The Phillips Backyard Festival Series runs as two unique outdoor events in July and August and this year features major international headliners.
“2022 was a great year for Phillips with live music coming back in a big way,” said Stephen Franke, event organizer. “This year, we really wanted to grow the overall experience and bring in some top-tier international talent combined with a bigger stage and a larger overall footprint. Phillips has never seen bands of this calibre and some of the stage setups are going to blow people’s minds.”
Tilt!, running July 7-9, will feature live music from big international names like DJ Pee .Wee, Bahamas, Lord Huron, Neal Francis, Sudan Archives and Snotty Rez Kids, Fleece, and others.
At Reverb, the second outdoor event taking place Aug. 11-13, Fleet Foxes is headlining a lineup that includes Peach Pit, Allen Stone, Jesse Roper, Ruby Waters, The Blue Stones, Jon and Roy and Crown Lands.
Phillips Backyard Festival made its debut last year and this year will see an expanded site for better sight lines and guest comfort, said Morgan Brooker, another festival organizer.
The event also boasts the lowest ticket fees across Vancouver Island and low drink costs.
Tickets are on sale at phillipsbackyard.com. Single-day tickets start at $80, with weekend passes available for $260 (Tilt!) and $235 (Reverb). Prices listed are before ticket fees.
Here are some standout acts playing at Tilt!
DJ Pee .Wee, July 8
DJ Pee .Wee is the record-spinning alter ego of Anderson .Paak, a Grammy award winning American rapper, R&B artist, singer, songwriter, record producer and drummer. This concert will be his first time performing in Victoria.
In 2021, Paak formed a duo with Bruno Mars called Silk Sonic, whose debut single Leave the Door Open became Paak’s first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won four Grammy Awards in 2022 including Song of the Year.
With DJ Pee .Wee, expect fashion as fun as the music. Pee Wee is known to sport a 70’s bob wig, short suits, colourful blazers and funky sunglasses while bringing an eclectic, genre-spanning mix to the DJ booth. He plays drums on some tracks and will have an accompanying trumpet player for the set.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids, July 8
Originally from Kitamaat Village, B.C. and currently based in Vancouver, Snotty Nose Rez Kids are a First Nations hip-hop duo composed of Haisla rappers Darren “Young D” Metz and Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce. Their 2017 album The Average Savage was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and for the 2019 Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year.
Fleece, July 8
Montreal-based LGBTQ indie band Fleece brings warm, happy indie rock to the Tilt! stage July 8. Self-proclaimed as a queer quartet, their laid-back music has been dubbed as “dreamy” and “dynamic” by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
Sudan Archives, July 9
Sudan Archives first emerged as an avant-garde violinist who took her music to new heights using loop pedals. Today, she does electric R&B, with a magnetic take that has earned her audiences around the world at festivals like Coachella, Pitchfork Midwinter, FORM: Arcosanti and more. Channelling her violin into music with electronic beats, she creates groundbreaking music that draws on a large range of inspirations including Sudanese fiddlers, Cameroonian electronic music pioneer Francis Bebey, Irish music, gospel, pop and more.
Lord Huron, July 7
This American indie rock band based in L.A. combines western, folk rock, rock and roll, pop melodies and surf rock with soundtrack and new age influences. The Wall Street Journal described them as having “a decidedly cinematic flair, heavy on mood and evocative imagery. Lord Huron brings to mind the high-lonesome sound of antecedents like the Band, Neil Young, My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes”.
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sam.duerksen@blackpress.ca
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