River & Sky Music/Camping Festival, which takes place July 18 to 21 on the banks of the Sturgeon River in Field, made a few more music announcements including more DJs (and during the day), more bands, and a special Wednesday night beach set for volunteers and five-day pass holders.
Wednesday night’s lineup includes:
Casper Skulls — Originally from Sudbury but now based in Toronto, the band is fronted by Melanie St. Pierre and Neil Bednis, and is described by MTV as a collection of “confrontational art rock that bleeds with sincerity.” The band recently toured the US and Canada with PUP.
Like a Girl - Grunge-pop from the Big Nickel by some hard hitting girls.
Sure — Three Toronto rats making noise.
Other bands playing the festival include North Bay’s Matt Thibeault, who will be opening the Friday beach stage. Thibeault continues pushing boundaries since the release of his NOMFA award-winning debut album, Cycles, in 2015.
His newest project, I Own a Bittersweet Flashlight, (nominated for 2 NOMFAs) recounts the distraction and reality phases of the end of a relationship, providing two unique soundscapes for the recently-mourning.
Other additions to the festival include Cots, a project of Steph Yates (Guelph) who borrows elements of bossa nova, folk, and jazz in her songwriting, Falcon Jane, fronted by Sara May, a singer-songwriter from rural Southern Ontario, and Hot Garbage, a psych-rock quartet from Toronto.
Are you a secret “day-dancer” or have you ever been tempted to day-dance? In the past, the River & Sky Dance Party Stage only started late at night.
This year, the folks who like their sleep can also sink into the grooves with day-dancing to DJs with music starting at mid-afternoon, Friday, July 19, and Saturday, July 20th (as well as at night for the late night crew).
With both afternoons and late-nights to fill, the number of DJs will also increase at this 11th edition of the festival. There are 16 altogether including:
Coy Haste is the alter-ego of Brad Weber, the percussive wunderkind sometimes seen driving the rhythms of Caribou and Pick a Piper, who played an unforgettable Dance Party set at last year’s R&S. Video.
SpookyFish pushes boundaries within the experimental/downtempo world. Her productions show off her skills in sound manipulation and musicality, blending obscure electronic sounds with the familiarity of acoustic instruments.
Legs Florentine is half of the Toronto-based electronic duo Snowday. Legs has cemented himself within the Toronto music scene as a versatile and immensely talented producer and DJ, spinning a range of styles from House, Nu Disco and Funk.
Oreku is a Producer/DJ from Melbourne, Australia, now based in Toronto. He runs two monthly residencies in downtown Toronto, where he throws down cosmic boogie blasts and polyrhythmic shock waves.
For more information and tickets, visit riverandsky.ca.
