(Longevity John Falkner and Dr Ted Cadillac outside the Duncan Showroom)
The untold story of Duncan's 39 Days of July music festival
How a stroke united Longevity John Falkner and Dr Ted Cadillac 11 years ago
Duncan impresario Longevity John Falkner and sound man Dr Ted Cadillac are today known as the long-haired forces behind the 39 Days of July music festival — unique in Canada, based on consecutive days and more than 350 performances, all free of charge
But 11 years ago, on June 9, 2014, it took a stroke for the two to meet for the first time and forge a lasting friendship.
Falkner recalls walking up a flight up stairs, and sensing something was wrong. “I could feel my left side wasn’t there,” he tells sixmountains.ca. “But I had to get another 10 minutes of work done so I could put out the (festival) brochures. I made sure I got that done.”
He was admitted to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, where a brain scan confirmed the stroke. Two days later, he heard from a “guy called Ted Cadillac” whose Layback Lounge in Harrison Hot Springs had shut down on Nov. 30, 2013.
“We both knew each other, but we’d never met,” Falkner continues. “We booked the same style of bands, gave chances to people who didn’t normally get chances. We were the alternative venues.”
On June 19, Falkner was about to be released from hospital. “Walking was difficult, but they were going to let me go.”
There was one condition.
“Are you ready for this?” Falkner says over coffee at the Duncan Garage. “The nurse… comes in and says, ‘it looks like you’re going to be released, but I have to know your upper mobility is okay. Could you roll me a joint?’
“I took a piece of paper and rolled it (without weed). That was a test. They knew who they were dealing with.”
(Longevity John Falkner at Charles Hoey Park in Duncan)
As for Cadillac, he was adrift after the Layback Lounge closed. “I ended up with no place to live, no money, no ideas on what I want to be when I grow up."
He moved to Vancouver Island in January 2014, working at odd building jobs, bartending, and handling the
sound for special events.
Cadillac heard about the stroke on-line and contacted Falkner’s partner, Georgia Foster, to say he’d help out.
“I don’t care about money or anything like that. All I need is a parking spot. I’ve got an RV. I’m completely self-sufficient. I’ve got solar panels.”
He agreed to pick Falkner up at the hospital, but on the way had mechanical issues and arrived late.
When Cadillac drove into the hospital parking lot, each immediately knew. “I see him wandering around like a lost puppy. He saw this crusty old RV pull in.’”
Says Falkner: “Finally, he shows up. He was a long hair, like me.”
The two quickly hit it off. “Three days into the festival, I realized how good he was,” Falkner says. “I put a headband on him and said, ‘I want you to stay with our tribe.’
“Everyone thinks it’s a cult, but it’s mostly to keep the hair out of our eyes.”
Says Cadillac: “By the end of the festival, I said, ‘man, you know I’m not leavin’ here, right? Ok, we’re on the same page.’”
Falkner had a quick recovery from the stroke, and rode a scooter in the Duncan Days Parade on July 12 that same year.
“He was front and centre, and feisty as ever: ‘I’ve got to announce every band,’" Cadillac recalls. "I said, ‘relax, don’t move any chairs or speakers.’”
Falkner is originally from Smith Falls, Ont., "and most of Canada after that." He settled in BC in 1988.
He says his enduring friendship with Cadillac is the silver lining to the stroke.
“Sometimes you’ve got to really look deep for answers, why things happen. The benefit of this was, I can’t think of any two other characters that should have ever met each other like us. We both have a similar feeling about money; we don’t let it get in the way of a good idea.
“And we’re both packrats.”
(Dr Ted Cadillac editing video in room above the Duncan Showroom.)
Falkner references his Duncan Showroom, an intimate live-music venue crammed with acquisitions over the decades, mostly at flea markets and garage sales.
You’ll find everything from the book, How to Raise and Train a Skunk, to a home-made electric chair with a motor under the seat to scare the bejesus out of anyone crazy enough to sit in it.
The showroom doesn't sell alcohol. And Falkner doesn't drink; he's been sober 39 years.
People who drink tend to talk more during concerts, and the showroom is all about the music.
Cadillac handles the sound, video, and live-streaming of performances, and enjoys Cariboo beer by the can upstairs in his equally cluttered music lab.
"It's dirt cheap and it tastes like beer."
He’s a night owl, typically waking up late afternoon.
Three of Cadillac’s five electric scooters are kept out front of the Showroom, next to three pianos that passersby are encouraged to play.
Duncan Showroom takes a break during the 39 Days of July Festival. https://www.showroomproductions.ca/
Asked to describe his relationship today with Falkner, Cadillac says: “We’re like an old married couple. We’re together every single day, in summer 14 hours a day. Yeah, we bicker, but we always get along. And if we do get into an argument, it’s over just like that and everything is good again.”
For the record, Ted Cadillac is a stage name dating back to his days in a high-school band in Kingston, Ont. The Dr part came later — and clearly he is not one. He allows that his real first name is Tim, but keeps his surname to himself.
Cadillac studied electrical engineering at Queens University, but decided “after a few years and a whole bunch of money” that it wasn’t for him.
He worked in bars that featured live music and learned about lighting and sound. He spent time in Costa Rica, Australia and Hawaii, speaks French and Spanish fluently along with "some Portugese," and he competed on the windsurfing circuit, before settling at the Layback Lounge.
“We had shag carpeting on the pillars, and quilted vinyl on the couches and the sound booth, and lava lamps,” he says. “Made it really kind of 70s looking.”
During the festival, Falkner, 74, revels as the front man on stage, digging into his deep well of musical knowledge and recycled jokes.
One of his favourites: “The older I get the better it gets. I discovered recently how comfortable it is to put on warm underwear fresh out of the dryer. And even better excitement is looking around the laundromat trying to figure out who they belong to.”
Cadillac, 55, restlessly patrols the festival seating area barefoot (a throwback to his windsurfing days) to ensure the audience gets the best sound possible. “City Square, especially, is an echo chamber. It sounds different everywhere you move.”
Motown, blues, country, rock, R&B, roots, reggae, funk, punk, bluegrass — the festival covers it all and more.
Dancing in the streets is strongly encouraged, while nighthawks tumble in the evening sky above the heritage, brick city hall.
(Nautical Disaster, a Tragically Hip tribute band, rocks City Square, 2024)
The 39 Days of July festival enters its 13th year in 2025. Falkner credits local graphic designer Rob McKenzie with the slogan, A Rather Nice Place to Be.
The festival stands out among all others in Canada.
“I am not aware of any festival that runs for 39 consecutive days or more,” says Martin Roy, executive director of Festivals and Major Events Canada, a coalition that advocates on behalf of the Canadian festivals and events sector at the federal level.
“As for the number of performances, however, a few very large festivals claim up to 350 concerts, such as the Montreal International Jazz Festival, many of which are free, though not all.”
(Kamloops hosts Music in the Park, July 1 to August 31, 7 pm to 8:30 pm nightly, free, "weather and air quality permitting," including wildfire smoke.)
This year’s 39 Days festival runs from June 27 to August 4 in downtown Duncan. All shows are outdoors, starting at noon and often finishing at 10 p.m. — with no admission fees.
How is it possible? Falkner says the festival receives some grants and sponsorships, but most of the funding comes from audience donations. He regularly weaves through the crowds with a collection box.
“We also thank the performers for their discounted pricing,” he says.
(Longevity John Falkner moves the donation box to the 39 Days main stage)
Artists describe the festival as an unforgettable experience.
Victoria-based singer-songwriter Leeroy Stagger says that "in a time rife with AI and the constant barrage of digital influence to keep us at home, 39 days is a rebellious act to actually create community.” https://leeroystagger.com/
He adds that "with characters like Longevity John and Ted Cadillac, there is likely nothing like it in the world.”
Stephen Fearing of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings has appeared as a solo acoustic act at 39 Days. He calls it a “unique, eclectic festival — much like its founder — and unlike any other festival on the circuit.” https://www.stephenfearing.ca/
Fearing added: “I’ve only played it once, but it was a most memorable outdoor show — right in the centre of Duncan town square, with the Covid crowd restrictions changing almost daily and several hundred people sitting around on lawn chairs and benches enjoying something we had all been missing for a very long time.
“For me, as a performer, to be back in front of a large group of people, as the late evening sun painted everything golden, it was a magical and very moving show.
"I believe I shed a few grateful tears.”
How much longer can the festival continue?
Falkner asks the same question, saying that at his age 39 Days takes its toll.
“That's why I like to remind everyone to take in as much of this festival as you can cause there is no guarantee of the longevity of a vision such as this.”
https://www.39daysofjuly.ca/
(sixmountains.ca photos, video)
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— Larry Pynn, June 22, 2025
