Fan-favourite folk artist once again headlining Beneath the Arch

A familiar face will soon take the Flare n' Derrick stage.

Folk artist Cara Luft will be headlining Beneath the Arch, Diamond Valley's non-profit concert series, on Saturday, March 29.

"I'm very excited because it's one of my favourite parts of Alberta," said the Calgary-born singer. "It'll be a reunion of sorts, it'll be very, very lovely."

Luft is a founding member of The Wailin' Jennys, a Canadian folk group through which she won a Juno Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year in 2012, as well as Winnipeg duo The Small Glories, which headlined Beneath the Arch in 2017.

The show is part of Luft's 50 for 50 tour, through which she's celebrating her 50th birthday and marking her storied career by performing 50 shows across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

"It feels like a relaunching of my solo identity, solo career, but also a celebration of being able to have done this job for so long and to celebrate with the myriad other musicians that I've met along the way," said Luft.

"I decided to do 50 shows for my 50th birthday and make each of them slightly different than each other, so each show is unique, and I'm inviting friends, musical friends who I've made over the years to come and be special guests at the shows."

Luft promises a "once-in-a-lifetime" show, for which she'll be joined on stage by Clayton Parsons, Jim McLennan and Horizon Ridge. 

"It's very unique and special just for the Diamond Valley audience," she said, adding that the show will feature never-before-heard songs set to appear on her next album as well as a few covers with her own original spin.

"Just great playing, great singing, great songs, great energy."

The show will be held at the Flare n' Derrick Community Hall on March 29 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online here or in-person at the Bluerock Gallery and Sheep River Library.

Beneath the Arch presents seven shows annually, and revenue goes towards initiatives such as the young performing artists' bursary. 

The next and final instalment in the monthly concert series will feature David Francey, a four-time Juno Award winner renowned for his storytelling, songwriting and poetry, on Saturday, April 26. The full concert lineup is available here.