The extended program slated for Day 3 at Rifflandia presented an exercise is aural endurance for even the most rabid live music superfan. With performances stretching from 11:00 am at the MusiCounts TD Lounge at The Atrium through to 9:00 pm at Royal Athletic Park, and long into the night at Electric Avenue and other venues around town, Saturday at Riff left us battle-tested.
Fighting for honour (and street cred), Team Rocktog was back in action early on to capture performances from Jon & Sierra, Youngblood, Hannah Georgas, and WiL at the MusiCounts TD Lounge. Proceeds from these bonus sets on both Saturday and Sunday go to the MusiCounts Band Aid Program, which provides instruments and scholarships to support and grow school music programs.
And of course we were on hand for another highly eclectic array of artists at the park, including the Fleetwood-Mac-inspired British DJ duo Fleetmac Wood, a killer main stage performance from Hannah Georgas, and a (secret/surprise) set from local favourites Towers and Trees (from an undisclosed location somewhere in the Rifflandia expanded universe). Other highlights included a frenetic onslaught from New York subway trio Too Many Zooz, as well as memorable performances from the fantastic Dear Rouge, accomplished DJ crew and Rifflandia veterans A Tribe Called Red, and an upbeat, highly danceable headlining set from British electronic artist Simon Green, better known as Bonobo, who is featuring a live ensemble while touring in support of his new album Migration.
Dispatches from the night stages: we caught up with the effervescent Rykka at the Capital Ballroom, checked in at Capital Iron for a scorching performance from “violinistextremist” Kytami, peeped a DJ set from Felix Martin of Hot Chip at Phillips Backyard, and braved the crowd at Lucky Bar for local hip hop crew Illvis Freshly.
