Rock The Block

Five Alarm Funk is a horn-powered, percussion-fueled sonic and visual assault. Over 17 years of hard funking the band has burned up stages on four continents, released six studio albums and received two Juno Award nominations (Canadian Grammys). And this ride isn’t about to slow down. Five Alarm Funk is set to release their 7th studio album, Big Smoke in 2020. The 11 tracks get right to the roots of what Five Alarm Funk is all about: epic, intense arrangements, heavy groove and a ton of fun.

For all the honing their studio craft, the Five Alarm Funk’s epic live show is still what defines the band. The sweat-drenched concerts are infused with an intense spirit of fun that breaks down barriers between band and audience and moves both into a manic dance party. Wild costumes, props, and choreography compliment the seriously tight arrangements and genre-mashing grooves. As Vancouver’s Georgia Straight put it “I lost control and went on a dance rampage… You guys blew my mind and body.”

That live show has taken Five Alarm Funk on dozens of North American coast to coast tours, performing at over 100 festivals in the last three years alone. The band has also begun to break ground abroad, with performances in Taiwan, Mexico, and a performance for international peacekeeping forces in Mali. Five Alarm Funk plans to keep the momentum going in 2020 with another busy summer of festivals and the band’s first European tour.

Drama Queen

Formed in 2023 on, of all places, Salt Spring Island, DramaQueen reunites vocalist Knick Tomlinson and keyboardist Pierre Vincent Forgues—both previously of antic folkies Superfeather—with the hermetically tight rhythm section of Harley Dunn and former Sun Wizard and Shilohs drummer Ben Frey. But these four accomplished guitar-band refugees are in pursuit of something very different here. DramaQueen indulges a deep affection for the glorious, self-conscious pretensions of ‘70s art-school innovators like Bryan Ferry and the electronic pioneers who swallowed the subsequent half-century of pop. The desire is palpable in the Ultravox-grade “Don’t Love You Back” and the smoky midnight sax that invades and overcomes the pillowy synth pads of “Delayed Emotion”. “… All love is chemical and it just doesn’t sound achievable,” cries Tomlinson in the album’s title track, but the sentiment is imbued with the kind of histrionic, pansexual glamour magic that has forever held domain over the dance floor.

Crisp, precise, but teeming with tragic, theatrical amour, Death of a Romantic recalls Scary Monsters Bowie and all the New Romantic super creeps in his wake. Visage? Japan? Human League? The DNA is familiar from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop of the ‘60s to Berlin nightclubs in the ‘70s to Williamsburg house parties in the early 2000s.

Here in 2025, it pulses out of the unlikeliest of dance colonies: the rainforests of the Gulf Islands on Canada’s West Coast. Album closer “Strange Years in the Distance” is like the conclusion to DramaQueen’s thesis statement, looking back to exotic British glam via Giorgio Moroder and Studio 54, but also forward to the strange years ahead, where post-modernism makes an ecstatic eternal loop out of everything.

Here’s the soundtrack to the dance-pop singularity. Consider your inner eye painted.

La Delirio Cumbia

La Delirio Cumbia is a vibrant Latin cumbia band born in Cumberland,BC. It has been brought together by a shared love for the rhythms, energy, and joy of Latin American music, especially cumbia. Drawing inspiration from the rich cumbia traditions of Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, the band reimagines beloved classics while bringing their own unique sound and stage presence to every performance.

The group’s lineup features Argentinian Fabi Batallanos on lead vocals, a dynamic brasssection, guitar, bass, and drums, creating an energetic and danceable experience. Special guest musicians on accordion and timbales often join the band, adding even more flavor and authenticity to their performances.

Whether performing at festivals, community events, or dance nights, La Delirio  Cumbia celebrates the diverse sounds of Latin America and invites audiences of all backgrounds to come together, dance, and share in the spirit of cumbia.

Tyger and The Strypes

Tyger crafts raw, heartfelt folk country songs with indie soul. Weaving tender introspective storytelling with honest grit. Blending a mix of Orginals from her debut album ‘Survival of the Weakest’ alongside a collection of memorable covers, Tyger and The Strypes live performances are pure magic—so come with your heart on your sleeve, and let the music speak to you.

SELAYNE

Residing in the beautiful Comox Valley, SELAYNE has always been first a dancer and music enthusiast, which has exposed her to many dancefloors and styles of music on the West Coast. Starting her journey as a DJ 2 years ago, she has now begun to emerge as a music producer. Her unique experience as a dance fitness instructor, dancer, and long-time live music enthusiast, with her father’s early musical influence, inspires her musical selection and taste. Her love of rock, folk, indie and punk music shapes her as a selector of all things funk and soul. SELAYNE incorporates many genres and favors in her sets and her music – focusing on percussive elements, groove, and soul, infused with melodic and emotive elements. Expect to hear many genres such as funk, disco, baile-funk, 140, UKG and all things house music (especially classic and deep house). Her ultimate goal is to create a sonic storyline that mirrors the growth of a garden or the flow of a dance. SELAYNE is a “Sonic Storyteller” who cultivates high-vibe, movement-driven journeys

Kumugwe Dancers

Through sharing the songs and dances of the K’omoks and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, the Kumugwe Dancers are able to help facilitate respect and understanding within the local community and communities abroad.

Taking their name from the traditional Bighouse that sits within the heart of the K’omoks First Nation, members of the dance troupe have been practicing and performing together since 2001. The Kumugwe Dancers feel that by encouraging young members of their community to learn the ancient songs and dances of their people, they will ensure the survival of the culture for generations to come.

We are honoured to have had the Kumugwe Dancers participate in our outdoor events for the past 20 years.