Sounds like a concept made in heaven - Ruby Lake heaven, that is. Three days to appreciate music while dancing around a 500-year-old fir tree in the middle of a new outdoor amphitheatre. That's the idea behind the inaugural Bonfire Music Festival June 17 to 19. Plans are trucking along for the three-day, art-infused festival featuring more than 20 bands and performers of almost exclusively B.C. music: roots, jazz, funk, folk and jam bands including Garaj Mahal, Sekoya and Brickhouse, on the site of the new Spirit of the Rainforest amphitheatre at Ruby Lake Resort. In addition to the music, the audience can camp overnight on site as part of their ticket price, hike or swim between performances or check out the painting and drumming sessions and the art installations put on by Coast performance artists Mythmakers. Organizers are expecting that many fans, between 500 to 800 people, will travel from on and off Coast for this event. Fans of such Vancouver bands as Sekoya, Slammin' Jack and Themasses will probably know one of the headliners, Garaj Mahal from California - a four-piece band of seasoned artists who blend funk, jazz, fusion and blues. Also in the lineup are the West Coast Music Award musicians, Brickhouse, who have performed their mixture of blues and funk on the Coast before. These guys believe that live music will rule the day. When you get this many bands in one place, they're probably right. "It's a fusion of people's emotional connection with great music, great people and an almost spiritual venue," says Jimmy Dorey, local festival producer and principal of Inchworm Entertainment.
He's had experience with this type of show before after producing the 5,000-person Evolve Festival on a farmer's field in Nova Scotia, now in its sixth year.
"Compared with the farmer's field, this is paradise," he says. The amphitheatre idea was conceived by Giorgio Cogrossi of Ruby Lake Resort whose vision involved bringing in artists and performers just like this and producing an event that is in harmony with nature, much like the annual Wood Duck Festival held at that location. The environmental aspect should go over well with the three Grames Brothers, Panos, Johannes and Dinos, plus drummer Randall Stoll, who are from the Sunshine Coast. Their sound incorporates jazz, classical, punk, world music - influences from all over, combined with intelligent themes and a sense of getting out a message.
Kaejema, a funk, dub, jazz band with Kit Sadan on rhythm and vocals, Tim Townsend on guitar and vocals, Shane Hunt on bass and Justin Shoul on drums, has also been seen on Coast stages. Bands heard mostly in Whistler, such as Slow Nerve Action and Bruce Knauer and Sweaty Cheddar, will make their way to the Coast.
If you're the type who likes music mellow and wouldn't be seen at a skateboard jam, is there any hope for you at this bonfire festival? After listening to a sampling of the line-up, I'd say yeah. You would enjoy the almost country stylings of Ontario's Luther Wright (with Carolyn Mark), the jazz ballads of The Seams or my favourite, the rhythm of Vancouver's Five Alarm Funk. For more info, see www.bonfirefestival.com.
Three day festival passes that include camping and parking are available for $75 for the first 250 tickets or $90 thereafter, or you can buy individual day tickets (parking $5 extra) for Friday night at $30, all day Saturday for $35 or Sunday, June 19, for $25. Friday session starts at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday start at 12:30 p.m. Healthy food will be sold (as well as the fried stuff). Tickets are for sale on the Coast at Chemistry Clothing in Gibsons and the 420 Hemp Shop in Sechelt or can be bought on line at www.jambasetickets.com.
