" and "Missionary Feelings." His performances carried a country-rock feel. Hazlett jokingly apologized several times for "killing the festival vibes" with his sad songs, but the crowd appreciated the nod to Canadiana when he performed The Band's "The Weight" — even though he forgot the words in the second verse and skipped the remaining three entirely.

The festival continues at Jericho Beach Park through July 19.