Folk Fest: Beats Antique takes over Stage 3

San Francisco duo Beats Antique took over Stage 3 this evening as the whole audience erupted into dance.

Using samples, drums, fiddle and other instruments, the two musicians hit the crowd with a powerful wave of dubstep/gypsy/world music sound that had most crowd members on their feet and jumping.

Some prepared folk festers wore rain boots, and others danced barefoot, as the ground turned into a muddy skating rink.

As the crowd cheered, the duo donned zebra and bear masks for their final number, and invited several crowd members up on stage to dance, wearing penguin, zebra and other animal masks.

The band seemed genuinely surprised when the audience roared so loudly with approval that they came back for an encore.

Meanwhile, Josh Ritter and The Royal City Band took to the main stage as a rain-soaked crowd covered up in ponchos.

Ritter, who looked thrilled to be there, beamed through most of the set, and at one point had the crowd participate in a giant wave.

Ritter's set included a performance of the Velvet Underground track "Pale Blue Eyes".

The American musician's between-song banter included introducing a fellow band member by his moustache.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of this man and this moustache... Can I get an amen?" he remarked, to laughter and an "amen" from the audience.

Other performers as the folk festival wraps up Sunday evening include C.R. Avery and Emmanuel Jal.

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Vancouver Folk Music Festival 2011