Starting on July 3rd, Eventide Music Series is back for its 11th year of bringing free, genre-diverse music to downtown Victoria’s Centennial Square!
Eventide means the latter part of the day—which is a well-suited title for this concert series Victorians look forward to every year because they run from 6 p.m. to around 10 p.m. every Wednesday, all summer long.
The series was started as a collaboration with CFUV, UVic’s campus community radio station and the City of Victoria. More recently, Victoria Beer Society has come onboard as a partner as well and is always there serving beverages to attendees so that CFUV can focus solely on the music.
According to Troy Lemberg, CFUV’s Music Director, Eventide is meant to give a large, prominent outdoor stage to bands and artists who may not have the opportunity to play other festivals.
Lemberg says that there are certain City-run events that are genre specific or will feature bands that fit within certain parameters.
“We wanted to provide opportunities for local bands and also genres that might not normally have that kind of platform for just the general public to see,” he explained.
Each separate Eventide event features bands who are hand-selected by different show promoters from throughout the city, all of whom specialize in different types of music.
Some book heavy metal shows, while others book DJs and dance events. Eventide has both of those things and everything in-between.
This year, the promoters and the bands playing Eventide are:
- July 3rd – NDN Cowboi presents: Aladean Kheroufi, Layten Kramer and Posh Coat
- July 10th – Near Dark presents: Fred Cracklin, CSTMR, city & i.o and cooplore
- July 17th – Resonance Collective presents: Arch Nemesis, Enereph, Night Terra, CBRD and Tucy
- July 24th – Gigtoria presents: Iron Lung, Bootlicker, Woolworm and Noose Sweat
- July 31st – Good Party & Hot Local Singles In Your Playlist presents: Black Ends, Gadfly, Dastard and Bong Witch
- August 7th – Cavity Curiosity Shop presents: Petrification, Hedonist, Torrefy, Liminal Shroud and Heliophage
- August 14th – Fifty Fifty Arts Collective presents: Devours, Future Star, KMVP and EVIL!
- August 21st – CFUV presents: Immaculate Machine (reunion set and Kathryn Calder’s former band), Teenage Art Scene and Luna Land (one headliner is still TBA)
To find out more about the bands and acts playing Eventide Music Series this year, check out their bios online.
See also:
- New Music Monday: fivefootnine release first single as they break out into Victoria scene
- New Music Monday: Charis Tazumi embraces connection in debut album ‘In Subtle Ways’
- New Music Monday: Slugger embodies slacker-rock on ‘Chumps & Suckers’ EP
Lemberg says he is particularly excited to see Woolworm play, as they have become one of his favourite bands through the years, as well as Immaculate Machine.
He explained that Immaculate Machine were a staple of the all-ages scene, with one member, Kathryn Calder going on to join the New Pornographers who were one of Canada’s biggest indie bands through the early 2000s.
Lemberg noted that Victoria’s Eventide Music Series sets itself apart from others by allowing any and all community members to join in the fun and listen to music; adding that where others put up barriers to keep members of the unhoused community and minors out, Eventide welcomes them.
(More below)
Eventide Music Series
- Where: Centennial Square, downtown Victoria
- When: Every Wednesday from July 3rd to August 21st
- Admission: Free to all!
