The Heritage River Music Festival originated in 1998 as an outgrowth of a group of local musicians and volunteers interested in promoting local and regional music.

The community of Burk’s Falls, Ontario was home to the festival during its first five years. In 2002 the Heritage River Music Festival moved eighteen kilometers north to Sundridge, Ontario. Since the local area, known as The Almaguin Highlands, is a collection of many small towns and villages, the Heritage River Music Festival was renamed The Almaguin Music Festival to better represent the identity of the area.

It should also be noted that North Bay holds its Heritage Festival in early August and many conflicts arose with the confusion in names. Our music festival is a smaller summer festival which focuses on the area between Huntsville and North Bay. Our festival’s motto is "Sweet Sounds in a Small Setting" and our patrons regularly comment on how much they enjoy the smaller festival and setting.

The Almaguin Music Festival has been entirely based on volunteer organizing, fundraising and leadership. During the past year two members of the Sundridge Municipal Council sat on our committee to help consolidate connections with the community.

During the past year we have initiated a Music in Schools program which we hope to expand this Spring. In February, 2003, Washboard Hank presented an evening fundraising concert. During the day we booked Hank into Sundridge Centennial Public School and M.A. Wittick Junior Public School in Burk’s Falls. His school concerts were both entertaining and informative. These concerts were organized by Jim MacLachlan, the new president of The Almaguin Music Festival, who is a retired principal. He is also keenly interested in bringing more ‘music in the schools’ programs to our rural and underserviced area.

To reinforce our mission statement our festival has brought such acts as Cindy Thompson, Moxy Fruvous, Julien Austen, The Good Brothers, The Arrogant Worms, Fred Eaglesmith, Cedric Smith, Slowpoke, Northern City Limits and many more quality Canadian acts to our area. The acts would never have had a venue to perform in the Almaguin Highlands region had it not been for the Heritage River (Almaguin) Music Festival.