May 7, 2025 |
Today, River & Sky released its first wave of bands to play the 17th edition of the festival – July 23-27, 2025.
Headlining the festival is Descartes a Kant, Shub, Tia Wood, Preoccupations, DijahSB and By Divine Right. Other first wave bands include Thea May, Casper Skulls, Bibi Club, and fauxcils.
“River & Sky’ers have come to expect the unexpected – a mix of beloved bands and emerging ones they might not know, but will be blown away by,” said Lara Bradley, Communications Lead. “There’s lots to love in this diverse first wave of artists including powerful Indigenous voices. We can’t wait to share the rest of the line-up soon, too.”
Fans can expect a second wave announcement in the coming weeks. Altogether more than 40 acts will be presented over the five days of the festival (including the Wednesday night warm up on the beach) at this annual family and friends reunion that celebrates music, art and Northern Ontario nature.
With their strong commentary on the emergence of AI, the otherworldly and retro-futuristic Descartes a Kant from Guadalajara, Mexico, will kick off the festival as the Thursday night headliner. A leading light in the Mexican experimental underground and an international sensation, the band combines punk, metal, pop, and shoegaze, and leans into some creative theatrics. Critics like the Wall Street Journal (yes, really!) have described their sound as if the “Yeah Yeah Yeahs fronted Albert Ayler with Frank Zappa conducting.”
Friday night’s headliner Shub, a Mohawk member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, has been at the forefront of a movement that reshaped the landscape of Indigenous electronic music. Having invented the powwow-step genre and won a JUNO with A Tribe Called Red, Shub has spent years blending the ancient rhythms of Indigenous powwow music with the pulse of modern beats, scratching and bass-heavy production. With his upcoming album, Heritage (part 1 released in April), he is making a statement about where Indigenous music is headed. “I wanted this album to be a celebration of our traditions while pushing the sound of powwow step forward,” Shub explained.
Joining Friday’s stellar lineup is rising star Tia Wood, who blends soulful R&B vocals with powerful messages of identity and culture. A Cree and Salish artist from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, she’s one of the first Indigenous women signed to Sony Music. With her EP Pretty Red Bird earning a 2025 Juno nomination and a growing global fanbase, Tia is shaping the future of Indigenous music. Recently, she has collaborated with Shub on the newly released song Victorious.
Casper Skulls (Sudbury/Toronto)bring their captivating indie noise-pop, along with songs from their newly released third album, Kit Kat (Next Door Records) to Friday’s high energy mainstage. The group has an impressive touring history, sharing stages with renowned acts such as PUP, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Land of Talk and Kathleen Hannah.
Calgary-based Preoccupations headline the Saturday night Mainstage with their post-punk sound. Having toured extensively across North America and Europe, the group has built a reputation for intense, captivating live performances and a sound that is loud, full of energy, and constantly evolving. The band’s fifth studio album, Ill at Ease, is out on May 9.
Headlining the Campfire Stage is rapper DijahSB (Toronto), whose album, Head Above the Waters, was shortlisted for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize. Blending a smooth flow, sharp lyricism, and laid-back confidence, DijahSB is one of the most exciting voices in hip-hop today. Their unique voice has earned them widespread respect in the indie music world and beyond, drawing praise from outlets like NPR, Pitchfork, and Complex, and even a shoutout from Kid Cudi himself.
Joining Saturday’s lineup is the indie-dream-pop of Bibi Club, a Montreal-based duo and Polaris Prize long-listers. The real-life couple, Nicolas Basque and Adèle Trottier-Rivard, met while performing in the band, Plants and Animals. Their second album, Feu de garde, was described by Exclaim! as “one of 2024’s must-hear strokes of genius, crossing linguistic borders.”
Catch By Divine Right (Toronto) on Sunday, closing out the festival and delivering a set that’s equal parts nostalgia and innovation. Led by Chilean-born José Miguel Contreras, known for his psych-infused art-pop songwriting, the group has a discography spanning over two decades and has been a staple of Canada’s indie rock scene since the ’90s.
Joining the first wave line-up is Thea May, an Anishnawbe artist from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, near Sudbury, who was recently signed with Ishkodé Records. The death of a love 45 days after they met, inspired her to create her debut EP, Brought to You by Tragedy, tapping into a sound she describes as “grief-rage.”
Sudbury’s fauxcils will bring their ceramic coldwave/synthwave sound to the forest. The goth pop duo, made up of couple Jenn Herd (vocals) and Dunstan Topp (machines), explore the idea of beauty in sadness with their recently released debut album, Tears of Paint, likening their performance to a “dark goth dance party.” Fauxcils burn a lush soundscape of sequin sequences, drum machines, chorused lashes and painted faces.
*Times maybe subject to change, just we are all subject to time and change 🙂
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