BY ROBERT MOYES

Special to the Record

Way before it was trendy to do so, Vancouver Island MusicFest had always programmed lots of female performers, and this year鈥檚 lineup is notable for the range and relevance of the women who will be singing and playing on those stages.

Particularly exciting is the B.C. debut of U.K. star Grace Petrie, who is often referred to as the new Billy Bragg. A protest singer par excellence, Petrie is a passionate polemicist, a bomb-thrower with dead aim, an LGBTQ+ activist鈥� and a stand-up comic to boot.

According to MusicFest producer Doug Cox, Petrie is super-intelligent, outspoken, and a great singer-songwriter. 鈥淪he headlines major festivals in the U.K. but isn鈥檛 so well known in North America,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 expect she鈥檒l be a bit of revelation.鈥�

Northern warriors

Happily, the collaborative trio of artists from northern B.C. fully lives up to their name as Song Warriors of the North. Kym Gouchie is both an activist and an artist, and brings soul, integrity, and authenticity to everything she does, imbuing her folk-country songs with inspiration and hope. Rachelle van Zanten is a powerhouse performer of rootsy blues-rock 鈥� she is a stunning slide guitarist as well as a powerful singer-songwriter who鈥檚 performed with everyone from Feist to Clarence Gatemouth Brown.

鈥淪he had a big music career but put it on hold to look after her family,鈥� said Cox. 鈥淣ow she鈥檚 back, and as great as she ever was.鈥�

Rounding out the trio is classically trained cellist, vocalist, and guitarist Naomi Kavka, who embodies diversity as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, as she veers from art-rock improvs to brooding ballads.

Tassan and les Imposteures

Yet another first-timer at MusicFest, Christine Tassan has been blazing a trail for over two decades as a preeminent gypsy jazz guitarist in a genre that is almost entirely dominated by men (for many years her band was all female, just to make a point). With her quartet les Imposteures, she has released eight albums and gotten ovations at the biggest Django Reinhardt festivals around the world. Prized for her musical inventiveness as much as her on-stage ebullience, Tassan also seamlessly incorporates influences ranging from Cuban jazz to Qu茅b茅cois folk music into the band鈥檚 dynamic repertoire. Mostly, though, Tassan and les Imposteures wring fresh delights from the inexhaustible Reinhardt legacy.

East Coast power duo

Now here鈥檚 something exceptional. Some years back, Cox used to receive tapes of songs performed by two Nova Scotia sisters who were still literally kids.

鈥淭heir dad used to send them to me, and the songs were really good,鈥� he recalls.

Fast forward several years and Moira & Claire, now in their early 20s, have become a true phenomenon, with their debut disc getting nominated for three East Coast Music Awards, as well as a pair of Music Nova Scotia Awards. Of particular note is their hit song Delaney鈥檚 Dad, which has emerged as a gay teen anthem.

鈥淭hey write beautiful, quirky young music 鈥� the songwriting is extraordinary,鈥� said Cox. 鈥淧lus they are great singers and their harmonies are wonderful.鈥�

This is clearly one of the groups that Cox is most excited about presenting.

鈥淭hey are going to floor a lot of people,鈥� he said.

Female superstar Williams

And speaking of heart, nobody has a bigger, wiser, or wilder one than Lucinda Williams. After recently surviving a stroke, Williams has come roaring back with several CDs ranging from southern soul covers to a gutsy tribute to the Rolling Stones. And her very latest, Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart, is a thrilling manifesto from a true survivor. When Williams makes her MusicFest debut on the Saturday night mainstage, it will be about as epic as it gets.

Vancouver Island MusicFest runs from July 12-14 at the Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds. Visit islandmusicfest.com for a full lineup and ticket information

鈥揜obert Moyes is an arts journalist with a particular interest in music