Rum Ragged

StanFest Performer Interview – Rum Ragged

Rum Ragged

Rum Ragged is a Canadian folk music group from Newfoundland and Labrador. 

They are most noted for their 2020 album The Thing About Fish, which was a shortlisted Juno Award nominee for Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.

They released their latest single, “Lazy Afternoon” last month, and are set to play Stan Rogers Folk Festival tonight, opening for Alan Doyle, along with a few other showcases throughout the weekend.

Listen to “Lazy Afternoon” below and learn more about Rum Ragged via our StanFest Performer Interview.

First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Mark Manning and I am the vocalist/guitarist of the Newfoundland and Labrador folk and traditional band, Rum Ragged.

Tell us a bit about your most recent release.

We will be releasing our new record “Gone Jiggin” this coming fall. We have released a single from the record in recent months called “Lazy Afternoon”. People have been very kind with praise for the track and we really enjoy getting to break it out for the live show. We can’t wait for everyone to hear the full record.

You’re playing Stan Rogers Folk Festival this year. Is this your first time playing the festival? If so, have you ever attended?

We have attended the festival before and we are delighted to have been invited back to Canso this year. It’s no secret that StanFest is a special one for music, but just to be there in gorgeous Canso with the lovely people who call it home will be super special for us. It really reminds us a lot of our hometowns in rural Newfoundland.

With a stellar, hugely-Canadian lineup, who are you excited to check out at the festival?

It is indeed a fantastic lineup. Having been on the road a lot lately, we miss home a bit from time to time. So, we are really looking forward to crossing paths and catching up with our friends and fellow NL musicians, Silver Wolf Band, The Irish Descendants, Quote the Raven, Matthew Byrne, and Alan Doyle. We can’t wait to be surprised with something new too, folk festivals are always great for that.

For someone who has yet to see you perform live, describe your performance in 3 words.

Authentic, exhilarating, and versed

On Saturday, July 22, there will also be a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, so I have to ask, what is your favourite Gordon Lightfoot song?

Such a master of songwriting and a lyricist who will always stand in a league of his own. It makes for a difficult task to pick just one, but Canadian Railroad Trilogy constantly impresses me with each new listen.

Do you have any other upcoming shows or festivals to tell us about?

We are currently en route from a great weekend at the Harrison Festival of the Arts and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in British Columbia. Now it’s around Atlantic Canada for the rest of summer with stops in Rollo Bay, PEI, Fredericton, NB for their Highland Games, Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso of course, and then it’s back home to Newfoundland for the month of August to play all around there. You can check out all the dates on our socials and website.

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