Wake the Giant Music Festival is set to return to Thunder Bay, ON's waterfront on September 16, and festival organizers and Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School students have unveiled the event's 2023 lineup.
This year's festival will be headlined by deadmau5, X Ambassadors and Dean Lewis, with additional performances by Ruby Waters, Mattmac, Sagatay (featuring former student Lewis Chapman), Thunder Spirit and Thunder Bay local Sara Kae, who will work with students to create a new song that will be performed at the festival.
"This year's lineup is lit like the northern lights!" Wake the Giant co-founder and organizer AJ Haapa said. "You have one of the biggest DJs in the world joining a superstar list of artists and some unreal performers from First Nation communities."
In addition to musical performances and Kae's songwriting workshop, Wake the Giant will also feature a live art installation, an Indigenous craft market, local food vendors and a wellness tent with elders, among other activities.
Tickets to the festival are on sale now for $123 plus fees. You can get yours here. Children 12 and under are free but still need a general admission ticket to attend.
Organizers note:
All funding raised from the music festival supports Indigenous youth, which includes orientation events, workshops and the transition to life in the city. Throughout the rest of the year, Wake the Giant also provides cultural awareness training and has a decal program that works with local businesses and organizations to create safe spaces for Indigenous youth.
This year's festival poster was designed by DFC student Harmony Fiddler. "I created this with my mom in mind, and how she guided me with her wisdom and experiences," Fiddler said of the piece. "In Indigenous culture, bears represent medicine, and my mom is my medicine — she's helped me in ways she'll never know. I'm away from home to finish school, so this has helped me with my time here."
See the poster and full lineup below, and head to Wake the Giant's website for more information.
This year's festival will be headlined by deadmau5, X Ambassadors and Dean Lewis, with additional performances by Ruby Waters, Mattmac, Sagatay (featuring former student Lewis Chapman), Thunder Spirit and Thunder Bay local Sara Kae, who will work with students to create a new song that will be performed at the festival.
"This year's lineup is lit like the northern lights!" Wake the Giant co-founder and organizer AJ Haapa said. "You have one of the biggest DJs in the world joining a superstar list of artists and some unreal performers from First Nation communities."
In addition to musical performances and Kae's songwriting workshop, Wake the Giant will also feature a live art installation, an Indigenous craft market, local food vendors and a wellness tent with elders, among other activities.
Tickets to the festival are on sale now for $123 plus fees. You can get yours here. Children 12 and under are free but still need a general admission ticket to attend.
Organizers note:
All funding raised from the music festival supports Indigenous youth, which includes orientation events, workshops and the transition to life in the city. Throughout the rest of the year, Wake the Giant also provides cultural awareness training and has a decal program that works with local businesses and organizations to create safe spaces for Indigenous youth.
This year's festival poster was designed by DFC student Harmony Fiddler. "I created this with my mom in mind, and how she guided me with her wisdom and experiences," Fiddler said of the piece. "In Indigenous culture, bears represent medicine, and my mom is my medicine — she's helped me in ways she'll never know. I'm away from home to finish school, so this has helped me with my time here."
See the poster and full lineup below, and head to Wake the Giant's website for more information.
