2024 Music Festival Fun: Where Will Your Dancing Shoes Take You?
Have we mentioned lately we’re music festival fans? With Rossland’s Blizzard Music Festival already under Val’s belt this year (and guess what? It was great fun!) we’re looking ahead to what’s on the horizon for the rest of the 2024 festival season. Here’s are some BC festivals that are sure to get you moving:
1. TINY LIGHTS FESTIVAL (June 14–16, 2024)
The Tiny Lights Festival returns this spring to Ymir in the West Kootenays from June 14th–16th. The family-friendly event offers an intimate experience billed as “a carefully curated mix of music, mountains, and makers.” There’s a little something for everyone! Proud of its tiny size, Tiny Lights is not looking to get any bigger, so tickets are limited. However, it’s certainly promising to get even better in its 12th year, as they welcome phenomenal talent and even better folks.
2. TOFINO JAZZ FESTIVAL (June 14–16, 2024)
Known as the biggest music festival of the Pacific Rim, Tofino Jazz Festival is set to take the stage from June 22–25 for its 5th anniversary. With three venues around the legendary surf town — Clayoquot Sound Theatre, The Hatch Waterfront Pub, and the Village Green — this four-day fest offers live music with an ocean view. This year’s lineup has yet to be released, but if 2022’s stacked list of local talent is any indication, 2024 is sure to slay.
3. LAKETOWN SHAKEDOWN (June 28–30, 2024)
Laketown Ranch, located near Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, has announced that music industry mainstay Gwen Stefani is among their headliners this year, with the rest of the lineup still to be revealed… Exciting! Taking place June 28th–30th, this festival celebrates a mix of musical genres for a rollicking good time, every time.
4. JAM IN JUBILEE (every Thursday in July 2024)
You can’t afford to miss this FREE family-friendly Fraser Valley festival! (Oh the alliteration!) Taking place at Abbotsford’s Jubilee Park every Thursday in July, Jam in Jubilee features live music, local artists, and food, drink, and other vendors. And if you’re up for venturing just outside the park, the legendary Banter Ice Cream, a bubble tea shop, and a sushi restaurant are all less than a two-minute walk away!
5. FVDED IN THE PARK (July 5–6, 2024)
From July 5th–6th in Surrey’s Holland Park, FVDED’s dance-music lineup brings the beats hard, including Swedish House Mafia, Diplo, Deadmau5, Kaskade, Zeds Dead, Dom Dolla, and more! This is a 16+ event that also has a 19+ bar section, and is the prime Lower Mainland location to get your groove on and dance the day away.
6. KHATSAHLANO STREET PARTY (July 6, 2024)
Vancouver’s largest free music and arts festival is getting ready to serve up some sparkle on West 4th Avenue on July 6th. Multiple stages, vendors, street performers, activities, and more span 10 blocks from Burrard to MacDonald Street for the Khatsahlano Street Party, created and hosted by members of the Kitsilano West 4th Avenue Business Association.
7. BASS COAST (July 12–15, 2024)
Billed as a boutique experience, Bass Coast is a women-run, independent-and-artist owned, electronic music and art festival rooted in community. Held in Merritt from July 12th–15th, this one always has a lineup worth the trip for EDM fans, with the first wave already announced here. Come for the beats, marvel at the art installations, enjoy the yoga, workshops, and vendors, and stay for the impeccable vibes.
8. PACHENA BAY MUSIC FESTIVAL (July 19–21, 2024)
Pachena Bay Music Festival is returning for a third year! Pitched as 60% remote camping trip and 40% music festival, the festival runs from July 19th–21st, offering the ultimate west coast experience on Vancouver Island. The beautiful Pachena Bay Campground lies approximately 5 km south of Bamfield, near the trailhead of the world-famous West Coast Trail. Paired with an event that aims “to inspire, educate, and deepen our understanding of the local culture, physical environment, and vast array of wonders,” it’s a win-win!
9. SHAMBHALA (July 26–29, 2024)
If you haven’t heard of Canada’s premiere electronic music and arts festival by now, where have you been? It’s been over 25 years since the first Shambhala at the 500-acre Salmo River Ranch in the West Kootenays. With multiple themed stages, art installations, workshops, services, lodging options, and a lot more, this event usually sells out even before the impressive lineup is announced each spring. It’s truly a you-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it experience, happening this summer from July 26th–29th.
10. SUNFEST (August 1–4, 2024)
Another festival is taking place at Vancouver Island’s Laketown Ranch from August 1st–4th, and this one’s all country! Past artists have included nearly everyone you can think of in the country music scene, so this year’s lineup is sure to delight once again. Giddy up!
11. KASLO JAZZ FEST (August 4–6, 2024)
Looking for a laid-back atmosphere with astounding acoustics? Look no further than the Kootenays this summer when Kaslo Jazz Fest returns August 4th–6th. Since 1992, this festival has been bringing world-class musicians to a unique floating stage in Kaslo Bay Park that creates magic against a breathtaking backdrop every year.
12. EDGE OF THE WORLD (August 9–11, 2024)
Taking place at the Tlell Fall Fairgrounds, one of the largest venues on Haida Gwaii, from August 9th–11th, this festival attracts musicians, vendors, and guests seeking an incredible experience in one of the world’s most beautiful locations. This singular west coast festival experience features three days of local and off-island talent (see last year’s lineup for an idea of what to expect), with camping available nearby.
13. BARNSIDE HARVEST FESTIVAL (September 13–5, 2024)
Triumphantly returning after a successful inaugural year in 2023, this family-friendly festival plays host to local musicians accompanied by hyper-local, farm-fresh beer as well as acts and vendors from further afar (the lineup will be announced April 2nd). Taking place at Ladner’s Paterson Park September 13th–15th, the event offers an array of vendors serving food, drinks, and much more, and even celebrates our four-legged friends on Sunday with the Paw Pals Electric Picnic.
After being introduced to musical acts in festival settings, Val and Kyla have often attended touring shows to relive the magic. Pictured here in 2007 at the now-defunct Shine Nightclub in Vancouver’s historic Gastown, there’s no doubt they danced the night away to a mix of house, breakbeats, and hip-hop music.
FESTIVAL FOLKS 4 LIFE
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