What: Rifflandia featuring Moby, Bonobo, Hot Chip, July Talk, Z-Trip, Zed’s Dead, A Tribe Called Red and more
Where: Various venues, including Royal Athletic Park, Phillips Brewery and Capital Iron
When: Thursday through Sunday
Tickets: $40-$65 daily or $125-$295 for a weekend pass through Lyle’s Place (770 Yates St.) or Ticketfly.com
Ten years is a long time for any rock festival to survive, given the roles economy and taste play in the equation.
Life as a mid-size Canadian festival producer can’t be easy in 2017, when fees for artists are at an all-time high — and in U.S. funds to boot. Booking a top name for your marquee? Count on $100,000 per booking, in many instances.
Off-the-radar acts are cheaper, but more difficult to predict in terms of drawing power.
So where does that leave organizers of the Rifflandia festival in Victoria? Sitting comfortably, it would appear.
Atomique Productions, which produces the event, has fought for its place among notable festivals in the province and this weekend will celebrate Rifflandia’s 10th anniversary.
“We’ve weathered the storm of events that have come and gone,” said Rifflandia co-producer Nick Blasko. “We’ve tried to stay focused on what we do and not get too carried away or distracted.”
The Pemberton Music Festival (2014-16) and Squamish Valley Music Festival (2010-15) have opened and closed during Rifflandia’s lifespan. And while those high-profile festivals were considerably larger in scale, Blasko is proud that Rifflandia is still standing, and still drawing crowds.
“It feels like there have been enough memories and legacy created over the past 10 years that it can propel us. We’re doing something meaningful that has an impact way beyond the weekend itself.”
The festival’s 10th edition welcomes a collection of rock, hip-hop and electronic acts during four days and nights, from Moby, Bonobo and Hot Chip to July Talk, Z-Trip and Zed’s Dead. The festival starts tonight at eight venues, including the back lot at Phillips Brewery.
In 2008, the inaugural year of Rifflandia, the brewery’s shipping and receiving area hosted a private party to reward early-bird ticket buyers. In the years since, the Government Street site has steadily evolved into the Phillips Backyard, a Rifflandia hub now capable of holding 4,000 people.
Royal Athletic Park, with a capacity of 7,500, was added to the list of Rifflandia venues in 2011, the same year the festival’s initial one-wristband policy was scrapped. Fans can now buy wristbands for day or night programming, offering pick-and-choose flexibility.
“We’re responding to the uniqueness of Victoria,” Blasko said. “There’s people that want that grassy-field festival feel and all the stuff that goes along with it, and then there’s the people that want the late night, urban, gritty vibe.”
A major development in recent years has been the creation of Electric Avenue, the area of Discovery Street directly behind the Phillips Backyard. This year, the total capacity for Electric Avenue, which, besides the Phillips Backyard, houses stages at Capital Iron, The Duke and Anian, is 7,000.
Organizers cannot sustain that momentum without booking head-turning acts, performers capable of selling thousands of tickets on name alone. That’s a prohibitive cost for a festival such as Rifflandia, which has yet “to make a dime” for Atomique Productions during its 10 years, according to Blasko.
Despite the challenges, the festival has booked big names over the years, including the Flaming Lips, Courtney Love, Tegan and Sara, City and Colour, AWOLNATION and Cake.
“In a market like Victoria, sometime you have to overpay a little bit to make it happen. But you do it so you’ll have that marquee quality and presence within your lineup,” Blasko said.
Timing also plays a part, he said. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, lesser-knowns who played mid-afternoon at the Royal Athletic Park side stage in 2012, were on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine less than a year later. Skrillex and Diplo associate Keisza performed on the same stage in 2015, shortly after she won breakthrough artist of the year at the Juno Awards.
“The business moves so fast now, someone could be relatively unknown when you book them, but by the time they play the festival, there’s a buzz going,” Blasko said with a laugh.
The festival drew heat from some in the community for reducing its all-ages offerings in 2017, with the departure of several youth-friendly venues. The matter has since been partially rectified, with a portion of the Capital Iron venue now exclusively all-ages.
That is the Rifflandia philosophy in a nutshell, according to Blasko.
“We have to be responsible and do what makes sense financially, but also we have to understand who our audience is and accommodate them.”
Acts to look out for . . .
Rifflandia organizers are adept at balancing unknown acts and up-and-comers with veteran bands. The festival’s 10th anniversary is staying true to that vision, but advance planning is key if you hope to catch the best bands at this year’s event.
Rest assured, the payoff from the extra organization makes the effort worthwhile, because those who missed seeing Macklemore and Ryan Lewis perform in 2012 are still kicking themselves today. Here’s a primer on five don’t-miss acts:
1. G Jones: There’s a heavy electronic music theme to Rifflandia 10, which will undoubtedly lead to exhaustion from all the musical zeroes and ones at some point. G Jones, the California bass music freak and Burning Man Festival staple, is in the perfect spot to succeed. He’s playing opening night, when the energy level is high. Expect a bit of bass-related everything when he’s on stage. Thursday at Phillips Backyard, 10 p.m.
2. Charlotte Day Wilson: The softly spoken performer has been tapped by many as one of Canada’s big musical-exports-in-waiting, which makes the 25-year-old Toronto singer’s performance on Friday one of the must-see sets of the weekend. By blending everything from soul to gospel to R&B on her iPhone-commercial hit Work, the singer draws comparisons with some of the great singers of a bygone era. Friday at Rifftop Tent, 5 p.m.
3. Bonobo: The biggest advance buzz at Rifflandia has been reserved for Britain’s Bonobo, the enigmatic producer and performer born Simon Green. Known primarily for his output as a DJ, he has taken to performing with a full band in recent years. He’ll do the same on the main stage Saturday night, which bodes well for fans. Live sets from Green and Co. have drawn raves. Saturday at the Main Stage, 7:45 p.m.
4. Astrocolor: One of the best live bands in Victoria is a staple of summer festivals on Vancouver Island, and the otherworldly product of its members’ myriad influences. The six-piece electronica act (formerly known as Weird Party) holds nothing back on stage, which makes Astrocolor the perfect lead in Saturday night to one of the festival’s main attractions, Hot Chip.
Saturday at Phillips Backyard, 10 p.m.
5. Salamander: DJ sets by the Stir-Fry co-founder are rare, and for good reason. As co-owner of Atomique Productions, which produces Rifflandia, Rock the Shores and the Phillips Backyard Weekender, the Victoria native (born Dimitri Demers) often has his hands more than full. Take the opportunity to see him in his element on Saturday night — he’s a master song selector with a vast knowledge of
