Every year, I stumble upon the same conversation about how there’s no winter festivals in Victoria. It’s getting tiresome, especially since Victoria does have a winter festival and an amazing one at that. Of course, I’m talking about Garden City Grooves, which took place from March 19 – 21, 2026 at James Bay’s White Eagle Polish Hall. This festival, which is operated by the Victoria Ska & Reggae Society, has been going strong for quite a few years now and every year, their lineups seem to outdo the year prior. For example, when we found out that Shabazz Palaces would be performing at the festival’s grand finale, we knew immediately that we had to check it out. Rounding out the grand finale lineup was Sargeant X Comrade and Trippycals. With the majority of Victoria festivals taking place between June to September, this felt like a great opportunity to mentally prepare for what is to come festival wise. With our gear in hand, we were ready to check out this year’s Garden City Grooves.
The night started out with Trippycals. With members from Mexico and Colombia, this Victoria based group has been making some waves in the scene. Their sound? Latin grooves meet hip-hop, all while having the west coast feeling. Truly a recipe for success and they’ve built quite the following because of it. Their set brought the party, which isn’t the easiest thing to do. Nevertheless, they did it in style and the grooves didn’t stop until the very end. If you didn’t catch this set during Garden City Grooves, not all is lost. Trippycals are set to perform during the Victoria Ska & Reggae Festival this June. Their music is worth your time, just be sure to bring comfortable shoes because you will be moving the entire time.
Next, Calgary’s Sargeant X Comrade took to the stage to provide the crowd with some sweet award-winning sounds. Since Yolanda Sargeant and Comrade joined forces, the two have received multiple Western Canadian Music Awards, multiple Calgary Music Awards, and even a Polaris Prize Long List placement in 2021. Blending Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hip-hop and so much more to create their Lo-fi Soul genre, there is a little something for everyone during their sets. As a little surprise during this performance, their band also included local favourite, Caleb Hart on Djembe. With this addition, the Calgary + Victoria connection was in full effect, and you could tell the crowd was loving it. For a first time seeing them, I was impressed and I would catch them again if I saw their name on a poster.
It’s been nine years since Ishmael Butler’s side project, Shabazz Palaces, made their way from Seattle to perform in Victoria. That’s a long time, especially for a project as talented as this one. Thankfully, their return was everything we hoped for, and more. There were a lot of different aspects of this set to catch. From the clothing coordination of all the band members to the synth instrumentation, Shabazz Palaces were, and I’m not kidding, the coolest cats in the room and probably Victoria as a whole. Each song opening had an atmospheric interlude before moving into a bass heavy beat. Butler’s rhymes mixed with the cosmic beats being played was a mesmerizing experience. The reception from the crowd was what you’d expect; bopping of heads is self-explanatory. Overall, it was a beautiful sight and a perfect way to complete the festival. After the performance, we can’t help but wonder when we will see Shabazz Palaces next, but I think I speak for everyone in hopes that it won’t take another nine years for their return.
With another festival wrapped up, all attention is set towards this summer’s festival season. This includes the previously mentioned Victoria Ska & Reggae Festival, which will be taking place on June 24 – 28th, 2026. Going from their winter festival to their summer festival, the Victoria Ska & Reggae Society is showing no signs of slowing down. This year’s festival looks to be stellar one and it features some artists that performed during GCG. As for Garden City Grooves, it is slated to return for March 2027. With it’s success this year, hopefully those lack of winter festival conversations begin to cease.
