EDMONTON
Edmonton

    • 'We're very happy': Edmonton Folk Fest ready to welcome music fans on the hill

    The Edmonton Folk Music Festival starts on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton) The Edmonton Folk Music Festival starts on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton)
    Share

    For the next four days, the hills at Gallagher Park are going to be packed with folk music fans.

    One of the capital city's most popular summer events, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, starts Thursday night and runs until Sunday.

    "Everything's going well. Ticket sales are great. Weather forecast is great. Doesn't get any better. We're very happy. We're really happy. The smoke stayed away," festival producer Terry Wickham told CTV News Edmonton at Gallagher Park on Wednesday.

    "What we don't like to see is 35 C. It sparks forest fires that can affect us with smoke, and it's really hot to deal with. We're looking at 23 to 25 C temperatures, which actually is perfect."

    Wickham is also excited about the lineup, which includes headliners Black Pumas, Blue Rodeo, and Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.

    "There's all sorts of Grammy Award winners," he said. "Black Pumas are very popular. We had them confirmed in 2020, but of course, that festival didn't happen. So delighted to see them back. Ben Howard has been here before, very popular. Blue Rodeo, of course. There's only about 80 tickets left now for Blue Rodeo tomorrow night. And of course, the closing Alison Krauss with Robert Plant. Alison's been with us a few times before, but Robert, it's his first time at the festival, so we're really, really pleased about that."

    The festival is offering free admission for Jasper residents Thursday night after wildfire destroyed part of the mountain town.

    Wickham hopes the gesture will help Jasper residents find a "sense of community" as they remain away from their homes. 

    Edmonton Top Stories

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A man who has brain damage has a murder conviction reversed after a 34-year fight

    A man who has brain damage and was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a shopkeeper in London had his decades-old conviction quashed Wednesday by an appeals court troubled by the possibility police elicited a false confession from a mentally vulnerable man. Oliver Campbell, who suffered cognitive impairment as a baby and struggles with his concentration and memory, was 21 when he was jailed in 1991 after being convicted based partly on admissions his lawyer said were coerced. “The fight for justice is finally over after nearly 34 years," Campbell said. “I can start my life an innocent man.” Campbell, now in his 50s, was convicted of the robbery and murder of Baldev Hoondle, who was shot in the head in his shop in the Hackney area of east London in July 1990. He had a previous appeal rejected in 1994 and was released from prison in 2002 on conditions that could have returned him to prison if he got into trouble. Defense lawyer Michael Birnbaum said police lied to Campbell and “badgered and bullied” him into giving a false confession by admitting he pulled the trigger in an accident. He was interviewed more than a dozen times, including sessions without either a lawyer or other adult present. His learning disability put him “out of his depth” and he was "simply unable to do justice to himself,” Birnbaum said. He said the admissions were nonsense riddled with inconsistencies that contradicted facts in the case. At trial, he testified that he was not involved in the robbery and had been somewhere else though he couldn't remember where. A co-defendant, Eric Samuels, who has since died, pleaded guilty to the robbery and was sentenced to five years in prison. At the time, he told his lawyer Campbell was not the gunman and later told others Campbell wasn’t with him during the robbery. Lawyers continued to advocate for Campbell that he wasn't the killer and his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission which investigates potential injustices. The three judges on the Court of Appeal rejected most of Birnbaum's grounds for appeal but said they were troubled by the conviction in light of a new understanding of the reliability of admissions from someone with a mental disability. The panel quashed the conviction as 'unsafe,' and refused to order a retrial.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Calgary

    Lethbridge

    Saskatoon

    Regina

    Vancouver

    Vancouver Island

    Toronto

    Montreal

    Atlantic

    Winnipeg

    Ottawa

    Northern Ontario

    Barrie

    Kitchener

    London

    Windsor

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News