Roy Forbes

This is a test for local folkies. You all know Roy Forbes was a festival regular almost every year from 1980 to 1986, when he was known as Bim (a nickname he got from one of his six sisters). Then he skipped 1987 and came back the following year as Roy Forbes. But the real test question is this: Roy played the second Hovel (Edmonton's original coffee house), but did he ever play the first Hovel-the one next door to the old A&W on 109 Street? Ah, so many years ago, he could knock you off your feet with a version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," and then pick you up and do it again with self-penned material echoing folk, blues and rock influences. But don't mistake him for a nostalgia number. Forbes is a consummate musician who's gained a national reputation for his playing and songwriting. (And he has a wry sense of humor, as well.) Backing up Roy and his guitar are Doug Edwards on bass, Jerry Adolphe on drums, and Bill Henderson on guitar and vocals.

  -- SA