Canada’s northernmost folk festival is perhaps also its most charming. For 46 years, Folk on the Rocks has been bringing bands in from across the North and South alike, cementing the weekend as one of the most anticipated in the brief but intense Yellowknife summer. For three days in July, Yellowknife comes alive with music, dancing and celebrating, and there’s a palpable energy in the air.

The unofficial start to Folk on the Rocks is the festival-adjacent Float on the Rocks, a house show on a houseboat on Great Slave Lake put on by two locals, Darcy Bourassa and Shea Alain. What started as a low-key pre-festival event four years ago has blossomed into one of the worst-kept secrets in Yellowknife and one of the most unique and memorable ways to watch a band during Folk on the Rocks weekend. It’s something only the North can provide and foreshadows the strong sense of community that defines both FOTR and Yellowknife.

This year, hundreds of canoes, kayaks, sailboats, speedboats, stand-up paddleboards and floaties converged on a stage just off Dog Island to catch locals Hughes, Montreal/Haiti’s Waahli and Whitehorse’s Electric Lemonade performing from the deck of the houseboat. It’s an incredible way to start the festival weekend: paddling out to the “venue,” posting up in a canoe cluster with a couple of drinks and snacks, taking it all in and paddling home at 11 p.m. under bright evening skies sets the stage for a magical weekend ahead.

On Friday, Yellowknifers and Southerners alike Warm Up the Rocks, as FOTR calls its inaugural official night. The party is concentrated in the beer gardens at the Canadian North Stage, with a full complement of bands lined up from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and the iconic Glam on the Rocks burlesque show acting as the anchor for the evening. It’s one of the festival’s most popular events as folks head down to the festival grounds on Long Lake for a long night of revelry.

Altered By Mom.

Last year, Warm Up the Rocks was unfortunately cancelled early into the evening due to a sudden and severe thunderstorm that had everyone running for cover, so this year’s opening night had an air of vindication to it. Electric Lemonade once again opened the festivities with their psych-inspired indie rock, followed by local all-ages act Cows Go Moo, complete with friends and family in cow outfits headbanging in the front row and cow-print balloons bouncing through the air. Toronto’s Altered by Mom and Calgary’s angel cowboy Robert Adam followed before giving way to what is the headline performance for many: Glam on the Rocks. The local burlesque troupe puts on several shows in Yellowknife throughout the year, but its FOTR slot is always highly anticipated and a treat for audiences as performers showcase the diverse disciplines within burlesque. The party raged on with locals Johnny Vu w/ The Co-op, local punks Upper Mall Rats and Saskatoon’s prairie sky-inspired ambient producer June Thrasher.

The Yellowknife Dene Drummers.

Folk on the Rocks fully unfolds on Saturday and Sunday as the entire site sprawls open along the shores of Long Lake across five stages. The opening ceremonies on the main stage are provided by the Yellowknife Dene Drummers and a circle dance. After that, it’s a mad dash—or rather, a calf-burning trudge through the sandy hills—between stages to catch bands from far and wide across Canada. Altered by Mom played its second set of the weekend on the main stage, Waahli got the crowd moving and grooving in a repeat performance from Thursday’s Float, and headliners Cadence Weapon and the OBGMs were kicking up dust well into the midnight sun.

What really sets FOTR apart from other folk festivals is that sense of community and hospitality. It’s immediately evident that locals are stoked to soak in the smorgasbord of bands the festival flies in—bands who otherwise would likely never be able to play Yellowknife or tour the North. It seems like everyone in town is eager to show off what makes Yellowknife special to them, and doors are swung wide open to folks from out of town to enjoy everything that makes their community special.

The OBGMs.

Backstage, Chef Nikki of the Wildcat Cafe is a prime example of this. Tasked with catering the entire hospitality program for bands, sponsors and VIPs, Chef Nikki is an ambassador for Northern ingredients, crafting healthy, home-cooked meals all weekend long that showcase locally caught, foraged and farmed ingredients.

Elsewhere, back on Great Slave Lake, the Arctic Duchess opens up its sauna to festival artists looking for a respite from the festival, offering a spa experience on the refreshing waters and a moment to enjoy a bit of calm away from the chaos. And locals of all sorts are more than happy to stop you between stages for an introduction, a chat and not a little beam of pride in playing host to so many newcomers each year.

On Sunday, those who did not partake in any after-hours debauchery in the tailgate area or at the Gold Range—an iconic honky-tonk that sees all walks of life line up at the bar for a drink—headed down to the festival early to bask in the sun or go for a swim in Long Lake. The day goes by slowly at first, with folkier bands like Calgary’s Justine Giles and Edmonton’s St. Arnaud setting the mood before ramping the party back up at the beer garden with local rifflords Gnarwhal, Waahli’s Haitian funk and Toronto’s angular punks Dumb Crush.

St. Arnaud.

As the beer garden winds down and the festival herds everyone toward the main stage for the closing festivities, The Darcys, Great Lake Swimmers, Mae Martin and Aysanabee close out the final night of music. Aysanabee is joined toward the end of his set by the Yellowknife Dene Drummers, who weave their rhythmic drumming and singing into his Oji-Cree melodies and songwriting. To cap everything off, the Dene Drummers continue their own set, leading a giant circle dance in front of the main stage according to their traditions, bringing everyone into the circle and kicking up a transcendent storm of dust that rises into the fading evening sun that never seems to want to set.

Folk on the Rocks put a bow on its 46th edition, and there wasn’t a single person there who wasn’t already looking forward to next year.