Whitehorse, Ashley MacIssac and Nathan Rogers will headline this summer’s three-day Home County Folk Festival at Victoria Park in London.

Darin Addison, the festival’s artistic director, announced the traditionally all-Canadian lineup March 19 to an appreciative folk-loving audience at the London Music Club.

“We have put together a fantastic list of local, regional and national performers for this year’s festival that includes a great mix of traditional and contemporary music,” Addison said. “There is something for everyone.”

Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland of Toronto-based Whitehorse have played the festival before but not since the husband and wife duo began to play as a band in 2011.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity for them to come back,” Addison said. “They’re obviously popular enough but they’re not one of those household commercial radio names either. They’ve got a lot of support from CBC and I think that a lot of Home County artists are CBC artists as well.”

Whitehorse will headline the program on the festival’s first day Friday, July 18. Three-time Juno Award-winning fiddler Ashley MacIssac takes the spotlight Saturday, July 19 and Nathan Rogers, the son of late Canadian folk musician Stan Rogers, headlines Sunday, July 20.

The festival’s lineup this year also features an impressive list of London and area artists including Blackwood Honeybees, Allison Brown, Kevin’s Bacon Train, Robbie Antone’s Blues Machine and Pete Denomme and The Cosmic Cowboys to name a few.

“I think that’s important, it’s always been part of Home County,” Addison said. “On a personal level, I just believe London has a lot of great talent. I think a lot of them are playing the bars all the time and they’re playing to 50 or 100 people, so for them to get out to play to 1,000 or 2,000 people … I think it’s a great opportunity.”

The Allen’s are also part of that local contingent and were among the musicians eager to find out Wednesday who else would be attending the festival.

“I think it’s a really good balance of local favourites as well as out-of-towners that we love too so I think it’s going to be great,” said singer Mary-Kate Smith, one half of The Allens’ two lead vocalists along with Mack Edwards.

“We’re super excited about it,” added Edwards. “We’re big fans of Whitehorse and The Beauties. I think it’s going to be a great festival.”

Addison said more information about the workshops being planned for this summer’s festival will be released in the near future, but he did say one will pay tribute to Ken Palmer, a former Home County artistic director who passed away last year.

“He was a strong supporter of local music, he was a member of the Dixie Flyers and so that was just a given,” Addison said. “I’m working with some other artists who have performed with Ken over the years and we’re going to put together a really great tribute to him.”

Another will feature First Nations artists, Addison said. It could include festival acts Robbie Antone, from nearby Oneida Nation of the Thames First Nation, and Elisapie, from the Inuit community of Salluit, Quebec.

Chris.montanini@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @LondonerChris

The full 2014 Home County Folk Festival lineup:

The Allens (London, ON)

The Beauties (Toronto, ON)

The Bills (Victoria, BC)

Blackwood Honeybees (London, ON)

Allison Brown (Windsor/London, ON)

Cold Specks (Toronto, ON/London UK)

Doghouse Rose (London/Toronto, ON)

Elisapie (Salluit, Nunavik/Montreal, QC)

Jenn Grant (Halifax, NS)

Connie Kaldor (Regina, SK/Montreal, QC)

James Keelaghan (Peterborough, ON/Calgary, AB)

Kevin’s Bacon Train (London, ON)

Marty Kolls (London, ON)

The Laws (Wheatley, ON)

Lit’l Chicago (Sarnia, ON)

Lonnie In The Garden (London, ON)

Sarah MacDougall (Whitehorse, YT)

Ashley MacIsaac (Creignish, NS/Windsor, ON)

The Marrieds (London, ON)

Pete Denomme & The Cosmic Cowboys (London, ON)

Rant Maggie Rant (Stratford, ON)

Amanda Rheaume (Ottawa, ON)

Robbie Antone’s Blues Machine (London, ON)

Nathan Rogers (Hamilton, ON/Winnipeg, MB)

Stephanie Cadman Trio (Toronto, ON)

The Schotts (Tillsonburg, ON)

Sweet Alibi (Winnipeg, MB)

Carly Thomas (London, ON)

Trent Severn (Stratford, ON)

Bry Webb (Guelph, ON)

Whitehorse (Toronto, ON)

The Home County Family Area will once again include Todd’s Musical Petting Zoo and the lineup for the Children’s Stage includes:

Jack Barnes & Bernie Gilmore (London, ON)

Dickie Bird (Walkerton, ON)

Jake Differ (Peterborough, ON)

DuffleBag Theatre (London, ON)

Jack Grunsky (Toronto, ON)