By Will McGuirk

Oh its been a time of it but happy to hear River & Sky festival in Fisher’s Paradise, Field, ON., is up and running and the good folks at R&S will do it all once again Thursday, July 21 through to Sunday July 24, 2022. This has been a festival I’ve packed up the car and drove the several hours north, with joy and tunes, to settle in for an amazing weekend of boreal loveliness. I’ve done so for a decade or so and I would encourage all and anyone to take the trip.

Set along a bow of the Sturgeon River, among the pines and with a beach! R&S has hosted bands such the Sadies, Altin Gun, Mdou Moctor, Antibalas, - I’ve probably sold a dozen or so of Moctor’s record ‘Afrique Victime’ at Kops Oshawa, where I manage, but R&S had him a couple of years back. It speaks to the organizers uncanny knack of nabbing up and coming acts pretty well before most people have even heard of them. So if some of the names on the bill are unfamiliar, don’t let that be a deterrent - take on the adventure of trying the new; with R&S, I’m guaranteed you will not be disappointed. There have been of course familiar names such as Chad VanGaalen, Daniel Romano, Metz, and Pink Mountaintops, among them who have performed under the sky and down by the river.

This year, after the two year hiatus, the fest welcomes back Pink Mountaintops, along with electronica artist Austra, and alt-rockers Dilly Dally. Also on the line-up OMBIIGIZI, Wine Lips, Casper Skulls, and psych-rockers Frankie and the Witch Fingers. Lots of the area’s local acts are also in on the act so yeah, settle in for a real taste of what the scene north of the Great Lakes has to offer. Its always something special.