Chris Smith

Edmonton singer and songwriter Chris Smith has paid his dues, both as a guitar player and as a frontman, and he's finding himself shoulder to shoulder with many of his old friends at this year's festival. It's interesting to note that when Smith was getting started he expected songwriting to be "a sideline to his guitar playing." Then words began getting under his skin, and now he's known for writing songs that have a depth of meaning and imagery as much as he's known for his guitar playing, which is "aggressive, but with a keen sense of melody." As Culture Shock once said, "Smith's songs are his observations on life. The style is folksy but with an edge ..." These days, Smith is playing and singing solo, for the most part, going back to where he began. He speaks of the solo player's need to establish a relationship with the audience. "It's a little like being a high wire act with no net," he says. "The thrill of the height is as great as the distance to fall."

  -- AK