By Shane Bodie
Nestled on the banks of Lazy River on Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley, the stage was set for Rock of the Woods, bringing art, culture and awareness, plus a fantastic variety of talent, to a very appreciative group of music lovers camping for the weekend. And much like the festival location, the musical lineup was unique and inspiring, framed by a natural amphitheatre on the banks of the the river. The musicians marvelled at the valley’s beauty as much as the audience did.
Brent Amaker and the Rodeo (photo: Shane Bodie)
Friday night’s performances kicked off around 5 pm with Alex Davies, followed by Downtown Mischief, a large ensemble that brought great energy to the crowd. Vancouver Island’s own Band of Rascals took over with a soulful, rocking set list. Then we got countrified by Seattle’s Brent Amaker and the Rodeo, perfectly suited up in all black western gear. A rousing blues set by The Roper Show followed.
By the time Victoria musician Jesse Manason took to his drums the crowd was pumped and the beer gardens were full. Fly Moon Royalty and their fantastic, swinging R&B sounds got the crowd moving and were well suited to get everyone hyped for the festival headliner, southern rapper Bubba Sparxxx. With lots of new music to promote, Sparxxx delivered a smoking hot mix of his country-tinged hip-hop. All hands were in the air and many booties were rocking everywhere. Friday night closed with fantastic performances by Naked DJs and festival host Mullet Man.
The River and the Road (photo: Shane Bodie)
Lots of campers were wide awake at 7 am Saturday morning when other festival-goers started blasting music. Nobody seemed to mind and everyone geared up for a swim in the river before the day’s musical lineup began taking the stage at noon. Victoria’s A.Wood warmed up the crowd with an exciting DJ set, followed by Dave Cormier, Meat Draw and Rolla Olak, representing fine west coast music. Vancouver’s The River and the Road brought everyone to their feet with a great mix of country and folk-inspired music.
Once the sun had set behind the trees, providing much-needed shade to overheated festival goers, Vince Vaccaro delivered a stripped down, long acoustic set. His rich vocals and moody songs soared through the Cowichan Valley, but by the end of his set the audience was itching to get their feet moving and performances were broken up by fantastic DJs spinning in the beer garden.
DJ A Land (photo: Shane Bodie)
The Pack A.D., from Vancouver, performed a rocking set, with a remarkably rich sound created by only drums and guitar. But it was after their performance when the evening’s sounds took on a more electronic dance vibe, with great performances by Canadian duo Humans, and a killer set by Washington’s Robert Delong, fusing alt-rock and electronica, which the crowd loved. Saturday night closed off with excellent performances by Germany Germany, and Nanaimo’s Top Men, whose show was as exciting visually as it was sonically.
Sunday was the final day of Rock of the Woods and it brought more notable and eclectic talent in the form of Dougal Bain, Dope Soda, Redwood Green, Bonehoof, Coastal Giant, San Felix, Winston Wolf, Alex Davies, and Highnoon to Midnight.
Rock of the Woods connected local and international artists and music fans to Cowichan Valley’s lush, remote beauty. The event was well staffed and amenities were made accessible to everyone, with great local vendors providing food and beverage. The diverse musical acts camped alongside their fans, which made the whole experience feel very down to earth. And although it’s not a huge, opus music festival, Rock of the Woods delivered: great music, gorgeous location and fantastic people to connect with.
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