As part of her politely Icelandic between-song banter Thursday night, Of Monsters and Men guitarist-vocalist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir informed the audience at Prince’s Island Park that it was the first time the band had played Calgary.
She was immediately corrected by at least one member of the crowd, who apparently had clearer memories than the musician did about the show Of Monsters and Men played at Grey Eagle Casino 11 years ago. The quickness, and precision, of the correction further strengthened what was obvious from the moment the six-piece Icelandic band stepped on stage: Many in the partisan audience knew the band’s material and were ready to embrace them as th first stadium-ready rock stars at the 2026 version of the Calgary Folk Music Festival.
This is not to suggest the band were generic rock, of course. Of Monsters and Men offered a moving and often riveting set full of shifting dynamics. Nor is it a slight on the three artists who preceded them. Tennessee’s Valerie June is as endearing a performer as they come, funny and charming and possessing a stunning command of variuos roots-music genres. Tiken Jah Fakoly, who was legitimately making his Calgary debut, is.a massively popular African reggae star in Europe and his home country of Cote d’Ivoire. Toronto’s Julian Taylor has thirty years under his belt shifting from naval-gazing folk-rock to booming R&B.
But there was a definite shift in tone when Iceland’s Of Monsters and Men took the stage as they opted for a U2-style grandeur that led perfectly to the band’s expansive opening anthems, Television Love and Dream Team.
If Hilmarsdóttir forgetting she played Calgary more than a decade ago was a faux pas, it was quickly forgotten. Soon the band was leading an powerful singalong during the synth-rock beauty Ordinary Creature before the singer descended into the audience during a breathless performance of their hit Little Talks.,
The band alternated between guitar-crunch anthems such as Alligator, melodic indie-pop gems Tuna in a Can and King and Lionheart, slow-burn anthems Styrofoam Cathedral and heart-tugging ballads The Actor and a beautifully stripped-down take on Love Love Love from the band’s 2011 debut record.
Through it all, drummer Arna Rosenkranz Hilmarsson — who may be the band’s secret weapon — offered frantic beats that coursed under the band’s grandeur.
Julian Taylor played the main stage at Calgary Folk Music Festival on Thursday.
Opener Julian Taylor was the perfect way to gently usher the crowd into a mellow vibe on Day 1. The Toronto singer-songwriter’s earnest tunes reference Canuck landmarks and nature and offer self-affirming platitudes, which seemed like a nicely non-threatening way to kick off the proceedings. . He began with the amiable shuffle Back Again before offering Sweeter, a song that includes shoutouts to the Trans Canada Highway, Blue Rodeo’s Five Days in May and Chief Dan George. He turned the bluesy Bobbi Champagne into the folk fest’s first of what will no doubt be many mellow singalongs from the mainstage.. The stirring anthem Seeds and stately ballad The Ridge were early highlights. The crowd seemed to get revved up just in time for the with the soft R&B funk of Just A Little Bit and the relatively scorching Zero to 11, which climaxed with Taylor offering a lengthy, leather-lunged howl.
Tiken Jah Fakoly played the main stage at Calgary Folk Music Festival on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Brent Calver/Postmedia
The dance area began to fill when Tiken Jah Fakoly’s band took the stage. If Taylor represented the earnest singer-songwriting folkie side of the folk fest, Fakoly quickly introduced some political fire. A towering presence — both literally and figuratively — in the African reggae scene, the Cote d’Ivoire artist emerged hooded and robed after two elastic-grooved songs his agile band provided to create the endearing but powerful vibe. As he twirled and paced the stage, the singer — who is a massive star in Africa and France — sang reggae-grooved anthems. Some songs were sung in French, which probably made it hard for most to catch the specifics of Fakoly’s rallying cries. But there was no denying his conviction. Whether applying his raspy voice to a mesmerizing French-language ballad part way through the set, or regally saying “welcome to African Reggae music,” the passion was palpable. Still, he probably best connected during two of his English-language political screeds, the catchy and yearning Discrimination and shape-shifting anthem Africa Wants to be Free.
Valerie June played the main stage at Calgary Folk Music Festival on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Brent Calver/Postmedia
“I love your already,” Valerie June told the audience not long after taking to the flower-strewn stage in a puffy pink dress. The Tennessee singer-songwriter is a master of synthesizing bedrock strains of roots music to produce a remarkably original sound that matches her singular vocal stylings. June played banjo, acoustic guitar and proved herself to be a capable shredder on electric guitar. June’s songs are beautifully crafted, from the hand-clapping gospel of the appropriately titled Joy, Joy!, melodic girl pop-leaning Endless Tree and the snarling Workin’ Woman Blues from her 2013 breakthrough album Pushin’ Against A Stone. As good as her originals are, June also shone with some killer takes on old blues numbers, including an mesmerizing run thought Lightning Hopkin’s The LIfe I Used to Live and a stomping banjo-fuelled take on the Delta Blues classic Rollin’ and Tumblin’. She ended her set with a soaring a capella version of the old-timey hymn You Got to Walk that Lonesome Valley.
Headliners Of Monsters and Men ended the first night of the folk fest with similar power, shutting down the main stage with Fruit Bat. It begins as a delicate, piano-lead ballad before slowly boiling to a goosebump-inducing crescendo. It seemed to perfectly reflect the arc of the festival’s first day.
The Calgary Folk Music Festival runs until Sunday at Prince’s Island Park.