Michael Franti Overcomes Adversity to Headline Calgary Folk Festival

Posted on Jul 24th 2010 2:00PM by Jonathan Dekel
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Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images

A year after he was forced to cancel his appearance at the festival due to surgery for appendicitis, Michael Franti took the stage Friday night at the Calgary Folk Festival to a hero's welcome.

Along with his band Spearhead, the good-vibing Franti played a spirited set that interwove hip-hop, funk reggae and folk with danceable, upbeat rhythms and smooth harmonies to produce an intoxicatingly funky result.

Explaining to the crowd how he felt lucky to be back, Franti channeled his newfound energy into the show, electrifying the excited audience and pulling them into a tizzy as he bounced around the stage, working the crowd like a master entertainer.

Franti and his band have been flirting with crossover success for over fifteen year now, and early indications suggest that with their upcoming album 'The Sound of Sunshine' and its infectious single of the same name, they are finally poised to do it. If Friday night's set and the audience's reaction are any indication, expect to be hearing the sound of sunshine blaring out of every car in the very near future.

Watch footage of Franti's Friday set (including an onstage marriage proposal) below: