Yellowknife (Feb 20/04) - Guy Langlois hopes this year's Cabin Fever Music Festival is bigger and better than last year's.

It's certainly going to be bigger. The venue this year is the DND gymnasium at the Multiplex, which can hold 400 people.

Leela Gilday is among almost 20 musicians scheduled to perform at the Multiplex this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - NNSL file photo

By raising the event's profile, RAANT hopes to qualify for federal government funding, in the form of things such as performers' grants for travel.

The Aurora Arts Society will put on a show and sale in the Multiplex lobby during the concert. It will also host a carving demonstration.

It's the last such event Langlois will be organizing for a while. After 29 years in Yellowknife he's moving to Vancouver Island at the end of the month. Though he helped start the Recording Artists Association of the NWT a year ago with last year's Cabin Fever, he is sure RAANT can carry on without him.

"The projects are all well defined," he said. "It shouldn't be too hard for someone to keep on going."

In the past year, RAANT has put on five showcases for performers, including International Music Day concert and the recent benefit for Shiri Casebeer-Macpherson.

Work continues on a CD sampler of NWT artists. Workshops for younger musicians are also ongoing at the Sidedoor Youth Centre, and RAANT is also helping put on a series of Wednesday night concerts at Lucille's Cabaret featuring local singer-songwriters.

One of RAANT's goals is to help market NWT music down south.

"To be successful as a music artist you have to look outside your own community," he said. "There are only going to be so many hip-hop fans (in Yellowknife). You have to find your market down south."

This year's lineup includes Steve Smith, the Muck-Rakes, Special Ed, Northern Skies, Anodyne, Sex and Salvelinus, Rough Touch, Godson, Pat Braden, Big Ethyl, Jesse James and the Wolves, Leela Gilday and Calgary-based singer-songwriter Ian MacDonald.

The road to this year's festival has been rocky.

Some musicians have disagreed with the Sunday morning concert times. Last year's festival ran from 1-7 p.m. at the smaller Monkey Tree Pub.

The DND gym is booked for sports at 6 p.m. Sunday, forcing RAANT to schedule performers between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Langlois said RAANT's activities could use more support from musicians.

"They have a tendency to stick to complaining and their own worlds," he said. "If we get together there's more we can do as a group."