Performers

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Join the Indigenous Songwriters Circle to learn about songwriting. The songwriting session will be moderated by Lisa Patterson. 

• Saturday, July 22: Musician hosts - Sandy Scofield and Patrick Calihou
• Sunday, July 23: Musician hosts - Don Amero, Renae Morriseau, Semiah

Independent Punjabi singer-songwriter.

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. 

With their latest single, ‘Paranoid,’ Fake Shark fully embraces their rock influences with an immensely hooky earworm that takes on the day-to-day doubts that, if left to fester, can seriously damage your state of mind.

“With each album cycle, what inspires me to make a song changes,” explains lead singer Kevvy Mental. That’s been a hallmark of the band’s output since they started in 2015 – something that's reflected in their ability to fearlessly, fluently, and seemingly effortlessly incorporate elements of dance music, pop punk, industrial, funk, EDM, and straight-up pop and rock to create a sound that’s impossible to pigeonhole but uniquely their own.

Their upcoming record, Smaze (their fifth in roughly six years), is no exception. That’s crystal clear on ‘Paranoid,’ a compact rocker that, like all of Fake Shark’s music, finds the band blending the styles of a diverse array of artists and refusing to adhere to a paint-by-numbers, approach.

Described as “a retro-Afrofuturist vision sending listeners on a journey through 40 years of electronic music” (Nuvo), Ibrahim’s music brings elements of spoken word, hip hop, soul, house and 70s pop together, filtered through the prismatic and often contradictory lenses of personal, historical and scientific relativities. Even the concept of diaspora seems to fall short of capturing the vivid vibrational multitudes of Ibrahim’s scope.

Bitterly Divine come from Squamish Nation North Vancouver bc the band has been together for 17 years. Our first CD release party was at the River Rock casino, we have played all over bc we had the pleasure to sharing stages with Billy Idol, killers, 54-40, and other great bands.

Darren, a St’at’imc from Ts’kway’laxw First Nations, and Buddy have been students and practitioners of Blues music in the Vancouver area and abroad for a number of years, and have teamed up to show their love of this music.

From Mexico City’s Ollin Kan World Music Festival to Sarawak, Borneo’s Rainforest Festival, Iskwew Singers (pronounced Is-kway-yo) are on the move! Formed in Vancouver, the ensemble was created to perform in 2006 in Pau, France for the First International First People’s Festival and Forum. Iskwew Singers are a trio of First Nations women who create and perform songs in the plains tradition that tell stories of the connection to the earth, the Creator and one another. Coming from the Cree, Nation Shakti Hayes is joined by Métis singer Sandy Scofield and Cree singer Kelsey Wavey – each has an active career in other forms of music and art. 

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.

Brazilian Swag Dance Group is a cultural group, their performance brings culture from the time Brazil was still a colony up to the latest trendy rhythms along with Capoeira performances from Abalae Capoeira.

Higher Ground Dance Company is in its 5th year and season and is based out of Vancouver. Founded and created by Natasha Gorrie, Higher Ground’s program is unlike any other street dance company in the lower mainland. Focusing on personal growth to help you level up, build your own voice and identity, and build knowledge of history with a true understanding of the culture of street dances.

Training in fundamentals of various street dances but focusing on Hip Hop styles, Breaking, Popping & locking.

Non Sweet is a Japanese-pop music group local to Vancouver, Canada, that aims to empower, inspire and bring joy to people all over the world, especially girls.

Heavily influenced by the Japanese idol culture, Non Sweet brings an interactive musical experience combining live vocals and dance. All of their original music is written in collaboration with their Japanese sound producer, SHUN, whereas the members take the creative lead on lyrics, choreography and concept for each release. The group have performed at various music festivals and cultural events in Vancouver and were musical guests at Anime Expo 2022 and Northwest Idol Fest 2022.