Shane Koyczan (Hillside 2010)

With Shane Koyczan being a spoken-word artist it is an intimidating task to attempt to describe his appearance at this year's Hillside Festival using only words. Making the task all the more difficult is the fact that it was the most moving performance of the year. The man did a mixture of spoken word pieces, both with and without musical accompaniment consisting of a male cello player and two females on keyboard, guitar and backing vocal duties. Shane sure can make you feel feelings through his seemingly simple stories and poems. Reactions ranged from smiles and laughs, to hugs and tears as he told tales of his childhood and Haikus about STDs (separate stories). The most affecting by far was that of a young, terminally-ill boy that Shane had met in the hospital and really needs to be heard for full-effect. That full effect was felt by every last person who crammed the tent to witness this wordsmith's magic, and they were unrelenting in their appreciation which brought a visibly touched Shane Koyczan back out for an unaccompanied encore that was met with more passionate applause.