World Music & Arts Festival

When Leonard Cohen sang the phrase “the tower of song”, it was a metaphor for the inspiration that flows between songwriters, each toiling away on their own, but connected by their shared craft. Moved by this concept, celebrated BC singer-songwriters Oliver Swain and Glenna Garramone collaborated to produce a project that is both a dialogue through song and a tribute to the legendary songwriter. Re-imagining both rare and classic works of Cohen, the duo has crafted a sound that resonates with both longtime Cohen fans and a younger audience.

Flavia Nascimento & Tio Chorinho is an epic pairing of two of Canada’s top Brazilian roots music acts. Hailing from the rich musical wellsprings of Bahia in northeastern Brazil, Flávia is a prolific performer at major festivals, concert halls, and street parties everywhere, wowing audiences with her soulful voice and boisterous presence. Harrison Festival fans may remember her from her last visit here in 2016. Tio Chorinho is Canada’s first ensemble dedicated to choro, the “New Orleans Jazz of Brazil.” Fashioning their own distinctive approach to Brazil’s seminal music, listeners are charmed and thrilled by the group’s virtuosity, dynamics and unique repertoire. Together with Flavia they explore Brazil’s original soul music along with their own original tunes.

Maryna Krut, known widely in her home country as KRUTЬ, is a Ukrainian singer and bandura player. A participant in TV projects X-Factor and The Voice of Ukraine, and a finalist in the national selection for Eurovision 2020, Maryna possesses a stunning voice in combination with the 64 string Ukrainian folk instrument, the bandura. KRUTЬ showcases Ukrainian music by actively touring the world, with acclaimed performances at home and at international festivals.

Making Movies is a Latin Grammy-nominated band whose music focuses on the rhythms of Latin America— African-derived styles like rumba, mambo, merengue, and cumbia —combined with distorted guitars and atmospheric synths. They incorporate both English and Spanish lyrics into their songs, creating a unique and culturally diverse sound. Making Movies has toured with the likes of Enjambre, Rubén Blades, Maldita Vecindad, Los Lobos, Hurray For the Riff Raff, Bomba Estereo, Flor De Toloache, and many more. In 2024, the band is releasing their first live album and concert film, recorded at the historic Folly Theater in Kansas City.

At once elemental and unearthly, Jay Gilday’s voice is a raw and gorgeous siren of the Canadian north, fusing hymnal anguish with driving rhythm and blues. And he is about to inscribe a special chapter in Canadian music history.

As a songwriter, Jay threads together the colours of his own ancestral traditions: Dene spirituals, Irish ballads, Canadian folk and rock. He was raised in a family of accomplished musicians on the tundra of Yellowknife, where his music electrifies its never-ending days and nights.

Whether on the main stage of a summer festival or headlining a shadowy cabaret, Jay captivates. He is equally arresting as a solo performer, crooning over acoustic guitar and piano, as the front-man of an eight-piece rock band, baiting dance floors with infectious hooks and boundless energy.