The
Northwest Territories are a
territory of Canada.
Music festivals held in the Northwest Territories include Folk on the Rocks, typically held in
Yellowknife
Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...
in the middle of July, the
Great Northern Arts Festival, which is held annually in
Inuvik to celebrate the culture of the northern peoples of Canada and the South Slave Friendship Festival is also held later in the summer in
Fort Smith.
Over its 30 years, Folk on the Rocks has attracted many southern artists including
Stan Rogers,
Sam Roberts,
Buffy St. Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American (Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these are ...
,
Gord Downie
Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its form ...
and many acts from around the world. Some of the more interesting aspects of the festival are the unique workshops that combine artists from the North with entertainers from the south or overseas. For instance, the Mongolian Tuva group Chirgilchin performed an impromptu set with some traditional Inuit
throat-singers, which created some never before heard music.
The
Midway Lake Music Festival is held annually among the
Teetl'it Gwich'in, one of the
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
of the Northwest Territories. At Midway Lake, Gwich'in musicians performer
jig
The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...
s,
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...
es and
square dances, which were imported by
fur traders in the 19th century.
The
fiddle is a common traditional instrument in the Northwest Territories.
*
{{Northwest Territories-stub