The 11th annual Starbelly Jam runs from July 16-18, but don’t expect it to be anything like the 10 that have come before. With an ever-changing lineup, surprises are always in store, and artistic director Todd Halfnight is particularly impressed with the collaborative nature of this year’s acts.

“There are some kind of interesting combinations in one act,” he said.

Hip-hop MC Blackalicious, for example, will be performing with Lateef the Truthspeaker and MC Jumbo (a.k.a. the Garbageman).

Also, Youssoupha Sidibe, a kora (African harp) player from Senegal, will make music with Pennsylvanian electric guitar artist Steve Kimock.

“That’s a really interesting collaboration, too,” said Halfnight. “They’ve been jamming a lot lately and recording, but this is their first time live.”

Another collaboration is that of Mel Watson, who leads the Australian folk trio Fruit, and Corbin Keep, who appeared at the festival in 2003.

“He really had a good impact on the festival with his eccentric energy, as well as really wild cello playing, which you wouldn’t expect from a cello, but he manages to do it really well,” said Halfnight.

On the non-collaborative front, he singles out Finley Quaye, a four-piece reggae infused jazzy pop band that hails from London, and Camilo Nu, a Mexican flamenco jazz guitarist who appeared at Starbelly with his band last year.

“He was so great, and he was going to be in the neighbourhood again, so we’re having him back,” said Halfnight.

As always, Starbelly Jam will be a great opportunity for patrons to see a variety of local artists.

“It’s very important to us to create an avenue where local acts can get to a larger audience,” he said. “On the flip side of that, we bring in bigger names for that to occur. It does give our patrons something from outside the region. Then they see the local acts and say, ‘They’re so good.’ ”

Among the local acts performing this weekend are the Montreal Jazz Ensemble, which features Kootenay performers Don Clark, Hans Verhoeven, Paul Landsberg and Rob Johnson with Montreal vocalist Monica Shore; Gray Creek’s effects/percussion duo Arcane Garden; Pureblend, a five-piece jazzy folk pop band from Nelson; folk singer-songwriter Aspen Switzer; and Allan Merowitz, a singer, actor and storyteller, who will perform with friends for children and adults.

With the event just a week away, tickets sales for the festival, which usually draws about 2,000 people to Crawford Bay, are going well, which means that Halfnight will have many opportunities to observe his favourite aspect of the festival.

“It might sound a little clichéd, but it’s true: It’s the human interaction going on,” said Halfnight. “Having new local acts is really fun. It adds to ambience of the human interaction.”

For more information, visit www.starbellyjam.org or email info@starbellyjam.org.