Rifflandia got underway Friday amid spotty weather, but true to form, the multi-day festival emerged triumphant.
The new-look event went off with barely a hitch, the first of three nights of activity at the Matullia Lands in Rock Bay, near Phillips Brewing on Government Street.
It marked the first time in years organizers did not offer programming at Royal Athletic Park, but crowds turned out — dancing in the rain during the headlining set from Canadian DJ-producer Rezz.
When the iffy weather arrived Friday afternoon, dumping rain on downtown Victoria, it didn’t bode well. Rifflandia was looking to introduce audiences to its new site, and continuous rain would have pre-empted walk-up traffic.
But the weather co-operated for the most part, and wound up being somewhat inconsequential. Not only was there plenty of cover — the dome stage, more than 100 feet in diameter, helped immeasurably — but by this point Rifflandia audiences are known for being a hearty bunch.
According to organizers, 6,500 fans turned up, not far off the record 8,000 fans who attended opening night last year.
The new all-ages venue ran smoothly, with no hiccups. Brightly-hued turf was laid in front of the main stage, which gave some bounce to the audience, and it felt vastly more spacious than previous editions at Royal Athletic Park.
The site has been used in recent years, so infrastructure was in place to handle thousands of festivalgoers. But new tweaks — such as repositioning the main stage and adding the dome with 1,000-person capacity — made it look and feel almost entirely new.
Rifflandia now has an urban-industrial imprint (with the Rock Bay and Vic West neighbourhoods visible in the distance), fitting environs for a festival whose opening night blended electronic music, hip-hop and rock seamlessly.
Rifflandia, which was founded in 2008, has a lot to offer stylistically, which is part of its enduring appeal.
Blues rocker Garrett T. Willie, indie rockers Born Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club and party-rocking DJ Channel Tres were among the offerings on opening night, which presented a cross-section of musicality. There were also well-attended comedy stage populated by local favourites Mikey Dubs, Dylan Williams and Evan Mumford, among others.
Grammy Award-winning rapper Ja Rule and ‘90s pop act C+C Music Factory were the big draws, but it was Rezz who found the sweet spot between commercial appeal and cutting-edge theatrics.
Hers was a visually appealing set, and made use of every pixel available on the main stage’s video screens. Both Ja Rule and C+C Music Factory started slowly, but gained momentum as their sets went along. Rezz opened with an immediate wallop, making good on her reputation as an act to watch.
Opening night proved that four stages could run concurrently with no derailment. Its 16 performances over the five-hour runtime meant there were very few seconds of silence, the type of sensory experience Rifflandia is known to deliver (24 acts perform Saturday, and 22 on Sunday.)
With options for practically every music fan, all of it presented with precision and clarity, the tech side of the festival was a victory. Once the sun set, Rifflandia came to life with a dizzying array of lights and sounds.
Vendors were also plentiful, with everything from by-donation haircuts courtesy of Victory Barber to photo booths and vintage clothes available.
While music is always the driving force, Rifflandia offered more food and beverage options (including non-alcoholic beer) than ever before.
Lineups were minimal, including at the main gate, always a plus with thousands coming and going throughout the evening.
The festival continues today and Sunday at the Matullia Lands in Rock Bay, from 2:30 p.m. until midnight on Saturday, and from 2:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. on Sunday.
TLC, Feist, The Beaches, Oliver Tree, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Broken Social Scene, De La Soul, Maestro Fresh Wes and L7 are among the acts scheduled to appear. Additional coverage will appear in Sunday’s Times Colonist.
