Schedule

Watch all of the cultural pavilions march throughout the festival before the Welcome Ceremony on the Main Stage.

Experience an Indigenous Welcome and opening remarks from Mayor, Council and dignitaries.

Uzume Taiko is West Coast Canada’s premiere professional taiko drumming group. Performing both nationally and internationally since 1988, the group performs their unique West Coast Canadian taiko drumming styles to receptive audiences the world over. Uzume Taiko has presented concert tours in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Japan, the United States and in all corners of their homeland, Canada. From the Western and Mid Arctic to both coasts and many points in between, Uzume has also played at folk and jazz festivals throughout the Nation.

Purveyors of revelry and sonic pleasure since 2018: a party band for all occasions and predicaments, serving the lower mainland and its environs. While still a relatively newish ensemble, this young group has already released two E.P.s (available at bandcamp.com). Made up of young brass musicians from New Westminster, and directed by Mr. Steve Clements, this New-Orleans-meets Klezmer-Balkan Brass band is a mobile unit that can entertain at the drop of a hat. The band varies from 8 to 24 players depending on the predicament. Expect the unexpected!

Los Duendes is a Psychedelic Latin Fusion band based out of Vancouver. Mixing genres like Cumbia, Salsa and Jazz with soaring virtuosic guitar riffs, their unique sound mirrors the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary Canadian culture. The term “Psych Cumbia” refers to various different styles of tropical Latin American music, with their finger on the pulse of today’s latin music reconstruction Los Duendes breathes new life into timeless rhythms like “Chicha” and “Cumbia”. Tener Duende loosely means having soul, a heightened state of emotion, expression and authenticity. Derived from the duende, an elf or goblin-like magical creature in Spanish mythology. El duende is the spirit of evocation. It surfaces as a physical and emotional response to art. The Duende climbs up inside you, from the soles of the feet… It’s what gives you chills, makes you smile or cry as a bodily reaction to an artistic performance that is particularly expressive. 

Teon Gibbs is quickly becoming one of the most well known voices coming out of Canada. The two things that really separate Teon from his peers are his show stopping performances and his willingness to take risks with his art. Always pushing the boundaries of genre and innovation, Complex UK has stated that Teon's work has “hit on a fusion sound that has been sorely under-explored.”

Exclaim! has described Teon as having a natural ability to blend serious themes with soulful tracks, delivering a thoughtfulness that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries and he demonstrates a willingness to go to places that most artists would be afraid to.

22-year-old Canadian artist & producer Ikwinder Singh is innovating the sound of India with his own touch of worldly influences. Ikky’s production encapsulates the diversity and multiculturalism of the city he grew up in. With elements of Toronto’s signature sound of hip-hop & R&B, along with the vibrancy of Caribbean and Punjabi influences, his infectious production style was first introduced on Gurnam Bhullar’s “Diamond.” It’s what caught the attention of international megastars like Amrit Maan and Garry Sandhu who took Ikky under their wing when he was 17-years-old and continues to attract artists like Shubh, Karan Aujla, Torey Lanez, Nseeb, Diljit Dosanjh, and Himmat Sandhu.

With a collective 293 million global streams to date, 2022's JUNO Award-winning Breakthrough Artist of the Year, JESSIA has taken the music industry by storm. In 2021 the pop singer, songwriter captured the attention of social media fans and notable artists including Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer Ryan Tedder who signed her to Artist Driven Records in partnership with Republic Records. Her debut single, "I'm not Pretty" exploded on TikTok, with JESSIA introducing the song and racking up millions of views in a single day, catching the attention of singer, songwriter, and producer elijah woods and later, Grammy-Award nominated artist Bebe Rexha who featured on the remix of the track. Certified Platinum in Canada where it hit #4 at HOT AC, #8 at Top 40, and GOLD in the U.S. where it landed at #33 on the Top 40 chart, the hit single has achieved 271 million global streams and 13 million-plus video views to date. 

Social activism and a feverish dance party make a tantalizing combination and 2022 JUNO winner for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year, Dan “DJ Shub” General is the grand marshal we nominate to lead this jubilant parade. Shub is a true original: a title-holding battle DJ/producer, a joyful collaborator and a non-stop creator who skillfully weaves craft, message and heritage. Since exiting A Tribe Called Red, Shub has continued adding jewels to his “Godfather of PowWowStep” crown. War Club is Shub’s latest celebration of Indigenous power: a special filmed on Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Ontario that features Shub’s trademark finger-smoking scratch-a-thons, an all-ages cast of traditional dancers, and plenty of bustles shaking to outstanding musical collaborations with Phoenix Pagliacci, Boogát and Fawn Wood that tells the tale of a young girl searching for her brother with the help of an enchanted war club. Shub’s uncompromising pride in Aboriginal heritage and talent is the driving force behind his art. Join the parade – Shub’s made sure there’s enough hip hop, Indigenous culture, power, protest and humanity for all of us.