By Katie Davis
As the weather starts to warm up and we look to start planning the music festivals that we would like to attend this summer we thought that we would do a little research into the main events that are offered across this great nation as we celebrate Canada’s 150 th birthday all summer long and we come up with our staff’s “Top 10” must see music festivals for the summer.
10. Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 6 th – 9 th , 2017
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
The inaugural Winnipeg Folk Festival was held in 1974 as a one-time celebration to mark Winnipeg’s 100th anniversary. It was a free event and attracted an estimated audience of 22,000 over the three-day weekend. Since then, the event has grown into one of the best events in the country with attendance of over 80,000 over the five days of the festival with over 3,000 volunteers working at the festival each year. The Winnipeg Folk Festival generates approximately $29.4 million per year in economic activity and creates over 281 jobs for Winnipeg, Manitoba which is a win for festival goers and the areas economy.
For more information of the event: www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca
Follow on Twitter: @Winnipegfolk
9. Bass Coast Electronic Music and Arts Festival
July 7 th – 10 th , 2017
Merritt, BC, Canada
Bass Coast Festival is an independent international exhibition of electronic music and art, which was founded in 2009 by Andrea Graham and Liz Thomson. This event puts concert goers in an intimate setting close to all the action with over 100 international and local artists.
The natural beauty of British Columbia is a quintessential element of the Bass Coast experience and the festival takes place just outside the city of Merritt, in the picturesque Nicola Valley, that invites attendees to be present with nature. Bass Coast prides itself in being an inclusive gathering that brings together people from diverse backgrounds and inspires them to participate to the fullest.
For more information of the event: www.basscoast.ca
Follow on Twitter: @BassCoastProj
8. Montebello Rockfest
June 22 nd – June 25 th , 2017
Montebello, QC, Canada
The first Rockfest was in 2005 started by founder Alex Marte, now celebrating the 12th year if the festival which will feature about 130 rock, metal, punk, hardcore and hip-hop acts.
According to Martel, most of the acts have never performed at the event as the events tries to have a good mix of the different sub-genres for festival goers.
This year’s event boasts several exclusive reunion performances, including one from Martel’s band, Deadly Apples. The band, which opened the first Rockfest in 2005 and performed in subsequent years, is returning to the stage for a one-time performance after a seven-year hiatus.
Some other bands, such as the Offspring, Bad Religion, Goldfinger and Face to Face, are returning to Rockfest this year along with other performers which include Canadian band Alexisonfire, Megadeth, The Offspring, Wu-Tang Clan, Bullet For My Valentine, AFI, Bad Religion, Pennywise and Good Charlotte.
This year’s event will also see the addition of a VIP camping package, which will include intimate performances by Rockfest 2017 bands making it a truly unique concert experience.
For more information of the event: http://www.montebellorockfest.com
Follow on Twitter: @amnesiarockfest
7. Halifax Jazz Festival
July 6 th – 9 th , 2017
Halifax, NS, Canada
Halifax Jazz Festival has organized a diverse range of music and educational activities since 1987 and is the oldest jazz festival and largest summer festival in Atlantic Canada. Designated a Hallmark Event by the Halifax Regional Municipality, the festival attracts up to 55,000 visitors, involves 450 volunteers and employs over 350 local musicians.
Halifax Jazz Festival’s develops opportunities for amateur musicians, established local artists and the local “jazz aristocracy”, bring renowned performers from many parts of the world to Halifax for festival goers as to enjoy as the city doesn’t always find itself a natural destination for these article when touring until now.
Halifax Jazz Festival is important to the culture diversity of the area and why we have selected the festival as one the Top 10 Music Festivals in Canada.
For more information of the event: www.halifaxjazzfestival.ca
Follow on Twitter: @HFXJazzFest
6. Big Valley Jamboree 2017
August 3 rd – 6 th , 2017
Camrose, AB, Canada
For 25 years that has been one of Canada’s largest country music festivals located just south east of Edmonton. Created in 1992, the Jamboree is held each year during the August long weekend, and features country singers from all over North America.
The BVJ is one of the largest music festivals on the continent. The event draws thousands of concert goers annually, with over 100,000 in attendance over the four-day event.
This year promises to be one of the best with headliners: Little Big Town, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean along with some of country’s royalty like Willie Nelson and Tanya Tucker and many more amazing artists offer something for all concert goers to enjoy.
For more information of the event: www.bigvalleyjamboree.com
Follow on Twitter: @theBVJ
5. Cavendish Beach Music Festival
July 7 th – 9 th , 2017
Cavendish Beach, PE, Canada
What was once a cow pasture in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, is now the home of the largest multi-day outdoor music festival in Atlantic Canada, with more than 70,000 visitors annually making their way over to Anne’s Island for the 3 day festival to see some of the biggest names in country music.
Past performers have included: Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Eric Church, Steve Earle, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Hunter Hayes, Brantley Gilbert, Rascal Flatts, and country legends Ricky Skaggs, Alabama and Reba McEntire.
Cavendish Beach Music Festival was nominated for Festival of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association. The American Bus Association has named Cavendish Beach Music Festival to its Top 100 Events in North America and the West Jet Fun N’ Festivals Series deemed the festival Top 10 Best Festival in Canada. The festival has also been nominated as Event of the Year by the East Coast Music Association and Music PEI for this and many other reasons we have selected the Cavendish Beach Music Festival as one of the Top 10 Festivals in Canada.
We had a chance to speak with festival founder, Jeff Squires and feature this amazing event in our July 2016 Issue and after attending the festival there is no doubt that is one of the best festivals in Canada or North America for that matter.
For more information of the event: www.cavendishbeachmusic.com
Follow on Twitter: @CavendishFest
4. Montreal International Jazz Festival
June 28 th – July 8 th , 2017
Montreal, QC, Canada
Consider a must see, the Montreal International Jazz Festival has been wowing event goers for almost 40 years now with more that 2 million attending the event each year. This event offers over 600 concerts, 400 activities with 3000 musicians from 30 countries and shows from midday to midnight with venues and music designed to meet all the needs of festival-goers.
The Montreal International Jazz Festival was founded in 1979 by Alain Simard in association with André Ménard, Denyse McCann and Alain de Grosbois, with the aim of bringing the best musicians on the planet to the public. A not-for- profit organization since 1981, its mandate is to popularize jazz and other genres of music with its free outdoor performances making it a major tourist attraction for Montreal. Some of this year’s headliners are Bob Dylan, Melissa Etheridge and Men Without Hats.
For more information of the event: http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/
Follow on Twitter: @MtlJazzFestival
3. Rock the Park Music Festival
July 12 th – 16 th , 2017
London, ON, Canada
Fifteen years ago, Jones Entertainment Group had a vision to create something London had never seen before, something special for London and surrounding area residents to feel at home at. They called this “Rock the Park.” Rock the Park was a brand new music festival in the heart of downtown but it had more than an economic purpose as it was also to be a fund raiser for the Bethanys Hope Foundation supporting research for Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD). In the first twelve years of the festival, through the support of dedicated fans and a love for music, Rock the Park proudly reached over $2.2 million dollars in hopes of finally finding a cure.
In 2016, JEG was thrilled to welcome not one, but four new organizations to our team to continue the support of local charities: Make-A- Wish® Southwestern Ontario, Big Brothers Big Sisters of London & Area, Brandon Prust Foundation, and Western Football. To date, Rock the Park has now raised close to $2.7 million for local charities.
For 2017, Rock the Park will continue on with its tradition as being one of the most anticipated outdoor summer festivals in Canada. It truly is about having a great time with friends, bringing back great memories and creating new ones. Each year they strive to make the Rock the Park experience better than the year before with an overall improved atmosphere, ultimately creating the perfect fan experience.
For more information of the event: www.rockthepark.ca
Follow on Twitter: @RockTheParkLDN
2. RBC Ottawa Bluesfest
July 6 th – 16 th , 2017
Ottawa, ON, Canada
RBC Ottawa Bluesfest is crossing a few big names off its all-time wish list, announcing first-time festival appearances by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers along with P!nk, Muse, Toby Keith, LCD Soundsystem, 50 Cent and Gary Clark Jr. in a wildly diverse lineup as the organizers and festival executive director Mark Monahan sets out each year to create a festival experience that includes something for everyone
The festival will run for 10 days, with Canada’s 150th celebrations expected to be at a fever pitch by early July, Bluesfest will introduce weekend passes, covering each Thursday-Sunday in an effort to attract tourists on a weekend-long stay.
The festival’s full budget is approaching $20 million, said Monahan, up from last year’s budget of $15 million, with about half of that devoted to talent.
“We staked out our claim,” he said. “This is one of the largest events in the North American scene, and in terms of lineups I think this ranks fairly highly — it’s always a challenge to maintain your status in that.
Along with the main stage headliners, most of whom are making their first-ever Ottawa tour stop, Bluesfest is offering up some favourites of festivals past, and a full complement of Canadiana with the likes of Tegan and Sara and Sam Roberts Band.
“The festival has evolved into a huge celebration of music in the summer for the city of Ottawa,” said Monahan. “The feedback we get from our avid music fans to our casual music fans – they make their plans around this. It puts a lot of pressure on us to offer a broad spectrum of acts without trying to do the same thing over and over again. I think we hit that this year.”
For more information of the event: http://www.ottawabluesfest.ca/
Follow on Twitter: @ottawabluesfest
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Boots and Hearts Music Festival
August 10 th – 13 th , 2017
Oro-Medonte, ON, Canada
The Boots and Hearts Music Festival is a multi-day country music and camping festival produced by Republic Live Inc. and founded by Stan and Eva Dunford. It is held annually at the custom-designed festival grounds, Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte, Ontario, Canada. Since its inception in 2012, Boots and Hearts has quickly grown to become Canada’s largest country music festival and considered the second largest music festival in North America behind only the CMA Music Festival.
The festival offers; multiple stages meet and greets with artist, VIP offerings, an on-site farmers market, and more than 45,000 festival-goers over the course of 4 days. Boots and Hearts was awarded the CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) “Festival of the Year” Award in 2014, 2015, and 2016, as well as the Canadian Music Week “Festival of the Year” in 2015, with repeat nominations in 2016 and 2017. Boots and Hearts has seen the acts of world-renowned artists such as Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line and many other country music stars.
This year headliners showcase the elite of country music with Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Brentley Gilbert, Brett Eldredge among many other amazing artists which is why we have selected this event as the #1 Music Festival to attend for concert goers for the summer of 2017 and why we have featured the event in this month’s issue.
For more information of the event: www.bootsandhearts.com
Follow on Twitter: @BootsandHearts
We hope that you have an amazing summer and that you have the opportunity to take in as many of these amazing events as you can this summer