River and Sky 2022: OMBIIGIZI, Austra, Dilly Dally, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, plus more more more!

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.

2019 River & Sky line-up announced; U.S. Girls. Fucked Up, Hollerado headlining

By Will McGuirk

River & Sky is not your average woodsy get-together. Nope the music/camping festival held at Fishers’ Paradise, Field, ON, July 18 to 21 2019, is an adventure trek into music, an alt-hike to get higher, a wilderness sleep-over with morning saunas, its glam-rock glamping, Camp Do The Right Thing, its feed and be fed, live and let thrive, and this year the soundtrack to your enviro-sustaining outing is just as progressive as the festival, with prog-punkers Fucked Up, the prog-discotech of U.S. Girls, the prog-pop of the Fast Romantics - get the picture, then get the tickets.

The R&S is one of the best, its enlightening and northern and cosmic, and after ten years, just got wonderfully weird, bringing in a broad list of bands reaching deep into their own community and as far out into the world as is possible for a small indie self-made north Ontario festival to go. And it seems such as thing can go far out.

In a press release director Peter Zwarich says celebrating inclusivity and acceptance is the goal and to that end world music is coming to the banks of the Sturgeon River.

“ We’re excited to feature Altin Gün, an Amsterdam-based band playing Turkish folk with a 1970s psychedelic-funk twist, Mdou Moctor, and his Tuareg band from Niger, who has been called the ‘Hendrix of the Sahara,’ the Austin duo Little Mazarn, with ethereal banjo and vocals by Lindsey Verrill, and New York City’s Gladys Lazer, the project of Tel Aviv-born drummer Gal Lazer,” he says. “We want everyone to soak in some nature and summertime vibes and feel at home at R&S.”

Regionally-related acts include Tommy & the Commies, Dirty Princes, Oli Palkovits, Slow Eaters, all from Sudbury, our pal Annie Sumi with ties to North Bay, and Lisa Marie Naponse of Atikameksheng Anishinawbek.

For a small festival with a sustainability goal, travelling by car and parking, are issues to be dealt with. To that end organisers have partnered with Temagami Outfitting Company to offer packaged canoe trips to Fishers’ Paradise.  Pine Falls Lodge will be the starting point for the Murray Creek Route.

What better way to arrive to a party in the North than in Voyageur style.

Here’s the details y’all need to know.

5-Day Advance Pass:
Get there a full day ahead of the festival’s official start: Arrive July 17 and stay until end of day July 21. $230 (includes HST and processing fees)

4-Day Advance Passes:
Arrive July 18 and stay until July 21. $210 (includes HST and processing fees)

3-Day Advance Passes:
Arrive July 19 and stay until the evening, July 21. $160 (includes HST and processing fees).

Full Day Passes (advance): Friday $75, Saturday $75, Sunday $30. Night Passes (advance): $55 (Thursday; Friday; Saturday)

Children 16 years and younger with their families get in for free.Dogs welcome on leashes. Must be spayed or neutered. Sauna and Swimming – yes, but always at your own risk. No Beer tent: BYOB at your campsite. Camping available in field and forest area on the property. Cost of camping (in a tent) included in the price. Trailers/RVs will pay a fee, depending on the size. .