Summerlight is the indie music festival run by Vancouver label Light Organ Records (an imprint of 604 Records) — but the day-long event, taking place in the city's Strathcona neighbourhood on August 10, is much more than a label showcase. It's an impressive gathering of local music talent, bringing together members of the 604 roster with likeminded members of the city's arts community.
The event premiered in 2022 and, after a year off, is coming back strong for a second year. Best of all, it's free to attend — meaning that fans can check out all of Exclaim!'s must-see artists without dropping a penny.
ACTORS
The newest in new wave, Vancouver four-piece look to the greats of the genre — Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, etc. — to concoct their own spin on gothic synth anthems, the kind that bring to remind streaked mascara, ripped fishnets and an aching sense of all-enveloping melodrama. Gloominess has rarely sounded more fun.
The Golden Age of Wrestling
Jeff Cancade has become a local leader of the Vancouver music scene, crafting cosmically tender synthpop as Devours as self-described "glambient" soundscapes as the Golden Age of Wrestling. Ranging from calming washes of textures to fidgety drum machines, it's significantly more dynamic that your average beats to study/relax to.
Haleluya Hailu
Only someone funny and self-aware would call themselves a "sad girl" in their official bio. Haleluya Hailu has been releasing tender acoustic ballads and eclectic bedroom pop for a few years now, culminating in the newly released eternally, yours EP. As she proves on the Eternal Sunshine-inspired breakup ditty "MANIC PIXIE PACIFIST," she's able to deliver raw emotions with a wink.
des hume
The peculiar, cultish dispatches from the "des hume initiative" are an intriguing bit of branding. Dig deeper into the songs and discover a warped synth practitioner making singular DIY pop, even racking up a JUNO nomination (Music Video of the Year for ""Onetwostep") and a minor streaming hit ("Wild World") along the way.
WAASH
When a new band forms in Vancouver, there's like a 40 percent chance Andrew Bishop is involved in some way. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but he's played many styles in many projects — recently in the garage pop project Alex Little & the Suspicious Minds. As WAASH, he's going solo and indulging his headiest shoegaze whims.
