The Barrie Folk Roots Music Festival, now in its fourth year, continues to expand, offering additional entertainment and even greater opportunity for established and up-and-coming musicians.

An initiative of the Barrie Folk Society, the event takes place Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

“We’re looking forward to the fifth year already, and to growing more. We’ve always known there’s an audience for this kind of music and it’s been a great experience,” said Elaine Murray, promotions and spokesperson for the festival.

Murray said one special mandate of BFS is to encourage and nurture youth talent in the area. A showcase of young singer-songwriters (between the ages of 14-18) on Friday, Oct. 31 will feature finalists from the Annual Youth Song Competition. The challenge was narrowing it down to the top 10 performers from the numerous and impressive submissions received last month, she said.

Each of the contestants will perform two of their original songs.

Included on the judging panel will be guitarist/singer Cory Heuvel, last year’s winner of $500 and recording time.

“It’s always important to have the youth voice as part of the judging,” said Murray, adding that there are not as many opportunities for solo artists as, for example, there are for band competitions.

“They  (singer-songwriters) are the future of the music industry, whether it’s folk or rock or whatever. They need the chance to interact with an audience and get feedback.”

Silk Road will perform in concert after the competition.

The Gnomes are among the young(ish) performers participating in the festival during the interactive workshop concerts on Saturday. Comprised of Amy Campbell and Brad McIsaac, the 20-something duo is more like Mitch and Mickey from the movie A Mighty Wind than they are like Sonny and Cher.

“I like to call our music, Fock music,” McIsaac noted, explaining that it is a genre combination of folk and rock.

The couple began writing music and singing together three years ago and recently released their self-titled CD. Campbell, who graduated from Georgian College’s graphic arts program, began performing seriously after some initial encouragement while attending high school in Orillia.

Playing at Georgian College fundraisers and BFS Open Mic nights also set her in motion. Each summer, The Gnomes perform for Orillia’s Canada Day celebrations and have been entertaining at the Orillia Farmer’s Market as well. They are thrilled about the opportunity to perform at the Barrie Folk Roots Music Festival on the Main Stage.

“We’ve done so much playing of our music that we don’t lack confidence. But it will be humbling to play with this collection of musical peers who will be more scrutinizing of our music … ” McIsaac said.

Interactive workshops/concerts on the Saturday afternoon will spread out over several locations. The Georgian College Theatre (main stage) from noon to 5 p.m., will host the themed, hour-long collaboratives – The Songwriters, Truth or Consequences, There Was a Time, Life’s Lessons, and Musical Cousins.

The Last Class Bar and Grill (from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) will feature Youth Showcase, Fiddles and Things, Love is a Rose, The Story Behind the Song, and At The Heart of the Matter. The final hour will be devoted to an open stage set up for 10-minutes sets. A house guitar and keyboard will be on site for those festival attendants wishing to participate on an impromptu basis.

The Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning will have a luthier workshop with Glen Reid from 2:30-3:30 pm. From 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Silk Road will host a workshop on instruments of the Far East.

The Main Stage on Saturday evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with The Breakmen, followed by the performances of Rose Cousins, Silk Road, Searson, Mike Stevens and Raymond McLain. The Festival closes with Garnet Rogers.

“People will hear not only great music, but great stories behind the songs,” said Murray. “We hope people will come and stay all day. Don’t just wait for the evening show. The workshops are mini concerts. Sometimes more magic happens there with the mix of different performers.”

Tickets are $10 for the Oct. 31 Youth  Song Competition Finals at 7 p.m. The full day at the festival on Saturday is $30 in advance or $40 at the door. For more information, to make dinner reservations in the Georgian Dining Room, or to volunteer for the festival, visit the site.

For info on The Gnomes, click the link.