JunoFest Vancouver @ Various Venues -- March 28-29, 2025
The JUNO Awards returned to Vancouver this year, and that means all week there have been celebrations of Canadian music, leading up to tonight’s big award show. But even more importantly, it means JUNOfest took place! Over the course of two days, hundreds of bands from all across the country piled into multiple venues around the city. I knew there was no chance of seeing everyone I wanted to — in the end I saw about half — but I did luck out when five of those bands were playing the same venue on the same night!
So on Friday night I made my way down to Red Gate where the night kicked off with Babe Corner. Their dreamy vocals and hazy guitars filled the room, from the incredibly catchy “Summer Slaughter” to the chill “Bianca”. After a pair of brand new songs “I'm Like U” and “Feels Like” — released earlier this month — they wrapped up the all-too-short set with the perpetually infectious “Cigarette”.
Following them was Tariq, who I haven’t seen perform live in some time; especially not since his sound changed from singer/songwriter to darker & heavier. Backed by some familiar faces (Robert Chursinoff, Peter Carruthers, and Adam Nanji) he played songs off his latest EP, Scroll Before You Sleep, like the slow-burn of “The Ballad of You and Me” and “Architect's Studio”, with Tariq strutting around the stage. After the new wave vibes of “Migration Song”, the set came to a close with a tempestuous finish for “Hail Storm”.
Next up was the performer I was most looking forward to over the weekend, as I had yet to see Toronto’s Housewife perform live. Brighid Fry took the stage alone for a solo set with a borrowed guitar (which broke earlier in the day, but luckily it was Kylie V to the rescue lending theirs). Fry’s indie-pop songs were no less catchy stripped down, as they launched into “Life Of The Party” off their new EP, Girl Of The Hour. Their voice rang through the room on “Fuck Around Phase” and they poured their heart out with “I Lied”. Even alone on stage, Fry was incredibly captivating, as they wrapped up the set with the “Matilda”, the most upbeat song you’ll hear about a stolen bike.
Immediately after Housewife finished, I ran down the street to the Anza Club to see Peter Dreams backed by MOONRIIVR. Sadly, I missed the first song or two, getting there as the July Talk singer launched in to “Keep Me Free” from his debut solo album. Throughout the set, Peter barely stood still, emoting on stage, and even hopping off to minge with the crowd up front, pleading at them to “Come Save Me”. His distinctive growl boomed throughout the room on “Forget Yer Name”, and he capped off the the beautiful song “Vigilant”, made even more heartwarming by his introduction.
Then it was back to Red Gate as Miesha and the Spanks hit the stage. Miesha Louie and drummer Sean Hamilton were clad in matching leopard print as they rocked out, starting the set off with “Lost Boys” and barely taking the foot off the gas. The duo blasted through songs that reverberated through your chest, like the summer jam “I Can’t Wait” and the vitriolic “So Mad”. After the raw “First Love, First Blood”, they ended with “Heart Is On Fire”, Sean bolting off stage with a cymbal stand, crashing it through the crowd before giving it to a friend & hopping back on the kit.
And finally, my Friday night ended with Skye Wallace, who kept up the energy with “There Is a Wall” — especially impressive for the midnight start time. Skye blasted through songs off their latest, The Act of Living, including the gritty “Tough Kid”, my fave from the album, “Momentum”, and their powerful voice asking “What Is Real?” Skye snuck a new song into the set called “Iced Tea” with a nice groove, and after a throwback to the raucous “Mean Song 2”, the band somehow cranked it up to another level for the closer, “Coal In Your Window”.
Unfortunately, I had the opposite luck on Saturday night, with almost everyone I wanted to see playing at the same time, so some hard decisions had to be made.
The first stop of the evening was the Hollywood Theatre, arriving just in time for ZADA. With her soulful, R&B inspired groove, ZADA stalked across the stage getting everyone moving with songs that ranged from the gentle “Sweet Things In Life” to the more upbeat “Snakes and Ladders”. Other standouts of the set were the simmering “Highways and Borders” and the final song of the set “Walls”.
Soon after, Hey Ocean! hit the stage, which was adorned with balloons, kicking off the set with “If I Were A Ship” and celebrating their 20 years as a band. From songs off their most recent album like “Sleepwalker” all the way back to “Liar”, they hit most of their catalogue, even slipping in a medley of songs off their breakthrough album It’s Easier To Be Somebody Else; including “A Song About California”, “Fish”, “Too Soon” and others. After one of my faves, “Jolene” they sped to the end (thanks to the show’s curfew) getting everyone to move with “Make a New Dance Up” and “Big Blue Wave”, and ending with a sweet singalong to an old favourite, “Alleyways”.
From there I raced across the city to the Cobalt, arriving just as Jo Passed took the stage. Their grungy, garage rock was a perfect fit for the venue, as the guitars shrieked and drums clattered, though a few times Jo’s voice seemed a little lost in the mix. The energy off the set ebbed and flowed nicely, as Jo only paused a couple times to thank everyone and joke between songs, before they finished with the latest single released earlier this year, “Weekend” building to a explosive end.
After them was Vancouver (by way of Argentina and Britain) band Bloom Effect. Their dreamy, shoegaze set washed over the crowd, as Jula Lafit sang in Spanish and English (but like Jo, occasionally the vocals were a bit low). I didn’t really know much about the band prior to the set; I had heard one of their singles last year & liked it, so when I saw they were on after Jo Passed, decided to stick around to check them out live. I enjoyed what I heard and will definitely have to check out their new EP, portents.
And with that, JUNOfest was done for me this year. After seeing 10 bands across four venues over two nights, I couldn’t have asked for a better celebration of Canadian music.
