Punjabi Folk Dance Academy

Saturday • 3:10 pm – 3:30 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

PUNJABI FOLK DANCE ACADEMY EDMONTON The most popular and well established folk dance academy and the creation of Mr. Gursewak Singh Sidhu was created to promote and preserve the punjabi culture and dance. He is a 2 time gold medalist in the event of Individual folk dance Competition of World Level, organized by Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Llangollen, Wales U.K. in July 2004 & July 2006.Gursewak Singh Sidhu earned the privilege to judge the top bhangra competitions in America, Canada and India like Jashan Bhangra in 2011 and 2012, and Motor City Bhangra in 2015 and 2016. Gursewak Sidhu is working in this field from last 24 years.

Website: pfdaedmonton.ca
Instagram: @pfda.yeg
Facebook: Gursewak Singh Sidhu

Andrea Pinna

Saturday • 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)
Saturday • 2:45 pm – 3:00 pm | Paraiso Balcony (9136 – 118 Ave)

Born in Cagliari, Italy in 1969, Andrea immigrated to Canada in 2014 as a foreign worker and hopes to remain in Canada as a permanent resident.

His artistic singing career as a tenor started later in life, at 33, in a tourist village on Sardinia Island. For him, the experience of singing in public was surprising and very emotional. As a result of this sudden success, Andrea began to study classical lyric singing, supported by professional coaches who helped him and introduced him to professional classical singers. Andrea has exhibited in many important Italian music centers like Milan, Bologna Palermo and his native Cagliari.

In 2012, Andrea produced a CD of Italian popular arias and Neapolitan songs with much success and joined a musical group exhibiting in many Italian theatres.

In Edmonton, Andrea continues to improve his musical talent and working to build a better future for him and his family here in Canada.

Bobbi-Jo Starr

Saturday • 4:00 pm – 4:15 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)
Saturday • 5:00 pm – 5:45 pm | The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse (9351 118 Ave)
Sunday • 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm | Takwakin Village (91 St & 118 Ave)

Bobbi-Jo Starr is an Indigenous Singer-songwriter from Peerless Trout First Nation. Bobbi-Jo lives in Edmonton, and is working on her first Album. "Music is so important to me in my recovery. I express all my emotions, thoughts and energy with all those around me, to raise awareness about importance of protecting water and what truly matters in life. I feel like I finally stepped into my power, and I'm definitely ready gonna use it to inspire change." In 2023, Bobbi-Jo was selected to attend a three week Indigenous Singer Songwriter Residency at the Centre for the Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alta and plans to record her album with producer/engineer and folk artist, Cynthia Hamar.

Website: bobbijostarr.com
Facebook: Bobbi-Jo Starr
YouTube: @Bobbi-JoStarr
Instagram: @bobbi.jo.starr

Pure Octane

Saturday • 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Pure Octane is a high-energy Edmonton-based group blending jazz, fusion, and Japanese pop culture into something that feels fresh and genuinely community-driven. Their performances cross genre boundaries and bring different scenes together, creating live shows that feel both captivating and rejuvenating. Since 2022, Pure Octane has been steadily building momentum in Edmonton’s music scene. Some of their highlights include three consecutive years performing on Animethon’s mainstage, a packed house opening for Adam Neely’s Sungazer, and a performance at Metro Cinema accompanying a Studio Ghibli screening. They’ve also sold out shows at Yardbird Suite, performed at multiple live video game tournament events where they adapt soundtracks in real time to match gameplay, and hosted a 2024 fundraiser at 99ten where they raised $1,000 for the Stollery Children’s Hospital. Their repertoire pulls from across Japanese pop culture, including anime, video games, J-pop, and artists like Casiopea. As an emerging band, Pure Octane is focused on building a space where people feel welcome to be themselves. Their audiences span generations, musical backgrounds, and cultures, and that sense of community is at the core of everything they do.

Instagram: @pureoctaneband

Riwo

Saturday • 5:15 pm – 6:15 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Nigerian-born singer/songwriter, Riwo Egor specializes in vocal composition and arranging. As the lead vocalist of Melafrique, an Edmonton-based, Afro-fusion band, she has gained recognition throughout the province. Since moving to Canada in 2015, Riwo has collaborated with Titilope Sonuga, Callie Day, Arlo Maverick, K-riz, The Melisizwe Brothers, and more. With a passion for sharing her own stories, she delves into neo-soul, R&B, and Afro-jazz genres, curating her own distinct voice with each record released. Using music as the catalyst for new healing journeys, Riwo facilitates an atmosphere of connectivity, life, and a sense of homecoming for her audience. Reaching thousands of streams within the first three weeks of release, her 2022 single “Don’t Let Go” is the first of a set of singles designed to firmly establish Riwo within the Canadian Music Industry. Her highly anticipated debut album, "Grown Child", was released in January 2024 and can be found on all streaming platforms.

Spotify: Riwo
Facebook: The Riwo Egor
Instagram: @riwoegor
TikTok: @riwoegor
X: @merlaswizz
YouTube: Riwo Egor Music

Sympa César

Saturday • 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)
Sunday • Song Lab: 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm | Nightbird Alley (9321 - 118 Ave)

My name is Sympa César and I am a young musician-in-grass folk / rock Franco-Albertan. Born and raised in Edmonton by a multi-lingual family, I learned to speak French and was enrolled in a francophone school by my mother. I lived all my life with the language and immersed myself in the flourishing francophone community in Edmonton. I have always been musical since my mother decided to put me in music and piano lessons since I was very young. Then I learned to play a range of different instruments, my favorite being the guitar, and I learned to perfect my singing voice. I participated in a myriad of different events and by doing these events, I realized that I want to become a music teacher, so that I can pass not only my knowledge of art, but also my love for her to a new generation of musicians.

My music is predominantly French, but I recently started writing songs in English too. I hope to release an album by the end of the year called ""Beyond my dreams"". I realize that I have a lot to learn about being an artist and writing music, but I'd like you to stay and come on this trip with me, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. here the end of the year called ""Beyond my dreams"". I realize that I have a lot to learn about being an artist and writing music, but I'd like you to stay and come on this trip with me, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. here the end of the year called ""Beyond my dreams"". I realize that I have a lot to learn about being an artist and writing music, but I'd like you to stay and come on this trip with me, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Facebook: Sympa Cesar Music
Instagram: @sympacesarmusique
TikTok: @sympacesarmusic
Website: sympacesar.com

Lakota Tootoosis

Saturday • 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Takwakin Village (91 Street & 118 Ave in the Grassy Space)
Saturday • 7:30 pm – 7:45 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Lakota Tootoosis is plains Cree from the Poundmaker Cree nation. Lakota has been hoop dancing for over ten years, he’s performed in Taiwan, Alaska and travels extensively throughout North America entertaining audiences at various venues. The hoop dance is a formation storytelling dance, you will see formations like the butterfly, eagle and the world to name a few. You can use your imagination to see a variety of images transform throughout his performance.

Secondhand Dreamcar

Saturday • 7:45 pm – 8:45 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Secondhand Dreamcar is a 9-piece soul and roots band fronted by Canadian Folk Music Award-nominee Dana Wylie and also featuring notable producer Harry Gregg on bass, Jamie Cooper (Up and Over Trio, Obsessions Octet) on drums, Kyle Mosiuk (The Hello Darlins) and Chad Murphy (Dallas Smith) on guitar, Rooster Davis on organ, plus a horn section made up of some of Canada's best – Dave Babcock on sax, Bob Tildesley on trumpet, and Peter Filice on trombone. This group of Alberta heavies is crafting a distinct, funky, and lyrically driven sound that journalist and programmer Peter North has deemed the most exciting thing to come out of Edmonton since KD Lang and The Reclines. The band had its serendipitous seminal moment when Wylie, Gregg, and Cooper were asked to form a house band for a pro jam at Edmonton venue SOHO. They were not a unit before that––Wylie and Cooper had never even shared a stage before––but within six months of playing together every week the chemistry was undeniable. Getting serious as a band was more of a realization than a decision, and the band line-up fleshed itself out just as organically. Secondhand Dreamcar began a residency at the historic Blues on Whyte club in September 2023, which by the end of the year had garnered them a remarkably sizable following and a glowing reputation, especially considering they had yet to release any music. The band recorded their debut album Answer the Call at Gregg’s studio Riverdale Recorders in November 2023, and it is set for release on October 11th, 2024.

While Secondhand Dreamcar is brand new, its members are all seasoned pros, and have collectively released or been featured on hundreds of albums, and have won and been nominated for dozens of awards. And like the serendipity that brought them together, their music has that special kind of magic that can no more be explained than denied.

Instagram: @secondhanddreamcar
Facebook: Secondhand Dreamcar
TikTok: @secondhanddreamcar
Youtube: @secondhanddreamcar
Spotify: Secondhand Dreamcar