Performers

MANILA GREY are a Canadian R&B duo from Surrey, noted for their Juno nomination for Breakthrough Group of the Year! Consisting of Filipino Canadian musicians Ghostride Neeko and Blame Soliven, they formed in 2016 and released their debut EP, No Saints Under Palm Shade, in 2017.   Their latest singles, Silver Skies and Time Zones have collectively generated over 30 million audio streams and have cemented MANILA GREY as one of BC’s fastest rising new artists.

Shad is one of Canada’s most revered rappers, a peerless wordsmith who embodies hip-hop’s power to entertain and educate. To date, Shad has racked up over 30 million streams, a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year (for 2010’s TSOL), and four placements on Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize shortlist, most recently for his 2018 concept-album opus, A Short Story About a War. His most recent album, TAO, was released in October 2021 on Secret City Records.

Sharry Mann is a Punjabi singer, writer, and actor who has taken the industry by storm for over a decade with a plethora of global hits, critically acclaimed tours and prestigious awards. His career started with his viral debut “Yaar Anmulle” that became the biggest Punjabi music release of 2010. Since then, there has been no stopping the hitmaker with hits that include “3 Peg” and “Hostel” with over 700 million and 210 million YouTube views respectively. A true showman, Sharry Mann has taken his electrifying live stage performances to sold out crowds in India, Canada and most recently with his sold-out tour in the U.K.

Zora Randhawa is a Punjabi singer who started singing at the age of seven. At the age of 16, Zora moved to UK and since then he has performed on various world tours with world renowned artistes like Dr. Zeus, Gippy Grewal, Sharry Maan, Hard Kaur, Geeta Zaildar, Diljit Dosanjh and many more. He released two singles “Haa” and “Inch” which were received well and garnered streams and views on YouTube. Zora’s latest tracks “Bodyguard” and “Robbery” are running successfully on all digital platforms worldwide.

XL The Band is the Western Canadian Music Award nominated hip hop/ jazz/ alternative fusion side project of 4-time JUNO Award winning Vancouver group Swollen Members. The members of XL have decades of live experience rocking audiences of tens of thousands on festival main stages, playing in orchestras, and winding up jazz clubs.

XL is composed of Prevail and Rob The Viking from Swollen Members, Liesa Norman, a former Vancouver Symphony Orchestra flautist and singer who holds a doctorate in music performance and composition, and Neph from WCMA nominated rap group Alpha Omega.

With R&B instincts and hip hop tendencies, Babylung digs deep into the soul to create music both unequivocal and honest. His tender voice and soothing lyrics have reached over 285,000 listeners globally with over 1,000,000 streams and has been featured on Spotify Canada's New Music Friday, Just Vibing, and R&B Favourites playlists. As a dynamic performer, Babylung demands the crowds attention with his often improvised arrangements and call & response songwriting, reminiscent of the Gospel music he was raised on.

Balaklava Blues is the brainchild of Mark and Marichka Marczyk, creators of the multi-award winning guerrilla-folk-opera Counting Sheep and leaders of the mighty Lemon Bucket Orkestra – Canada’s notorious 12 piece balkan-party-punk-massive. Falling somewhere between a traditional song cycle and a full blown multimedia techno show, the duo fuses Ukrainian polyphony and other folk traditions  with EDM, trap, dub step, and more as a launching pad to explore the  seemingly never-ending blues that have long emanated from the Ukrainian steppe.

Desirée Dawson is a JUNO-nominated recording artist, songwriter, producer and yoga teacher. Desiree was born, raised and is currently residing on the, occupied, traditional, unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ / sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations (also known as “Vancouver BC”) and can often be found sharing her music internationally. Desirée is of mixed ancestry, her mother French-Canadian settler ancestry from "Ontario '' and her father is of African descent from "South Carolina ''. Desiree is very passionate about music’s role in collective healing, by encouraging listeners to find a connection within themselves and the people and land around them. Whether performing solo with her baritone Ukulele, in harmony with her band or leading sound healing workshops, Desirée’s music is made to get us feeling and healing.

Golosa La Orquesta expresses in their performance and lyric content, a conscious and energetic message inspired by landscapes, nature and the social-environmental situation in Latin America and especially Chile.   

 “We travel from our land to deliver the deepest sounds rooted in our mystical continent to the world. Rhythms with airs of huayno, celebration, and carnival among others from the folklore of the southern cone of Latin America; fused with the power of rock and the freedom of jazz are present in our music. 

In 2019 they were nominated for the Pulsar Awards (the main awards in Chilean music) with their album "Sobre la Ciudad", which has the collaboration of Argentine singer-songwriter Kevin Johansen. 

Jill Barber is a three-time Juno Award nominated singer-songwriter with an unforgettable voice once heard, never forgotten.  

Her critically acclaimed repertoire spans a transformative spectrum from folk, to vocal jazz, to pop, and includes songs in both French and English. 

Indigenous led Curtis Clear Sky & the Constellationz based out Vancouver BC Canada released their album Indigifunk in 2019 that consists of Hip-hop with Latin-Funk, Soul, Ska, Reggae & Blues. Kat Hendrix who played drums on the foundational Hip- hop sampled song “Apache” plays drums on the Indigifunk. The single Turtle Island released in 2019 features Juno Award winning Mohawk bluesman Murray Porter. In June 2006 at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver Curtis is recognized as a Messenger of Truth by the United Nations. Curtis’ music has taken him to Aotearoa-New Zealand. Curtis recently participated in the Indigenous Music ASKIY Export program networking with international opportunities in the US, UK and Germany. The new single Our Home will be released in the summer of 2022.

DJ Goddess is a world class EDM/Bollywood DJ and Music Producer and has achieved so much internationally.

DJ Goddess has been listed number 1 DJ in Canada since 2013 and number 3 new DJ in the World. Since then she's garnered millions of views. Her total views are over 250 Million (quarter billion views) on Youtube alone including original track appearances with Garry Sandhu, Amrit Maan, and Mankirat Aulakh. Even her bootleg remixes on her personal channel are nearing 100 Million Organic Views! Tracks like Amplifier and Mann Bharrya - DJ Goddess Mix 15 Million.

Blind music producer and recording artist Mattmac has harnessed his melodic pop-trap beats and inspiring story, quickly establishing himself as ‘one to watch’ on the national scene with his debut album, 20/20 — available now! At 500,000+ streams across platforms, Mattmac’s premiere release features poppy vocals combined with hard-hitting trap beats, and thoughtfully honest lyrics that give listeners a glimpse into the mind of a blind creative as he paints vivid sonic pictures of struggle, healing, celebrating love, family and life on the rez.

Á’a:líya is a proud member of the Stó:lō Nation and grew up in her community, the Skowkale First Nation. She has worked in and around Vancouver as an activist and hip-hop artist for 17 years.

Á’a:líya is a storyteller addressing both modern and traditional narratives from her unique perspective as an Indigenous woman through her music.

She’s passionate about art and what it can do to spread messages of empowerment and love to people of all backgrounds and ages.

As Marc Meriläinen, the Toronto-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and all-around visionary better known as Nadjiwan says, “Humans have always questioned and wondered about both our purpose and origins in the universe. There are numerous stories in Indigenous cultures of the ‘star people’ visiting us throughout history with the purpose of teaching us a greater understanding of not only the universe, but ourselves. In short, we ultimately come from the stars.”

Nadjiwan, of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, grew up hearing those stories of star people, instilling within him a lifelong fascination with science fiction that he’s frequently incorporated into his musical body of work that now numbers a dozen releases since 1994.

Luv remains steadfast in his love of English, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu music.  He is an artist of truly exceptional virtuosity, creativity, and someone who takes over the stage.  He keeps you intrigued by captivating his audience with his charismatic personality and high energy performances.  

Luv has worked and collaborated with mainstream, award-winning heavyweights in the Canadian/USA Music Industry.  Luv has also performed alongside many Bollywood Film Stars and Legendary Singers/Artists.  Luv Randhawa's style of music can be described as a world collaboration of all sounds. 

Most recently Luv released a single called "Naam Simran" where all proceeds of the single went to Khalsa Aid. This single was released to be of service to the world and to help aid during trialling and stressful times.