Hillside music festival announces lineup
More than 50 artists will perform at 43rd festival at Guelph Lake Conservation Area
GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Snow may still be blanketing much of the island, but Hillside Festival organizers are gearing up for summer with the announcement of this year’s lineup.
The festival takes place on the island at Guelph Lake Conservation Area from July 17 to 19.
Over 50 artists from all over the world are performing during Hillside’s 43rd annual festival, with local musicians joined by those travelling from Sudan, Australia, Ukraine, the U.S., Columbia, the U.K., Guyana, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
They include award winning reggae artist Tiken Jah Fakoly, who officials say attracts “tens or even hundreds of thousands of spectators to his concerts in Africa [and] is famous for his explosive stage performances.”
Singer-songwriter Elida Almeida was born on Santiago, an interior island of Cape Verde, “a countryside so deep, so remote, that most of its inhabitants never leave it,” she said.
But Almeida has travelled world stages with her music, sharing a voice officials describe as warm, suave, and “capable of exulting with power.”
Canadian comedian, actor, writer, recording artist and this year’s host of the Junos Mae Martin will also be taking to the stage, after launching their career in music last year.
Toronto-band Cowboy Junkies formed in 1985 and are set to perform a show that spans their 40-year, 29-album career.
Fulu Miziki means “the sound of garbage” in Lingala, and this eco-friendly-afro-futuristic-punk band from the Ngwaka district of Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, has a “unique sound (that) carries a pan-African message of artistic liberation, peace and a harsh look at the ecological situation,” officials state.
Canadian singer-songwriter Donovan Woods is “known for his candid, emotionally resonant songwriting,” blending folk, country and pop, officials state.
Mad Professor has been a prominant figure in the English dub music scene for four decades and has worked on tracks for Depeche Mode, Jamiroquai, the Beastie Boys, Massive Attack, Rancid, Horace Andy and U-Roy.
Performers also include Stars, Hollerado, Matt Mays, Austra, Angine de Poitrine, The Free Label and Tell it to Sweeney.
Returning acts will include showcases from JamSchool Youth and Girls and Guitars, as well as guest curator Celeigh Cardinal, who presents Electric Religious, Darla Daniels, Mimi O’Bonsawin, the North Sound and Piqsiq.
“This year’s lineup reflects Hillside’s long-standing reputation for bringing together acclaimed Canadian talent, international voices and artists audiences may be discovering for the first time,” Hillside officials state.
The festival also includes an Indigenous circle, workshops, a children’s area, an artisan market, a food bazaar and on-site camping.
For more information about the performers and festival or to purchase tickets, visit hillsidefestival.ca.
