Looking back, Jim Byrnes says he didn乌鸦传媒檛 know what was going to happen when he hosted the first Dream Music Festival in 2015.

乌鸦传媒淲e certainly wanted to get the word out that we wanted to 乌鸦传媒楰eep the Dream Alive,乌鸦传媒� which was our motto,乌鸦传媒� said Byrnes, referring to the effort to preserve The Dream Caf茅, a Penticton venue with a worldwide reputation.

Back for his third year as the Dream Festival host, Byrnes said he乌鸦传媒檚 glad to see the efforts of the co-op and the performers were successful.

乌鸦传媒淎wfully glad that it is alive. It乌鸦传媒檚 gone through some changes, and they乌鸦传媒檝e had their ups and downs, but here we are to keep things moving in the right direction,乌鸦传媒� said 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a tough go, man, with the economy and the way the world is these days, you never know what is going to happen, but we certainly want to give it our best shot.乌鸦传媒�

Featuring the likes of Steve Dawson, Shakura S乌鸦传媒橝ida, Russell de Carle, Dave McLean and more 乌鸦传媒� and Byrnes, of course 乌鸦传媒� the festival brings together folk, rock, blues, R&B and gospel in a weekend to remember.

More:

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 one of these deals where there is so many artists on, it becomes more than the sum of its parts,乌鸦传媒� said Byrnes.

乌鸦传媒淭here is a certain amount of magic to it. We乌鸦传媒檝e got some returning artists and we乌鸦传媒檝e got a bunch of new artists, which I think is great. We乌鸦传媒檝e got some really new and good artists coming in this year that we haven乌鸦传媒檛 seen before.乌鸦传媒�

Byrnes is looking forward to the energy the performers, old and new, bring to the Dream Festival stage.

乌鸦传媒淲ith the artists that I乌鸦传媒檝e known for a long time, there乌鸦传媒檚 a comfort in that part, but there乌鸦传媒檚 an excitement in getting together with people I haven乌鸦传媒檛 worked with before,乌鸦传媒� said Byrnes. 乌鸦传媒淭hat makes it even better.乌鸦传媒�

Byrnes said the audiences at the festival are also something to look forward to.

乌鸦传媒淓verybody is just so enthusiastic. The energy that you get back from them is part of the appeal. The music is one thing, but then all these people and the energy you get from them and everything is a great part of it,乌鸦传媒� said Byrnes. 乌鸦传媒淎in乌鸦传媒檛 no audience, ain乌鸦传媒檛 no show.乌鸦传媒�

It makes for a long weekend, said Byrnes, but 乌鸦传媒渟o worth it.乌鸦传媒� That乌鸦传媒檚 high praise coming from Byrnes, who乌鸦传媒檚 been playing professionally since 1964, and performed with the likes of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and other greats of the blues scene.

乌鸦传媒淚 have been doing this at some level, off and on professionally for some 52 years now. There have been some deep valleys and some great highs, but it is a gift I was given, to communicate through music and through storytelling,乌鸦传媒� said Byrnes. 乌鸦传媒淚 have just taken it as it comes and obviously it乌鸦传媒檚 worked out for me, because I乌鸦传媒檝e given it my all.乌鸦传媒�

More:

Coming to Penticton also gives Byrnes a chance to visit friends, and enjoy the area.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e got a lot of friends up there, and look forward to coming and seeing some people as well as being at the event,乌鸦传媒� said Byrnes. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 great up there. There are a couple of places that I love to go to on a given day. Up there on the bench, it乌鸦传媒檚 kind of like being in heaven.乌鸦传媒�

The Dream Music Festival takes place on May 12 and 13, in the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. Tickets are on sale at the South Okanagan Events Centre box office or online at