Have you ever seen an opening act so good you wondered how the headliner could be any better? Or a pre-event that bested the big night? On the longest day of the northern summer, Jimmy Rankin took to the stage at Yellowknife, NWT’s Long Lake festival grounds for a rocking midnight concert. (Summer solstice is too soon to be the Folk on the Rocks Music Festival—that came four weeks later.) This was an inaugural fundraiser for the festival, held on one of those magic northern nights with an intense midnight sun beaming across happy upturned faces, and it was hard to imagine the legendary festival a month later could get any better. Enter Sam Roberts Band.

This one-time small-town music bash is now luring some serious headliners north of 60. In the past few years, Sarah Harmer, the Sadies, Tegan and Sara, Sloan and Serena Ryder have joined the robust lineup of northern performers at Folk on the Rocks.

This summer, Folk on the Rocks turns 30 with an anniversary bash July 16 to 18, 2010. Canadian North Airlines has teamed up with Folk on the Rocks to create a festival package from Edmonton, AB to Yellowknife that includes a pass to the weekend music fest. Two Yellowknife hotels, Chateau Nova and Explorer, offer reduced rates to festival-goers who buy the flight special.

Though the festival has come a long way from its 1980 folk-indie roots, some things never change. The scenic lakeside site is still the place to be on those lazy summer days. The always entertaining northern talent is still rich and eclectic, and the beer garden is still the best. On the other hand, the festival now has six stages, a children’s area and a mouth-watering food fair, and the music is vast in variety, making it a sure bet for just about anyone.

www.spectacularnwt.com