Stephen Page, Marky Ramone booked for Festival of Friends

This summer’s Festival of Friends — Hamilton’s biggest annual musical event — is serving up a powerful mix of contemporary and classic rock, along with an A-list of Canadian country stars.

Finger Eleven, ex-Barenaked Lady Stephen Page, David Wilcox, Kim Mitchell, Marky Ramone, The Wilkinsons, Crystal Shawanda and the Road Hammers make for a strong lineup for the three-day free  festival which takes place from Aug. 7 to 9 in Gage Park.

But the most interesting act coming to the 34th annual musical picnic in the park will be a mysterious character from the past known as Leon Redbone.

 In his his white suits and Panama hat, Redbone has been successfully working his   riverboat gambler image since 1975 when he first came to international fame, plucking away at old-timey tunes from the ‘30s in a baritone voice deeper than Mississippi mud. He got his start in Toronto by nobody really knows where he's from.