Folk Festival: Socalled

Ever since I heard The Socalled Seder, the man named Socalled has had me hooked. I've seen him perform with Irving Fields and Gonzales in an old theatre, with Bell Orchestre in a church, with his regulars at this year's Winnipeg Folk Festival, and every time, he is firmly the star of the show.

Simply put, he mixes hip-hop and klezmer - Jewish folk music - with great results on record. Live, the songs explode. He acts as a frantic conductor for his band, as he occasionally rhymes and bangs out beats. More than that, he makes the transition between his two genres of choice so natural as to make the seams nonexistent. This isn't pastiche - it's pure invention.

Socalled is playing the main stage on Saturday night, and has a variety of sessions during the day, including a magic show at the kids stage on Sunday.