Imagine sharing billing with the likes of The Matthew Good Band and Tokyo Police Club.
That's just the opportunity being presented to local musicians thanks to a recently established collaboration between the organizers behind this summer's massive Live at Squamish music festival and the locals who've brought us the Squamish Equinox Rock Festival (SERF) for the past three years.
On Labour Day weekend, a line-up of top musical acts take to two stages at the Loggers Sports grounds and Hendrickson fields on Loggers Lane during the Live at Squamish music festival. Now a third stage will be added to the fields for SERF, which moves from its traditional Nexen Beach locale for one time only.
"For 2010 we decided to transport SERF from its home on the Squamish oceanfront to the Live at Squamish location in order to showcase what Squamish has to offer," said SERF president Karin Shard.
Shard assures fans that SERF will continue its party at the beach as early as 2011.
SERF started as a music festival in 2007, and since then, has attracted visitors from as far away as Oregon and Alberta, and has hosted up-and-coming musicians to Squamish from across Canada, including Newfoundland's Hey Rosetta! in 2008.
The SERF profile increases all the more this year with its partnership with Live at Squamish organizers brand.LIVE that will offer the SERF Stage for musicians from the Sea to Sky Corridor.
Also featured on the SERF Stage will be up-and-coming musicians and breaking artists, including 2009 Peak Performance winners We Are The City.
"The timing of this opportunity with brand.LIVE is serendipitous," said SERF vice president Paul Hudson.
The locally owned and operated festival was established to serve as an outlet that brings awareness to the many talented musicians living in Squamish and the Sea to Sky Corridor, and the collaboration will help significantly in that goal, said Hudson.
"After hosting three successful locally produced festivals, SERF felt it needed to develop a strategy which gets the word out to the world that the Sea to Sky Corridor has a music scene. This new festival provides us with the perfect opportunity to do this."
Starting Saturday (July 3), musicians interested in playing this year's SERF stage at Live at Squamish will be able to apply to the festival by visiting SERF's website at www.squamishmuicfestival.com. The application submission deadline will be July 16 with a local line-up announcement happening as early as July 31.
"We are so stoked to be able to continue to promote local musicians - this time to a much larger audience. This has been an integral part of our mission for the last two years," said SERF partner Tina Nowaczewski.
