Another year of Rifflandia and another year of a densely diverse musical memories to help get us through the cold winter months. Unbound by any genre allegiances, Rifflandia is free to mine any part of the modern musical map they deem worthy and to their credit, each year they dig hard to bring something unique to the city of Victoria. Something different than the swaths of other catch-all festivals that flood the market each and every festival season. And in their 11th year, Rifflandia did not disappoint. With 150+ acts over three days, four nights and 14 stages, there was more than ever to take in. We didn't stop for the duration of the weekend and in amongst the chaos, these were the acts that left the biggest imprints on our ears over the four relentless days.

Best Non-musical Thing We Saw At Riff - KARMIK

We're don't necessarily advocate drug use at Rags Music, but we damn sure as hell advocate safety and and taking care of each other. Thankfully the good people at KARMIK made their first appearance at Rifflandia. Breaking ground is nothing new to the team at Karmik, so it only made sense they were the first organization to bring a mass spectrometer to Vancouver Island, and establish a legitimate drug testing presence at Rifflandia. To give you how big of a deal that actually is, the legendary Shambhala Music Festival (Salmo, BC) took years of fundraising and donations to be able to provide attendees with the technology – at an event that arguably has more drug use than Riff. But, Victoria definitely has needed something like this for years, and even with local law enforcement pushing back, the lovely individuals of Karmik stood their ground and provided a much needed service in Victoria that has been long overdue. Hope to see them back next year!

Gentle Mind

One of the first acts of Rifflandia weekend, Gentle Mind took the stage at Phillips Front Yard Thursday night to show how to kick off a festival right. With a small crowd and a chill in the air, the Vancouver soul (Acid soul? Jazz soul? Soul pop?) group started with a small smattering of people – more photographers than festival-goers – and by the end of their set, the stage was packed and the people were eating out of the bands hands. The bands originals, including their standout “Nighttime in Crema”, popped and pulled in the listeners with their slickness, their depth and their soul. A couple of choice covers sprinkled in to their set helped give a new audience familiar touchstones: A lovely rendering of Haitus Kaiyote's sultry “Nakamarra” and a groovy as hell cover of The Weeknd's “I Can't Feel My Face,” the latter of which took me way too long to recognize. We singled out Gentle Mind as a band to watch at this year's Rifflandia and they didn't disappoint, setting the tone for another great weekend of music.

What’s new, what’s hot, what’s good – what’s up Rifflandia?

To nobody’s surprise, September has returned for another session of messing with our heads and our hearts. September – with its warm, almost hot, days; the deceivingly cold nights; plus the inevitable burden of carrying a sweater with you at all times yet never really needing it for more than five minutes. Thankfully, here in Victoria we have a way of dealing with the month that nobody seems to want. In fact, there’s a little phrase around town that you may have heard before – September Forever.

Yes, September means something entirely different in Victoria. It means Rifflandia is upon us! I’m not going to go into detail about what it’s all about because if you’re from the island you already know, and for those that don’t…well, that’s why Al Gore invented the internet.

I will however get into what there is to look forward to this year! Rifflandia is forever evolving, and there are some exciting changes that take place every festival, so it can sometimes be a challenge to keep up. But don’t worry – I know a good time when I see it, and Riff is always good for that.

Obviously the music is usually the number one priority at a music festival, and although the general theme of Rifflandia shifts a bit every year (for example, hip – hop was heavily featured a couple years ago), there’s still a ton of listening pleasure for everyone, no matter what you enjoy. The eleventh edition of Rifflandia definitely boasts a large electronic presence, and with Electric Avenue becoming more and more popular with every passing year, there’s going to be a lot of action at the Ave this weekend.

While the harm reduction movement has broken ground in many festivals we attend around the country, there are still many non camping festivals that have yet to make the transition. Thankfully, Rifflandia isn’t one of them. Harm Reduction will be provided on site at both the Royal Athletic Park and Electric Ave by a well trained staff from WILD Collective Harm Reduction Services, BCCSU, and our good friends at Karmik – BC’s leading harm reduction team. Karmik will be setting up a drug testing booth at RAP during the day, while others will provide outreach and a harm reduction tent at Electric Ave. Locate them at either venue for info, supplies, education, support, or if you just need a safe spot to chill!

It should go without saying that everyone deserves to party in peace, but unfortunately there are still people out there that don’t understand that concept. Rifflandia is going above and beyond to provide a safe space throughout the entire festival and encourages anyone who witnesses any disruptive or inappropriate behavior to report it immediately, either by reporting it to staff or security or emailing incidents@atomiqueproductions.com. We all deserve the best, so let’s take it upon ourselves to provide the best.

Rifflandia always hits the mark with their selection of artists, and with more than 160 live acts performing over the course of 4 days, there are sure to be some names you know, some you don’t, and it’s inevitable you’ll discover a few new favourites. Take the time to listen to some unknown artists on the app, or check out the list below for my favourites over the weekend!

#festivalseason - Rifflandia 11 rounds out the season in musically diverse style.

#festivalseason - What's new, what's hot, what's good - what's up Rifflandia?