The Wapiti Music Festival (Wapiti means Elk) is coming up again this summer in Fernie and if outdoor music is one of your favorite summertime pleasures, you absolutely MUST put this one on your calendar!

The truly Canadian Indie music event is held each year in Annex Park, in the Elk Valley, beside the Elk River at the foot of a mountain under blue summer skies. What setting could be more beautiful? Expect to hear great music, wear out your dancing shoes, feast on delicious food and beverages, meet some of the friendliest folks ever and make some long-lasting memories.

Here’s the 2018 Wapiti Music Festival line-up

Wintersleep –  the JUNO award-winning band with 5 full-length records to their credit is made up of vocalist/guitarist Paul Murphy, drummer Loel Campbell, guitarist Tim D’eon, bassist Mike Bigelow, and keyboardist Jon Samuel.

Elliott Brood – a three-piece, folk-rock/alt-country band based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Their brand of fuzzed-up roots music makes for a captivating and frenetic live performance. That energy has always translated to the band’s five acclaimed records. Their style has been called everything from ‘blackgrass’ to ‘death country,’ but those descriptions don’t capture the transcendent heights of their unique approach to roots music.

Shred Kelly – soaked in electric crescendos and folk-tinged sing-along anthems, Shred Kelly is known for their high energy live show that ignites dance floors with their alternative folk sound. Over three albums and countless tours, the five British Columbians have developed their signature sound by taking inspiration from the mountains where they hail from and the people who inhabit them.

My Son the Hurricane – this is a brass-infused funk beast. No dance floor is safe. Hailing from Niagara/Toronto, the perennial festival closers and dance floor inciters mix New Orleans style grooves with funk, jazz and hip-hop.

The Royal Foundry – This duo makes the kind of up-tempo folk-pop that comes from harmonious alignment. It makes sense, then, Bethany and Jared Salte are married. As the pair write music inspired by their marital life along with life lessons and challenges, they embark hand-in-hand, creating thought-provoking lyrics, mesmerizing melodies, and a charming, unforgettable chemistry.

Twin Bandit – While working on their second full-length album, the aptly titled Full Circle, Twin Bandit grew personally and creatively amidst life’s unpredictable ebb and flow. Throughout that experience, the Vancouver-based duo of Hannah Walker and Jamie Elliot progressed as songwriters and musicians, delicately expanding their sonic palette of folk, alternative, and country and opening up lyrically like never before.

Yes We Mystic – the five-piece group from Winnipeg grabs ideas and aesthetics from all over the map and
ventures to morph them into something entirely different. They take their favorite bits of folk, rock, and
R&B, hurl strings and mandolins together with synthesizers, pedals, and samples, and come up with
music that can mellow and groove but climb in an instant to towering, frenzied heights.

Elk Run & Riot – Since forming in 2013, Elk Run & Riot have made it their priority to write songs that reflect who they are and where they live. For the alternative folk outfit, that environment is Alberta’s Bow Valley in the Rocky Mountains, whose natural wonders greatly inspired the group’s third full-length album, Animalia.

Carter & the Capitals – They’re a high energy five-piece funk group from Edmonton, known for their signature, hard-driving sound, soulful vocals, catchy instrumental riffsand the way they fuse the most danceable elements of the pop and funk genres. Since forming in 2015, the Capitals have been consistently building their audience throughout Western Canada with jaw-dropping live performances and earworm singles.

Lennan Delaney and Nathan Bishop MacDonald – Cape Breton Island, traditional fiddling sensation Nova Scotian  Lennan Delaney, fuses traditional elements of both Scottish and Irish music into contemporary arrangements. Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island native, Nathan Bishop MacDonald is a spectacular singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Together, they light up the stage with some unforgettable music.

For more information about the performers and to listen to some of their music, visit: https://wapitimusicfestival.com/category/2018/artist/

Tickets

* Tickets must be purchased online at: https://wapitimusicfestival.com/store/

* Early Bird Passes are sold out. Advance pricing in effect while quantities last.

* Wapiti is FREE for seniors (aged 65 years and older). Tickets are still required.

* It is also FREE for children (12 years and younger). Tickets are still required.

* Teens (between 13 and 18 years) get discounted prices at the time of entrance into the festival.

Regular prices (+ applicable taxes):

• Adult Weekend – $49 $59 $79
• Teen Weekend – $29 $29 $49
• Senior – FREE
• Child – FREE

Times:

• Friday – Gates open at 6 pm – Music starts at 7 pm
• Saturday – Gates open at 10 am – Music starts at 12:45 pm

The event closes at 11 pm both nights.

Note: Pets are not allowed on the festival grounds.

For lots more information about the 2018 Wapiti Music Festival, see the website at: https://wapitimusicfestival.com/