Bob Snider

Bob Snider is sure to be the most eccentric, easy-going act at the entire festival-no easy feat! Here's how he describes his job: "I just have to go sit on stage for 45 minutes then - coffee break. On a big night I put in another 45 minutes then another coffee break." Everybody loves Bob. Literally. Fans and fellow musicians have continually supported him from the beginning of his career, and word of mouth continues to be a major way of gaining listeners. He was discovered by local musicians in Toronto in the late '80s and has since opened for Blue Rodeo and Moxy Früvous, "fronted" the band Superfriendz, stage-dived while singing with hHead, not to mention the 1996 release of Poetreason, a CD featuring Bob's songs as performed by various Canadian musicians. Speaking of Bob's songs, you can't help but be enthralled by them. His style oozes familiarity, but each song grasps your attention whether you're hearing it for the first or the eighty-first time. He has released two independent cassettes and three albums with EMI in the past 12 years. He's performed countless times on college radio and CBC affiliates across Canada, not to mention being featured on Morningside, Gabereau and Definitely not the Opera. He's toured the continent and appeared in many theatres and clubs, and on festival stages. Not bad for a guy who started out busking the streets of Toronto. A guy once came up to Bob after a show and said, "You're the black-sheep-of-the-family-uncle I never had." That was his favorite moment as a performer.

  -- LG Bob Snider