July 14 – The Italian Cultural Institute in Vancouver has renewed its collaboration with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, and will present two great names of Italian folk music: guitarist Beppe Gambetta and the group Banditaliana di Riccardo Tesi, who will continue their tour in British Columbia with gigs in Comox, Salt Spring Island, Golden, Kelowna and Harrison Hot Springs. The Vancouver Folk Music Festival kicks off on Friday (July 18) and will run until Sunday (July 20) at Jericho Beach Park. Born in Genoa, Gambetta is a household name in the United States, where he built his reputation with numerous tours, by participating in prestigious festivals (the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, the Merlefest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the Chico California, and the Canadian Edmonton and Winnipeg Festivals), and teaching workshops (including the Steve Kaufman’s Flatpicking Camp in Maryville, Tennessee). Gambetta has had the opportunity to play with the greatest artists of the international folk scene, including Doc Watson, Tony Trischka, Gene Parsons, Norman Blake, and David Grisman.
