It's the second weekend of September, so you know what that means, kids?! RIFFLANDIA!

For seemingly as long as I can remember, (Quick caveat here: My memory is kinda fucked.), Rifflandia has been one of the most important weekends in Victoria. It is a marker of time; the summer is over. We get together to commune and blow off the last of that warm summer energy as we get ready for the new – and quite frankly, much better – seasons and return to Life™. It is a beginning and an end. A time to connect with all the homies who went off for separate adventures and a time to maybe make a new homie or two. For all the changes it's gone through over its nearly 20 years of existence, Rifflandia still sits there, at the beginning of September, fulfilling its ultimate destiny as a Great Connector. Beyond that lofty position, Rifflandia remains a place to go and just listen to some really fucking good music.

The musical net Rifflandia casts is wide, genre-wise; you're never going to like everything Rifflandia has to offer. But I don't think that's really the point. Rifflandia is a crossroads where fans of music - be they casual, general fans or hyper-niche fans - can get together and find some common ground to commune on. Like children being given new foods to help expand their palettes, it's good for all of us to be exposed to stuff outside of our bubbles. The pathways in our brains that allow us to genuinely enjoy new, different music will atrophy if not kept active. So even if there’s stuff I’m not personally interested in, I can guarantee there’s going to be something positive in my brain that is a direct result of standing in front of acts I’ve never heard before. But luckily for me (and for you, dear reader) there’s a lot of tremendous music on this years lineup that I already know and that is going to pull me out of the house. And here are some of the things, presented in no particular order, that will make me drag my lazy ass out of my house and down to the Matullia Lands in Rock Bay, Victoria to experience yet another Rifflandia.

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Back to Bass-ics: A Guide to Bamboo Bass Festival 2019

Bamboo Bass Festival 2019 – Back 2 Bass-ics

Hola, orta vez! Bamboo Bass Festival is now less than a month away, and it’s getting down to crunch time when it comes to prepping for the adventure of a lifetime. Most of you reading this probably have your flights and accommodations already in order (and if you don’t…get on that, yesterday), but what about the other details? Things like transportation, food, what to bring, and what to do before you leave? If you haven’t traveled much before, there’s a lot more to it than you’d expect…and if you do have the experience, then you know how easy it is to miss something!

This will be my third trip to the jungle, and while that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, trust me when I say there is plenty to learn with each visit. With the last two years being some of my best festival experiences to date, I couldn’t be more excited to return to the jungle surrounded by friends and the jungle crew that is quickly becoming la familia.

From everything you need to know about to Bamboo Bass, to the basics of traveling to & from the Rich Coast, this guide is a collection of tips and tricks to ensure your experience in paradise be the absolute best one it can be!

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

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!

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#festivalseason - Motion Notion finds a new home and packs it full of funky homies.

I honestly don't know much about Motion Notion, which is odd considering it's a BC festival and I live in BC and it's in its 19th YEAR. (The fuck was I doing until about three years ago when I heard about it?) I've heard nothing but good things and the pictures make it look excellent. And this year the good people of MoNo are setting up shop in a new home, The Coldwater Fields in Merritt, BC – the home of the legendary Bass Coast Festival. More than almost any other festival lineup I've seen this years Motion Notion is filled with a ridiculous amount of Rags Music-certified Gs. In fact, this years lineup features no less than 10 past answerers of our own 5 Questions With Rags interview series. In honour of this HomieFest, this list is comprised almost entirely of artists I am super familiar with. I'm pretty confident when I write these lineup previews that I'm giving you all the goods, but this time I'm wholly confident in my picks. Motion Notion has put together an incredible lineup and this just the tip of the iceberg. And really, just the tip of the part of the iceberg I know at the time of this writing. Even if you fuck the rest of your weekend up, you'll have a proper good time if you just go see these cats.

Get tickets for Motion Notion 2018 (August 23-27) now!

Marten Horger

Sometimes you see someone time and time again and you wonder if you reeeeeeally need to see them again. Even though I've been thoroughly enchanted every time I've seen this wonderful human lay down his relentless bass stylings (Even arguing with friends the whole way home after a powerful night at Vancouver's near-legendary Red Room where they claimed he wasn't the most untouchable of the night...they were wrong), I almost didn't go catch him here in Victoria last weekend (July 28), because I am aging and going out, even on a Saturday, is at times a monumental task that defeats me on a regular basis. But I'm glad a friend helped me soldier through, because Horger was as on point as ever. He was going B2B with the homie Neon Steve – who you should definitely also see as I am just noticing his name here on the MoNo lineup – and was as in command as ever. When you feel and hear the devastating bass of a Horger track your heart beats a little harder and then you look up to see him behind the decks and you almost see the joy radiating off of him. Make sure that no matter what you do with your weekend, get after it and see this legit Hero of Breaks.

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#festivalseason - The Phillips Backyard Weekender delivered all I expected...And then some.

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There was a ridiculous amount of great music at Phillips Brewery for the annual Backyard Weekender in Victoria this year and I could go on and on about it. I could tell you how The Revolution was better than anyone could have thought, laying down a set comprised entirely of some of Prince's best tracks – and even a couple surprises... “America,” anyone? Or how Victoria OG s, Murge and Verse – The Champion Sound, held it down between sets all damned weekend. Or I could tell you about the fiery and relentless disco assault of !!! (Chk Chk Chk) lit up a mostly unsuspecting crowd. In a weekend packed with highlights, here are the four acts that inspired my own lazy ass to get back to important work, like creating things and loving live music even of a fraction of how I used to.

Reggie Watts is so good at what he does that people now believe non-facts about Victoria.

Ask anyone who was there - apart from the two dudes I saw walk out early declaring, “This guy's a fucking weirdo.” - and they'll tell you that Reggie Watts' Saturday night performance at The Phillips Backyard Weekender was a incendiary force of creativity. It was funny, fresh and relentless. It demanded attention to mine its deep rewards. During his set, which my words will never do justice to, Watts told the potted “history” of spare ribs. We all had a good chuckle. Early the next day, whilst in the smoke-pit, I overheard a discussion about the improvised glory that Watts laid down the previous night. “He must have done a lot of serious research about Victoria. Like, he talked about the history of the spare rib and how it came from Victoria. I didn't know that!” “I'm from Victoria and I didn't know that!” These are actual things I overheard. Are there hundreds or possibly thousands of people out in Victoria now spreading the wholly false idea that Victoria is the legit home of the spare rib? God, I hope so.

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