After a four year hiatus, Rifflandia came back stronger than ever!
Over 100 performers came together to rock nine stages around Royal Athletic Park, dubbed ‘The Park’, and Phillips backyard area, aka ‘Electric Avenue’.
From country to comedy, punk rock and electronic, Rifflandia 2022 really brought a little bit of everything to cap off an amazing summer of festivals, music and debauchery.
Here’s some of our highlights!
Day one of Rifflandia was all about starting off the festival with some good vibes and some better bass.
The dome was the spot to be if you wanted to get a little sweaty. Here’s Tor DJing to some floppy dancers.
Reve is from Montreal and she brought with her some fantastic dancers and a DJ with quite the mask.
Dillon Francis headlined the first night at Riff’s Electric Avenue.
Day two of Rifflandia saw The Park get some action.
Bran Van 3000 brought all the good vibes to the main stage.
Then Bikini Kill played their first Canadian show ever since the last time even they tried to play a show here in 1991.
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals brought ended the day portion of Riff at The Park in a very chill way.
Then came the Electric Avenue day two party.
Most notably, this was the evening Shaq, aka DJ Diesel took the stage. It was the only night that ended up being fully sold out, and it was pretty clear who everyone was there to see.
Unfortunately the Victoria Buzz crew could not make it into Shaq’s mosh pit to snap some pictures because we almost got trampled in our attempt to do so. It sounded insane though.
We did share a VicPD post of officers chillin’ with the one and only!
For those who were too anxious or claustrophobic to get in his mosh pit, we were lucky to have The Jins to give us some good ol’ fashioned punk rock!
Day three of Rifflandia brought the nostalgia for 90s hip-hop fans and so much more dancing.
It wouldn’t be a Cypress Hill show without a solid haze of marijuana smoke.
Oh yea, The Park also had a halfpipe that kids and adults alike shared and shredded.
Ibibio Sound Machine was… just… wow.
Day four of Rifflandia, the finale. We really got a special sendoff until next year.
The vibes were absolutely immaculate.
Here’s bbno$ pre-wardrobe malfunction. He ripped a big ol’ hole in his crotch. Thankfully, he was wearing underwear which he promptly stripped down to. He even threw his socks into the crowd before the end of his set.
Lauv made us dance and cry all in his 45-minute show.
And finally, the woman we all went to see. The one and only Lorde.
If you missed the boat on this Rifflandia, take it from a satisfied first customer, make sure Riff 2023 super passes are on your Christmas/birthday/begging your parents for lists.
