Published April 12 2017

Crowd favourites and new talent will beentertaining at this year's Forest Festival hosted at HaliburtonForest and Wild Life Reserve.

National icon Buffy Sainte-Marie willbe opening the event on Wednesday Aug. 16 and the Jim Cuddy Triowill be the last band to play on Sunday Aug. 20.

In between organizers have selected anexciting collection of accomplished musicians that is sure to appealto every music lover.

Opening for Sainte-Marie isOntario-based singer-songwriter Annie Sumi whose music is a blend of“folk roots and ethereal vocalization” according to herwebsite.

On Thursday Aug. 17 Jimmy Rankin ofthe Rankin Family will be bringing the country to the forest withcatchy songs you can sing along to.

An eclectic group of musicians will betaking to the stage on Friday Aug. 18 with Stuart Laughton's RadioDial. Described as Vinyl Cafe with songs and stories reversed this collection of bandmembers offers a range of sounds from country to pop instrumentalhits to Celtic and rockabilly.

Saturday afternoon brings the jazzyAlison Young Quartet to the Logging Museum. Young is the saxophoneplayer with Red Hot Ramble which was featured at the festival in2015.

That evening Angel Forrest and heracoustic trio will “shake some dust from the rafters” with asound that conjures Janis Joplin Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Ethridgeorganizers say.

On the afternoon of Sunday Aug. 20folk singers The O'Pears will perform hot off their European tour.

The Jim Cuddy Trio will be returning tothe Bone Lake Amphitheatre on Sunday evening as they did in 2012.

For tickets or more information go to theforestfestival.com .