A Cowboy Junkie wore her PJs to the parade (photos)

Siblings Margo, Michael and Peter Timmins, and friend Alan Anton, better known as The Cowboy Junkies, drew a record crowd to Queenstown Square 1 as they headlined the 4th Annual Rotaryfest Second Stage Saturday night.

Often credited with having one of the most unique voices in Canadian music, Margo's smokey, sexy vocals, piercing eyes and laid back demeanor perfectly embody the dark, often melancholy and occasionally vibrant music.

Since the release of their 1988 groundbreaking Trinity Sessions, recorded using a single microphone in Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity, The Cowboy Junkies have enjoyed a devoted, widespread, albeit somewhat underground, following.

Difficult to define under the label of a single genre, their sound is akin to their one obvious influence, The Velvet Underground.

Not the trippy, discordant The Black Angel's Death Song Velvet Underground, but the Pale Blue Eyes Velvet Underground.

It's only fitting that The Cowboy Junkies' most famous recording is their remake of The Velvet Underground's Sweet Jane, which Lou Reed himself described as "the best and most authentic version I have ever heard."

Unfortunately, Sweet Jane was absent from the career-spanning set list Saturday evening, as was my favourite Cowboy Junkies tune, 'Cause Cheap is How I Feel.

Heavily weighted with Trinity Session tracks, including Dreaming My Dreams With You, 200 More Miles, Working on a Building and Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis), their performance saw only one selection, My Little Basquiat, from their latest critically divided studio release, At the End of Paths Taken.

"I'm traveling with my five-yer-old son and we came out to watch your parade in our pajamas," Margo told the audience. "Then we went down to the fair and I rode the swings. I still feel a bit nauseous. But this next song has nothing to do with any of that. It's a song about death."

It was a strangely funny introduction to Those Final Feet from 1998's Miles From Our Home.

Finishing the evening with a bang, The Cowboy Junkies chose A Common Disaster, one of their most recognizable Canadian radio hits.

The day-long music festival began at 1 p.m. immediately following the Rotaryfest parade with local youngsters Kalle Mattson who, Len Ward from The Rad zone was pleased to report, sold an impressive 42 copies of their recently released six-song E.P. following their Second Stage set.

When asked how he felt about playing the festival, front man Kalle Wainio assured me it was a fun experience, but "it was weird playing outside."

Loplops' regular Megan Jerome from Ottawa was joined by one of the Sault's busiest music men, Frank Deresti, for some jazz infused folk.

The Wild Turkeys followed with a feisty performance as they drew the second largest crowd of the festival and also did exceptionally well at the merch table.

Winnipeg's Jacob and Lily have developed a sizable local following and rumour has it they may be considering moving here in the very near future.

The duo's powerful musicianship and Karla Adolphe's passionate vocals drew members of The Cowboy Junkies off the bus to the back of the stage to enjoy a portion of their performance.

After a two-year hiatus, the Sault's own Bigsuit has returned and delivered a fierce set of straight up, no holds barred, awesome rock and roll which included the locally popular Big Man on the Motorway.

Jay Case on vocals and guitar, Ed Young on drums, Brian Oja on guitar, and Frank Deresti on a custom made three-string bass definitely have a thing or two to teach any aspiring musician what it means to "rock out."

Playing everything from country to soul to folk to rock, Honeythroat, fronted by the owner of one of the strongest voices in the city, Mark Kuntsi (AKA Sir Rubberface), played many selections from the band's upcoming release Honeythroat, Greatest Hits.

Although a limited edition E.P. was available for purchase at Second Stage, the full album is expected to be released on August 1st of this year.

Toronto's The Coast played the Sault for the first time and got swarmed following their alt-pop performance by the largely female crowd that sat front and centre while they played.

This past June, The Coast were honoured as the Tokyo Police Club offered to remix their popular track, Tightrope.

Harmonica demon and bluesman extraordinaire Al Wood, expertly backed by The Woodsmen, set the audience into a frisky, sexy blues groove with original tracks from his recently completed recording Mood Swingin' Blues.

Wood tells me plans for a Sault Ste. Marie CD release party will be finalized shortly.

Offering a bit something for everyone, this year's Rotaryfest Second Stage was the biggest yet, and included for the first time a licensed patio and local art exhibition.

The event was made possible through generous donations from TenarisAlgomaTubes, Lucidia and Loplops Gallery-Lounge.