Wake the Giant is more than just a music festival: it's a self-described cultural awareness project, created with the goal of making Thunder Bay a more inclusive place and celebrating Indigenous people and art.
Now in its fifth year, Wake the Giant 2024 offers a mix of Indigenous acts alongside artists from other cultures, with performers appearing at Thunder Bay's waterfront on September 14. Attendees can also enjoy art installations, a craft market, and local eats including bannock tacos.
Tickets are available from Wake the Giant's website, and Exclaim!'s five must-see performers can be found below.
Arkells
One of Canada's most successful bands, Arkells have won the JUNO Award for Group of the Year an incredible six times, including a three-year run from 2021 to 2023. Mixing retro rock, soul influences and brash modern pop, Arkells are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Galantis
Swedish electronic artist Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson is famously one of the writers and producers behind Britney Spears's iconic "Toxic." Now, as the driving force of Galantis, he's an alumnus of last decade's EDM boom, as he continues to thrill audiences as a big-tent electronic music superstar. Be sure to bring your dancing shoes.
DJ Shub
A former member of A Tribe Called Red, electronic producer DJ Shub has struck out on his own in the past decade, continuing to develop his pioneering "powwow-step" style of culture-crossing dance music. His live show builds off his 2020 album War Club — a record that nabbed him the first-ever JUNO Award for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year in 2022.
Walk of the Earth
Speaking of JUNO Award for Group of the Year winners — the prize's 2016 winner Walk Off the Earth will bring their joyful, energetic energy to Wake the Giant. Starting as YouTube cover artists, they've since amassed a deep catalogue of original music while preserving their infectious spirit and quirky instrumentation.
Surprise afternoon headliner
We're not just being coy — we genuinely don't know who it is! Wake the Giant's poster tantalizingly includes one blurred-out name: a mystery headliner who will be gracing the stage in the afternoon. We're on the edge of our seat waiting to find out who it is!