Music festivals heat up summer
From blues to country and electronic dance, there’s a party just for you
Canadians are crazy for summer festivals. Give us a weekend weather forecast which suggests the possibility of no rain or snow and we head out en masse to take in multistage events all across the country.
Some — Montreal Jazz Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival and Calgary’s Sled Island — have become global brands.
There are a lot of choices out there, so here are our choices for this summer season, with some alternatives.
Roots and blues Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival August 17-20 | Salmon Arm Tickets and info: From $69, at rootsandblues.ca
For a quarter century, this festival has pursued a mission statement to present world-class and diverse music in a community of celebration. Family friendly, with a lovely site, the festival brings in the big names, too. Among the headliners this year is Alex Cuba, the multiple Grammy Award-winning singer and the biggest star to call Smithers, home; a Stax Soul Revue, headed up by no less than Booker T. Jones of Green Onions fame; and legendary Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.
Metal Armstrong Metal Fest July 14-15 | Armstrong Tickets: From $70, at armstrongmetalfest.ca
Half the fun of this event is trying to read the hyper stylized band logos that adorn the poster. But check out the sampler of artists appearing on the Facebook site and you get the range from Vancouver’s math-meetfunk mob Ninjaspy to Terrifier, whose Weapons of Thrash Destruction deserves a best title award if nothing else. Toss in some Thrash Wrestling events and more, and this is a whole lotta headbanging good times.
Alternative: Metallica WorldWired Tour 2017 Aug. 14, 6 p.m. | B.C. Place Tickets: From $55, at ticketmaster.ca
The new album Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct is the band’s best in over a decade.
Jazz Kaslo Jazz Festival Aug. 4-6 | Kaslo Tickets: From $97.50, at kaslojazzfest.com
Considered a gem by fans, this festival includes a floating stage on Kootenay Lake where you can take in the music from the beachside or boogie on down in the water. To say that results in some very interesting interpretive water ballet is an understatement. With the incredible Charles Bradley & the Extraordinaires and Preservation Hall Jazz Band among the headliners, this party is going to swing hard.
Alternative: TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival June 22-July 2 | Various Vancouver venues Tickets: From $30, at ticketfly.com
There is always plenty to take in at Vancouver’s multi-venue event. In 2017, don’t miss Dálava on June 23. EDM (Electronic Dance Music) Motion Notion Aug. 24-28 | Golden Tickets: From $269, at motionnotion.com
With BassCoast, Shambhala and others, it’s hard to choose where to get your glowstick dance-a-thon on. This year, the lineup at this event caught our attention with its inclusion of Datsik, Dirtyphonics, Koan Sound, and The Funk Hunters among others. For a change of scenery, the Golden locale is a great setting for hiking, swimming, chilling and morning mud yoga. Not sure about the last one, but it seems likely.
Country Rockin’ River Musicfest Aug. 3-6 | Merritt Tickets and info: From $159, at rockinriverfest.com
Rockin’River features notable country artists like Crystal Shawanda, Aaron Pritchett and Washboard Union, Toby Keith and the Band Perry. Alongside the flowing creek, you can chill out in the daytime, then swap the bathing gear for your boots and big buckle and two-step the night away. Or line dance. That’s right, it still happens.
Alternative: 40th Vancouver Folk Music Festival
July 13-16 | Jericho Beach Park
Tickets: From $65, at thefestival.ticketzone.com
The country-oriented acts appearing at this event are more on the deeper roots side of things, but Kathleen Edwards and Tift Merritt hold their own. And there is nothing more authentically country than the Native North America: A Gathering of Indigenous Trailblazers tour uniting some serious singer/songwriters from the 1960s and 70s enjoying a renewed career.
Rock and hip hop Centre of Gravity July 28-30 | Kelowna Tickets: From $189.95, at centreofgravity.com
Now that Pemberton is over, finding that right rock and hip-hop fix just isn’t as easy. Or is it? Because this event mixing music and sports like motocross, it adds up to some extreme fun in the hot and sweaty heart of Okanagan wine country; With Snoop Dogg headlining and Schoolboy Q and others, this is predominantly about beats and dance bangers. Still, that was mostly what was best about those other two festivals that have been cancelled.
Alternative: Guns N Roses Not In This Lifetime Tour Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m. | B.C. Place Tickets: From $35, at Ticketmaster.ca
The return of one of the best selling and most swaggering of the hard rock bands to emerge from the Los Angeles’Sunset Strip 1980s hair metal scene. Guns N Roses were different — more punk in attitude, more Aerosmith in style. They are bound to be a wild ride.
Family Kaleidoscope Arts Festival Aug. 12, 2-10 p.m. | Coquitlam Free: coquitlam.ca/kaleidoscope
This is the second year for this Coast Capital Savings-sponsored family festival. With arts, crafts, performances and plenty of picnic spaces, this event also includes a headlining show from B.C.’s Bif Naked, food trucks and craft beer. Better yet, the location is right across the street from the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station, so you can take transit.