The Rifflandia music festival returns today following a four-year absence, and the festival’s founder is expecting a combined daily attendance of nearly 15,000 between the two major sites: the field at Royal Athletic Park and the area surrounding Phillips Brewing on Government Street.
With those audience totals, the four-day event, which features performances by nearly 100 acts on eight stages, is on track to give the performing arts and local businesses a post-pandemic boost.
“It’s hard to really quantify the community impact and benefit, but we know it’s big,” said Nick Blasko. “We are certainly injecting millions back into the city. Even in our smallest years, we were having a seven-figure impact.”
The festival, which debuted in 2008, has garnered attention outside Vancouver Island in recent months, with headlining acts that include NBA great Shaquille O’Neal, two-time Grammy winner Lorde, and chart-topping pop star Charli XCX.
“We are seeing tickets purchased from all over the place right now,” Blasko said. “And given the amount of media requests we’ve gotten, there’s a lot of big mainstream media outlets attending this year which had not attended in the past.”
Paul Nursey, CEO of Destination Greater Victoria, said he is pleased to see Rifflandia return after four years . “Historically, Rifflandia has been a proven demand generator for the region,” he said.
Rifflandia is among “a very busy September lineup of festivals, events and conferences in Greater Victoria, which [help] stimulate the visitor economy’s recovery,” he said.
This year, Blasko has added a comedy stage featuring local comics, and a music symposium, presented in partnership with the City of Victoria and Music B.C. and Creative B.C., with panels of out-of-town experts.
The three days of professional-development workshops featuring creative industry insiders are presented free of charge, with the aim of giving local music industry hopefuls valuable career advice.
“Are events like ours important in the cultural recovery of Victoria? Yes. But we have a long way to go,” Blasko said.
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