Rifflandia Music Festival is a four-day multi-venue music festival held at the Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, British Columbia. With no fixed date, the festival has occurred in the month-long span between the last weekend of August and the last weekend of September. Rifflandia was first launched on August 29, 2008. In 2019 it was canceled due to "economic instability in the festival market," with the hope of returning in 2020 which did not happen either due to coronavirus.
Rifflandia also includes Artlandia, the War Child Lounge, and publishes an annual magazine. Local brewery and sponsor Phillips Brewery also produces a Rifflandia beer, Rifflandabrau, sold around the festival's time. The festival is staged by a local production company, Atomique Productions, and is sponsored by local businesses and various members of the media.
History
2016
Line-up
Thursday, September 15
Night Stages:
Friday, September 16
Night Stages:
Main Stage:
- The Choir
- Bomba Estéreo
- X Ambassadors
- Michael Franti & Spearhead
Rifftop Tent:
- Grossbuster
- The Elwins
- Lee Scratch Perry
Saturday, September 17
Night Stages:
Sunday, September 18
Main Stage:
- The Choir
- Chance Lovett & the Broken Hearted
- Fruit Bats
- Jesse Roper
- Wolf Parade
Rifftop Tent:
- Fallbrigade
- Astrocolor
- Darcys
- Shane Koyczan & the Short Story Long
- Del the Funky Homosapien
2015
Line-up
Thursday, September 17
Night Stages:
Friday, September 18
Night Stages:
Main Stage:
- The Choir
- The Dears
- Arkells
Rifftop Tent:
- Blonde Redhead
- A Tribe Called Red
Saturday, September 19
Main Stage:
- Young Empires
- Brave Shores
- Plants and Animals
- Big Data
- Tokyo Police Club
- Modest Mouse
Rifftop Tent:
- The Choir
- Dirty Radio
- Sticky Fingers
- The Zolas
- Neon Indian
- Kiesza
Sunday, September 20
Main Stage:
- Vic High R&B Band
- The Walkervilles
- Jesse Roper
- Hollerado
- Joey Bada$$
- Mother Mother
Rifftop Tent:
- The Choir
- Grounders
- Tacocat
- Emancipator
- Julian Casablancas The Voidz
2014
Line-up
Thursday, September 11
Night Stages:
Friday, September 12
Night Stages:
Main Stage:
- Reuben and the Dark
- We Are Scientists
- Airbourne
- Serena Ryder
Rifftop Tent:
- The Glorious Sons
- Born Ruffians
- Dragonette
Saturday, September 13
Night Stages:
Main Stage:
- Choir Choir Choir
- The Choir
- Head of the Herd
- Le Butcherettes
- The Airborne Toxic Event
- The New Pornographers
- Death Cab For Cutie
Rifftop Tent:
- Kytami
- Bum
- Latyrx
- Dum Dum Girls
- Rusko
Sunday, September 14
Main Stage:
- Zeus
- Dear Rouge
- SonReal
- To Be Announced
- Girl Talk
Rifftop Tent:
- Vic High R&B Band
- Lowell
- Lightning Dust
- Keys N Krates
- Half Moon Run
2013
Line-up
Friday, September 13
Night Stages:
Saturday, September 14
Main Stage:
- No
- Mounties
- Classified
- Courtney Love
Side Stage:
- Easy Star All-Stars
- Z-Trip
- Current Swell
2012
For its fifth year, Rifflandia built on the success of the Royal Athletic Park as a flagship venue, while also using night stage venues, including the return of the Market Square stage. Rifflandia V occurred on September 13–16. Headlining the festival was the Flaming Lips, Sloan, Cake, and Mother Mother.
Line-up
Thursday, September 13
Night Stages:
Friday, September 14
Main Stage:
- The Xylopholks
- Rich Aucoin
- Band of Skulls
- The Flaming Lips
Side Stage:
- Brasstronaut
- The Aggrolites
- Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Night Stages:
Saturday, September 15
Main Stage:
- The Xylopholks
- Zerbin
- The Jezabels
- Dan Mangan
- Cake
Side Stage:
- Family of the Year
- Bright Light Social Hour
- The Stanfields
- The Dudes
- Sloan
Night Stage:
Sunday, September 16
Main Stage:
- The Xylopholks
- Jinja Safari
- Current Swell
- The Head and the Heart
- Reggie Watts
- Mother Mother
Side Stage:
- The Archers
- Grand Analog
- MC Yogi
- Hey Ocean!
- Everlast
2011
In 2011, the fourth-annual Rifflandia restructured its venues and the festival-going experience by including the Royal Athletic Park as the flagship venue, with eight additional evening venues. The new location allowed for a main stage and side stage, as well as a partnership with local food and drink vendors, and the introduction of Rifflandia Cinema. Rifflandia IV occurred from September 22–25. The night venues included Alix Goolden Hall, Phillips Brewery, Club 9One9, the Victoria Events Centre, Lucky Bar, Metro Theatre, Wood Hall and Sugar Nightclub. The line up included City and Colour, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids and Mother Mother.
Line-up
Thursday, September 22
Night Stages:
Friday, September 23
Main Stage:
- Dinosaur Bones
- The Cave Singers
- Ra Ra Riot
- Mother Mother
- Broken Social Scene
Side Stage:
- Randy Ponzio
- Mike Edel
- Jon Middleton
- The Besnard Lakes
- Jakarta
Night Stages:
Saturday, September 24
Main Stage:
- Vince Vaccaro
- Jets Ovehead
- Awolnation
- Cold War Kids
- City and Colour
Side Stage:
- Sun Hawk
- Mindil Beach Markets
- Library Voices
- Hollerado
- Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS)
Night Stages:
Sunday, September 25
Main Stage:
- Kuba Oms and the Velvet Revolution
- Gomez
- Blackalicious
- Daniel Wesley
- De La Soul
Side Stage:
- The Scale Breakers
- Greenlaw
- Lance Herbstrong
- The Knocks
- Felix Cartal
2010
The third Rifflandia Festival featured a record 165 artists over four days at 11 festival stages with approximately 3,500 attendees from September 23–26. Rifflandia III also introduced "Win!landia," a treasure hunt city-wide across Victoria, and Artlandia, an art showing in partnership with White Hot Magazine.
Line-up
Thursday, September 23
Friday, September 24
Saturday, September 25
Sunday, September 26
2009
Rifflandia II grew with 2,500 people in attendance, with over 80 artists and more venues. Rifflandia Magazine was first published for Rifflandia II. The festival was held from September 24–27. The venues included Sugar Nightclub, Element Nightclub, Alix Goolden Hall, Metro Theatre, Market Square, the University of Victoria’s Vertigo, Lucky Bar, and the Strathcona Rooftop.
Line-up
Thursday, September 24
Friday, September 25
Saturday, September 26
Sunday, September 27
- Mother Mother
- Brendan Canning(DJ Set)
- k-os (DJ Set)
2008
The inaugural Rifflandia started as a three-day festival from August 29–31, with seven stages, 65 artists and approximately 1,500 people in attendance. The venues were organized in a showcase style and included Alix Goolden Hall, Element Nightclub, Logan’s Pub, Lucky Bar, McPherson Playhouse, Royal Theatre, Smith’s Pub, Sugar Nightclub and the Strathcona Rooftop.
Line-up
Friday, August 29
Saturday, August 30
Sunday, August 31
Artlandia
Artlandia is the art component of Rifflandia. It was launched in 2010 with Rifflandia III in partnership with White Hot Magazine, featuring a variety of artists in different galleries near and during the time of the festival. For 2012, Artlandia included the Live!Stock poster show and Headspace.
War Child Lounge
The War Child Lounge was first launched during Rifflandia III in 2010. It features intimate acoustic performances from artists performing that year. All donations from the sets go directly to War Child Canada. Past performers include Hey Rosetta!, USS, Mother Mother, Jets Overhead and Melissa Auf der Maur In 2012, War Child Lounge featured Luluc, Current Swell, Rich Aucoin, Family of the Year, Hey Ocean!, Mother Mother and Frazey Ford.
Rifflandia Magazine
The first edition of Rifflandia Magazine was published for the 2009 festival. It is a free publication published annually since 2009 that features profiles on the artists playing, a festival schedule and map. It also includes details on other Rifflandia events, like Win!landia, Artlandia, War Child Lounge, and Wristband Connect. In 2012, the magazine also included a Rifflandia passport and fortuneteller.
External links
- Official website
References
