The Glacier Challenge is back this weekend for its 28th year. If you're not playing, you still might want to check out the nightly live music. The beer garden is open nightly from 6 p.m. to midnight and tickets are $20 for the weekend, or $10 per night. DJ Wesside kicks things off each night, with two bands to follow. We've got the low-down here:
Entangados
Entangados is an Argentinian band of musicians and actors who perform as clowns. Since 2004 the band has mixed theatre with genres such as rock, cuarteto, música balkánica, reggae, cumbia, ska, folklore, and tango. Each show is a fiesta musical full of dancing, humour, happiness, and energy. They toured through Mexico at the beginning of 2015 and now have arrived in British Columbia for the summer!
Performing Friday, July 31, at 7:00 p.m.
The Leg-Up Program
The Leg-Up Program is a hip-hop funk rock soul orchestra band based in Victoria, BC and is a musical collective made up of local musicians. Their goal is to further their musical experience and understanding while creating sounds that seduce, harmonies that hypnotize, melodies that mesmerize and to provoke thought, address social issues and have a really good time.
Funk, hip hop, rock, soul, r&b, reggae, ska, latin, world beats and more is what you'll expect to hear from Victoria B.C.'s newest musical sensation, the orchestra of band that is The Leg-Up Program. The program is a band and a creative collaboration between artists in hopes of exploring the possibilities for fun, dance, education, and some positive social reform which emerge when motivated artists work together. With over 20 current members, this creative group brings elements of voice, guitar, piano, drums, trumpet, sax, trombone, bass, synth, flute, percussion and more to all of their songs while appealing to a wide variety of audiences.
Victoria, B.C. has a long tradition of producing some of the country's most talented musicians and this band is no exception. Made up of member from many other local bands, the collective brings a large and eclectic variety of sound to the acoustic palette. The three lyrical emcees pack quite a punch with both lyrical content and unique flow, while three sultry sirens deliver beautiful three-piece harmonies on some instant classics.
Performing Friday, July 31, at 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, August 1, at 7:00 p.m.
The Boom Chucka Boys
Recent ACMA Award Winners for Group of the Year and Rising Star and 2014 Canadian Country Music Associations Group/Duo Of The Year nominees, The Boom Chucka Boys aren’t typical in any way. They walk the fine line between many musical stylings. But make no mistake. They are first, and foremost a country band.
Influenced by artists like Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Dwight Yoakam, CCR, Bruce Springsteen, and Johnny Cash, the band’s original music leaves its mark on audiences with a unique sound. Energetic and meaningful, their lyrics hit like a four on the floor kick drum.
Front man Ryan Langlois stomps and moves like a classic performer, throwing himself into the music. His stage presence is no antic, it’s the spill over of incredible, contagious passion, and throttling vocals. The band members match his energy with every chord and create an enormous sound.
With Joel Rathjen on lead guitar, Teddy Roy Michaylow on bass, and Ben Shillabeer on the drums you can imagine them playing stadiums, even as you relish seeing them up close in an intimate venue. The band commands the stage, and their look matches their sound. Layered, nuanced and diverse.
Performing Saturday, August 1, at 9:30 p.m.
The Bitterweed Draw
This riotous and swaggering six-piece honky-tonk juggernaut has ignited crowds from coast to coast. The Bitterweed Draw has more than 300 performances under their belt spanning a range of venues including large festival stages, crowded bars, local markets, private functions, on-air radio, and whiskey swiggin’ sunrises aplenty.
Over the course of five years, The Bitterweed Draw has toured across Canada and has released multiple recording projects including The Burnt Cabin Sessions (2011, EP) and Heart of the Old West (2012, LP). Wheatland County Rag, their Sophomore LP, is set to be released this year, with a national and international tour to follow.
Performing Sunday, August 2, at 7:00 p.m.
KC Roberts & the Live Revolution
KCLR’s pedigree as a live band is well-established, drawing comparisons to The Roots, Jamiroquai and Janelle Monae. The band has regularly shared the stage with major international artists including recent events with DJ Q-Bert, Spectrum Road and Blue King Brown, as well as an upcoming event with soul legend Lee Fields. These achievements have enabled KCLR to become jazz festival favourites around Ontario (TD Toronto Jazz, Beaches Jazz Festival, Aurora Jazz Festival, Jazz on the Mountain at Blue, Sudbury Jazz Festival).
Essentially an original 8-piece funk band, KCLR is well-known for its energized live performances winning the 2007 Toronto Independent Music Award for best live act. In September 2013, NOW Magazine listed KCLR as one of Toronto’s 10 Local Buzz Bands Set to Break Big.
Formed in 2004, KCLR have enjoyed consistent success both on stage and in the studio. In 2005, they opened for the Black Eyed Peas at Molson Amphitheatre, making such an impact that they were invited back in 2006. Since then, KC Roberts and the Live Revolution have established themselves as a high-energy live act and have become mainstays at large festivals including the TD Toronto Jazz Festival (2012), JUNOfest (2011), Distillery Jazz Festival (2007), Beaches Jazz Festival (2007, 2009-2012), Aurora Jazz Festival (2012), Sudbury Jazz Festival (2012) and Wasaga Beachfest (2009) among others.
Performing Sunday, August 2, at 9:30 p.m.