The second annual Squamish Wind Festival will offer music for almost everyone, according to festival coordinator Michelle Neilson.
Neilson has back-to-back acts booked for most of the weekend, including local youth band Slight Fiction, which will kick things off Friday night, July 24 with popular rock covers, followed by Vancouver salsa band Mazacote.
Groove n Tonic, another Vancouver band, and DJ Praiz, who is a return act familiar to those who attended the festival last year, will close out the first night.
“In between acts we will light up the Jam zone with more congos and spontaneous fun,” said Neilson.
Saturday will showcase B.C.’s new and emerging bands, according to Neilson.
During the Farmers’ Market, Squamish’s William Ross and band, followed by Love Coast, an up-and-coming west coast soul/pop band, will get people swinging to the tunes while they shop the market.
Experimental pop rock band The Tourist Company, which will be playing at the annual Dancing Bear Festival at Quest University this weekend, will also be performing at the Wind festival.
Festivals like Wind are great gigs for bands, according to Taylor Swindells, a singer and guitarist with The Tourist Company.
“There’s an unbeatable air of excitement and discovery and it’s a rare event in our culture where the music is the focal point,” Swindells said. “Open-air festivals also create a unique combination of music and nature that makes playing outdoor festivals a real favourite of ours.”
DJ Foxy Moron and a surprise act follows. “You’ll just have to come to find out,” Neilson said.
The night will close with a bluegrass and blues concert by Sea to Sky corridor regulars Tantalus Pass.
“In between acts on Saturday we’ll have buskers in the Jam zone, plus music all around town,” Neilson said.
The event runs from July 24-26. For more info, go to squamishwindfestival.com.
