Colin James lets it rip for fans at Laketown Rock
Hundreds of rock fans get an early start on celebrating Canada Day by taking in the music of rocker Colin James at Laketown Rock at Lake Cowichan on Friday. The festival also features acts such as Collective Soul, Kim Mitchell, Big Wreck and Creedence Clearwater Revisited. Laketown Rock continues through Sunday.
The sun was slow to come out Friday during the second annual Laketown Rock classic rock festival, which is never a plus for an outdoor music event.
Rain jackets and fleece were the fashion flavour of the day, rather than shorts and sandals. For a rock festival, especially one of the classic rock variety, that’s a minor adjustment.
Laketown Rock, which is situated on the 172-acre Laketown Ranch Music and Recreation Park in Lake Cowichan, occupies the same property as the Sunfest Country Music Festival.
The two are vastly different: Sunfest draws upward of 20,000 fans each August, while Laketown Rock is expected top out at 4,000 fans. But organizers with Wide-glide Entertainment see that as a small-scale victory.
“Give credit to this crowd — they are true music fans,” said festival manager Mike Hann. “They come out for the artists they like and are there from start to finish. I admire that in a festival attendee. Kudos to this crowd.”
Hardy fans cloaked in plastic bags braved brief bouts of rain but the moisture had disappeared for early sets by the Odds and Barney Bentall, who brought some Cancon class to the festival. Both acts delivered several crowd-pleasing hits, with Bentall veering into Bruce Springsteen territory mid-set with a trio of acoustic songs.
Fans were receptive to both acts — the Odds have a surprisingly long succession of hits — but the size of the audience up front was not commensurate with their reputations.
That’s no fault of anyone involved.
Camping festivals such as Laketown Rock are entities unto themselves. They aren’t like traditional rock festivals, where fans arrive, take in selected selected sets, and head home full to the top with music.
The appeal for many at a camping festival is partying where you fest, which cuts down on travel time.
But with full-scale campsites and extended communities to contend with, attendees can be slow to uproot.
As a result, the mainstage area was somewhat sparse until raucous headliner Colin James (with a full horn section) hit the stage.
That’s too bad, as it makes for sparsely attended sets.
Tonight’s festivities should be improved, attendance wise. Summertime is celebration time, especially for parents whose children were let out of school on Friday. And with headliners that include Collective Soul and Big Wreck, the draws are that much stronger.
The festival’s secondary Flats Stage was active for sets by Sweet Action and Malahat and should see an uptick today with sets by Stinging Belle and the Broken Strings.
“We’ve heard from sources that Collective Soul have absolutely been blowing it out of the water, selling out venues on their entire tour,” Hann said. “They are going to be coming in hot.”
Grapes of Wrath, who were booked to perform tonight, had to cancel due to injuries suffered by singer-guitarist Kevin Kane in a car crash Wednesday.
“From what I’ve been told, he’s really lucky to have walked away from it,” Hann said. “Obviously, we wish him our best.”
The group has been replaced in the 6:15 p.m. slot by Calgary’s Static Shift. Victoria’s Davenport has been added to the bill at 4:45 p.m.
“We’re running two stages all weekend, to give everyone some choices,” Hann said. “The Flats Stage can fit 2,000 people and give people some shelter from the rain or the sun or whatever it may be.”
Laketown Rock plans to take some bigger steps in the future, Hann said. With recent festival cancellations in B.C. and Washington state, only those with the ability to adjust will survive.
“We take it one event at a time and then we debrief, but we are really happy with the response so far from a classic rock standpoint,” he said.
“That’s not to say that we won’t be bringing in newer bands. But we love this festival.”
Laketown Rock continues through Sunday at Laketown Ranch Music and Recreation Park in Lake Cowichan. Tickets are still available.