Rifflandia Music Festival

Rifflandia Music Festival is a four-day multi-venue music festival held in Victoria, British Columbia. With no fixed date, the festival has occurred in the month-long span between the last weekend of August and the last weekend of September. Rifflandia was first launched on August 29, 2008.

Rifflandia also includes Artlandia, the War Child Lounge, and publishes an annual magazine. Local brewery and sponsor, Phillips Brewery also produced a Rifflandia beer, Rifflandabrau, sold around the festival’s time.^[1] The festival is staged by a local production-company, Atomique Productions, and is sponsored by local businesses and various members of the media.

History

2016

Line-up

Thursday, September 15

To Be Announced

Friday, September 16

To Be Announced

Saturday, September 17

To Be Announced

Sunday, September 18

To Be Announced

2015

Line-up

Thursday, September 17

Night Stages:

Friday, September 18

Night Stages:

Main Stage:

• The Choir
• The Dears
• Arkells

Rifftop Tent:

• Blonde Redhead
• A Tribe Called Red

Saturday, September 19

Main Stage:

• Young Empires
• Brave Shores
• Plants and Animals
• Big Data
• Tokyo Police Club
• Modest Mouse

Rifftop Tent:

• The Choir
• Dirty Radio
• Sticky Fingers
• The Zolas
• Neon Indian
• Kiesza

Sunday, September 20

Main Stage:

• Vic High R&B Band
• The Walkervilles
• Jesse Roper
• Hollerado
• Joey Bada$$
• Mother Mother

Rifftop Tent:

• The Choir
• Grounders
• Tacocat
• Emancipator
• Julian Casablancas + The Voidz

2014

Line-up

Thursday, September 11

Night Stages:

Friday, September 12

Night Stages:

Main Stage:

• Reuben and the Dark
• We Are Scientists
• Airbourne
• Serena Ryder

Rifftop Tent:

• The Glorious Sons
• Born Ruffians
• Dragonette

Saturday, September 13

Night Stages:

Main Stage:

• Choir Choir Choir
• The Choir
• Head of the Herd
• Le Butcherettes
• The Airborne Toix Event
• The New Pornographers
• Death Cab For Cutie

Rifftop Tent:

• Kytami
• Bum
• Latyrx
• Dum Dum Girls
• Rusko

Sunday, September 14

Main Stage:

• Zeus
• Dear Rouge
• SonReal
• To Be Announced
• Girl Talk

Rifftop Tent:

• Vic High R&B Band
• Lowell
• Lightning Dust
• Keys N Krates
• Half Moon Run

2013

Line-up

Friday, September 13

Night Stages:

Saturday, September 14

Main Stage:

• No
• Mounties
• Classified
• Courtney Love

Side Stage:

• Easy Star All-Stars
• Z-Trip
• Current Swell

2012

For its fifth year, Rifflandia built on the success of the Royal Athletic Park as a flagship venue, while also using night stage venues, including the return of the Market Square stage.^[2] Rifflandia V occurred on September 13–16. Headlining the festival was the Flaming Lips, Sloan, Cake, and Mother Mother.^[3]

Line-up

Thursday, September 13

Night Stages:

Friday, September 14

Main Stage:

• The Xylopholks
• Rich Aucoin
• Band of Skulls
• The Flaming Lips

Side Stage:

• Brasstronaut
• The Aggrolites
• Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Night Stages:

Saturday, September 15

Main Stage:

• The Xylopholks
• Zerbin
• The Jezabels
• Dan Mangan
• Cake

Side Stage:

• Family of the Year
• Bright Light Social Hour
• The Stanfields
• The Dudes
• Sloan

Night Stage:

Sunday, September 16

Main Stage:

• The Xylopholks
• Jinja Safari
• Current Swell
• The Head and the Heart
• Reggie Watts
• Mother Mother

Side Stage:

• The Archers
• Grand Analog
• MC Yogi
• Hey Ocean!
• Everlast

2011

In 2011, the fourth-annual Rifflandia restructured its venues and the festival-going experience by including the Royal Athletic Park as the flagship venue, with eight additional evening venues. The new location allowed for a main stage and side stage, as well as a partnership with local food and drink vendors,^[4] and the introduction of Rifflandia Cinema. Rifflandia IV occurred from September 22–25. The night venues included Alix Goolden Hall, Phillips Brewery, Club 9One9, the Victoria Events Centre, Lucky Bar, Metro Theatre, Wood Hall and Sugar Nightclub. The line up included City and Colour, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids and Mother Mother.^[5]

Line-up

Thursday, September 22

Night Stages:

Friday, September 23

Main Stage:

• Dinosaur Bones
• The Cave Singers
• Ra Ra Riot
• Mother Mother
• Broken Social Scene

Side Stage:

• Randy Ponzio
• Mike Edel
• Jon Middleton
• The Besnard Lakes
• Jakarta

Night Stages:

Saturday, September 24

Main Stage:

• Vince Vaccaro
• Jets Ovehead
• Awolnation
• Cold War Kids
• City and Colour

Side Stage:

• Sun Hawk
• Mindil Beach Markets
• Library Voices
• Hollerado
• Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS)

Night Stages:

Sunday, September 25

Main Stage:

• Kuba Oms and the Velvet Revolution
• Gomez
• Blackalicious
• Daniel Wesley
• De La Soul

Side Stage:

• The Scale Breakers
• Greenlaw
• Lance Herbstrong
• The Knocks
• Felix Cartal

2010

The third Rifflandia Festival featured a record 165 artists over four days at 11 festival stages with approximately 3,500 attendees from September 23–26. Rifflandia III also introduced “Win!landia,” a treasure hunt city-wide across Victoria, and Artlandia, an art showing in partnership with White Hot Magazine.^[6]

Line-up

Thursday, September 23

Friday, September 24

Saturday, September 25

Sunday, September 26

2009

Rifflandia II grew with 2,500 people in attendance, with over 80 artists and more venues. The Rifflandia Magazine was first published for Rifflandia II.^[7] The festival was held from September 24–27. The venues included Sugar Nightclub, Element Nightclub, Alix Goolden Hall, Metro Theatre, Market Square, the University of Victoria’s Vertigo, Lucky Bar, and the Strathcona Rooftop.

Line-up

Thursday, September 24

Friday, September 25

Saturday, August 26

Sunday, September 27

• Mother Mother
• Brendan Canning(DJ Set)
• k-os (DJ Set)

2008

The inaugural Rifflandia started as a three-day festival from August 29–31, with seven stages, 65 artists and approximately 1,500 people in attendance.^[8] The venues were organized in a showcase style ^[9] and included Alix Goolden Hall, Element Nightclub, Logan’s Pub, Lucky Bar, McPherson Playhouse, Royal Theatre, Smith’s Pub, Sugar Nightclub and the Strathcona Rooftop.

Line-up

Friday, August 29

Saturday, August 30

Sunday, August 31

Artlandia

Artlandia is the art component with Rifflandia. It was launched in 2010 with Rifflandia III in partnership with White Hot Magazine, featuring a variety of artists in different galleries near and during the time of the festival. For 2012, Artlandia included the Live!Stock poster show and Headspace.^[10]

War Child Lounge

The War Child Lounge was first launched during Rifflandia III in 2010. It features intimate acoustic performances from artists performing that year. All donations from the sets go directly to War Child Canada. Past performers include Hey Rosetta!, USS, Mother Mother, Jets Overhead and Melissa Auf der Maur ^[11] In 2012, War Child Lounge featured Luluc, Current Swell, Rich Aucoin, Family of the Year, Hey Ocean!, Mother Mother and Frazey Ford.^[12]

Rifflandia Magazine

The first edition of the Rifflandia Magazine was published for the 2009 festival. It is a free publication published annually since 2009 that features profiles on the artists playing at Rifflandia, a festival schedule and map. It also includes details on other Rifflandia events, like Win!landia, Artlandia, War Child Lounge, and Wristband Connect. In 2012, the Magazine also included a Rifflandia passport and fortuneteller.^[13]

External links

• Official website

Press

• 2011 Rifflandia Festival Highlights at Exclaim!
• Rifflandia Festival Preview in 2012 at Pitchfork Media
• Rifflandia Festival Preview in 2011 at Pitchfork Media
• Rifflandia Festival Preview in 2010 at Pitchfork Media
• Rifflandia Review in 2010 at CBC Radio 3
• Rifflandia's Food Vendors at Globe and Mail

References