Canada’s Community Festivals
As much as we love blockbuster mega-festivals with big-name headliners, Canada is also home to lots of amazing community music festivals. These are some of the best.
ELECTRIC ECLECTICS
Fans of avant-garde and experimental music need to check out Electric Eclectics, which brings art installations, films, DJs and what the festival calls “crossover musicians” to a farm near Meaford, ON. This year’s event takes place August 3 to 5.
HILLSIDE
Hillside has been going strong for 35 years, and this year’s event brings an intriguing mix of established indie stars (Destroyer, Rhye) and little-known up-and-comers to Guelph Lake, ON, from July 13 to 15. The hippie-minded event places special emphasis on peace, environmentalism and altruism.
MUSIC WASTE
Vancouver’s hyper-local Music Waste is a non-profit festival run solely by volunteers, and featuring a roster made up entirely of underground talent. The music festival also includes the spinoffs Art Waste and Comedy Waste, with the whole thing running from June 7 to 10.
RIVER & SKY
River & Sky Music/Camping Festival features some of the country’s best indie rock artists (Chad VanGaalen, Land of Talk) — but just as compelling as the lineup is the location. Attendees will camp out in northeastern Ontario from July 19 to 22.