May 30, 2025 |
Waves always come in sets. This year we’re releasing the River & Sky’s (July 23-27) lineup in three wicked waves. If you’re a surfer (or not), jump in at any time.
A quick recap … Our first wave featured headliners Descartes a Kant, Shub, Tia Wood, Preoccupations, DijahSB and By Divine Right, as well as bands Thea May, Casper Skulls, Bibi Club, and fauxcils. (Read more about them here.)
Second wave acts include the indie-folk of Bells Larsen, the franco dance-punk of Montreal band Choses Sauvages, the indie pop of Toronto band Cootie Catcher, North Bay progressive folk rocker David Dino White, the dark post-punk noise of Gloin, the country, folk and blues of JD Crosstown from Neyaashiinigmiing, Newfoundland singer-songwriter Jenina MacGillvray, the timeless country-folk of Sudbury’s Kate Maki, the experimental-noise of Noble Rot, Brazilian rhythm inspired psychedelic-jazz of Orbital Ensemble, the fluid live electronic project of Pick a Piper, punk performance art with Slash Need, dance party curation from Stereo Ferment, and Ottawa outfit The Lionyls’ rock and soul.
Catch River & Sky’s third wave rolling in soon!
Bells Larsen’s Blurring Time (2025) blends lo-fi indie and folk, exploring self-discovery and change through intimate harmonies, poignant lyrics, and intricate arrangements. Guided by simply “being” as a political act, Larsen’s project features voices frozen in time. Aligning with his transition timeline, he recorded his previous “high” voice in 2022, waited for his voice to drop after starting testosterone, and asked longtime collaborator Georgia Harmer to arrange harmonies for his new “low” voice. Produced by Graham Ereaux, Larsen’s intricately-crafted arrangements evoke Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, and Adrienne Lenker. His lyrics meditate on sibling dynamics, queer world-making, and shared epiphanies, enveloped in soundscapes of quiet intimacy.
Montreal band Choses Sauvages danced us off our feet in 2022 and now they’re promising to take the Thursday night Mainstage to new heights with their electrifying dance–punk. Renowned for being true wild stage beasts, the members of the group, led by Félix Bélisle (La Sécurité), make it their duty to set any stage ablaze. Exclaim! describes their third album, Choses Sauvages III (Spring 2025), as channelling “exuberant franco post-punk fun of La Sécurité while also making room for the refined sonic detail of Corridor and the funkified whimsy of Talking Heads.”
Toronto-based indie pop group cootie catcher is rooted in the city’s DIY scene, where their playful, self-described “indietronica” sound first began to take shape. Lyrically, cootie catcher focuses on the everyday- feeling awkward, overthinking, and figuring stuff out. Their newly released EP, Shy at First, carries that same vibe, with songs that are honest and low-key without trying too hard. As Exclaim! writes, they “process their young adulthood in a delightfully chaotic way, juxtaposing swirling acoustic guitars, frantic drums, squiggly electronics and playful vocals.”
David Dino White is a progressive folk rock artist based in North Bay, ON. With multiple side projects and over a decade of recording and touring experience, White has mastered the art of combining various eras and genres of music to create a sound that is equal parts fun, heart-felt, and entirely it’s own. Known for his engaging banter and storytelling, White infuses every performance with a personal touch – an approach that is exemplified on his latest album Staycoustic (2023) and two-song EP, Pinball (2025). He’ll be bringing his full band to the beach.
Toronto outfit Gloin “make driving, dark post-punk” (BrooklynVegan), adding noise rock and industrial elements to their music as they tackle themes of bewilderment, dread and anger. Gloin’s North American tours took them to SXSW, Freakout Fest, New Colossus, Sled Island, and Treefort Music Fest, and had them sharing stages with Snapped Ankles, Osees, Amyl & the Sniffers, and A Place to Bury Strangers. The band’s latest and very long titled album, All of your anger is actually shame (and I bet that makes you angry), came out in March 2025 via Mothland. It’s a “noisy rager” says Exclaim! but a focused one: “Over the last decade, the Toronto four-piece have deployed noise in varying ways. Sometimes dreamy, other times foreboding, but always with a purpose; Gloin aren’t one to let a little fuzzy reverb get in the way of a good hook.”
JD Crosstown is a singer-songwriter and guitarist whose work bridges the traditions of folk, country, and blues. Raised in Neyaashiinigmiing (Chippewas of Nawash Territory), Ontario, Crosstown began playing guitar at a young age, influenced by the classic sounds of artists like Bob Dylan, and The Band. His early exposure to music was through family and community but quickly evolved into a serious artistic pursuit. In May 2025, Crosstown released his debut full-length album, Takin’ My Time.
Newfoundland’s Jenina MacGillivray is a musician and filmmaker whose songs and stories are deeply rooted in and around the islands of Atlantic Canada. She’ll be joined on our Sunday stage by partner José Contreras (By Divine Right). Her debut album Marion won Music NL’s Factor Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and was called “possibly the most beautiful album of the year” (East Magazine). Her sophomore album Perseids (September 2024) had Riddle Fence describing it as managing “a unity in its contradictions: both light and heavy; local and universal in scope, nostalgic with an insistent attachment to the now; sung in a voice both strong and tremulous.”
Sudbury’s Kate Maki returns with her first new music in nine years with her seventh studio album Impossible Knot –recorded on tape at Little Bullhorn in Ottawa and co-produced by Maki and Dave Draves (Julie Doiron). Combining country, folk, rock, blues, and soul, Maki knots together and unpicks challenging times through her songwriting: “For me, country music is about creating something positive out of pain, and I like how the songs seem simple at first, but that there exists a complexity, a tangible connection to the mysteries of the human condition, hidden deep within.” Her first three records won Album of the Year at the Northern Ontario Music & Film Awards, and her songs have been placed in films and TV shows like Weirdsville, Hard Rock, Medical, and Wilby Wonderful as well as played on CBC and NPR.
Noble Rot is the studio project of Alex Edkins (METZ) and Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck). Their debut LP together as Noble Rot –Heavenly Bodies, Repetition, Control– shows Edkins and Walsh joyously stepping outside and beyond the lines drawn by their previous work. The culmination of 12 months of feverish studio experimentation, takes inspiration from film soundtracks, experimental noise, kosmiche muzik, ambient, psychedelia and more. We can’t wait to see them by a roaring fire under the stars!
Toronto’s Orbital Ensemble creates an immersive fusion of psychedelic grooves and jazz melodies influenced by Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). The eight-piece band is headed up by multi-instrumentalist Felipe Sena, a Brazilian-Canadian whose upbringing across the two countries has forged this meeting of jazz and psychedelia, rooted in Brazilian rhythms. Inspired by road trips playing 70s MPB and Afro-Brazilian drumming and psychedelic jazz, the band’s debut album, Orbital, came out in spring of 2025. It’s also inspired by space, artistic resilience and cymatics (the visualisation of sound).
Pick a Piper is a Toronto-based genre-fluid live electronic project featuring producer/drummer Brad Weber (Caribou/Coy Haste) and vocalist Sophia Alexandra. Brad has played to massive crowds at Glastonbury in the UK and sold out shows at Massey Hall in Toronto as Caribou’s percussionist. We’ve been fortunate to have him curating/DJing the R&S Dance Party over the years (more on this later!). Sophia Alexandra, is a Toronto-based DJ and vocalist, who has cultivated a distinctive style that merges melodic overtones and rhythms from diverse genres. Together as Pick a Piper their show features energetic live drums, distinctive synths and samples, and alluring ethereal vocal melodies.
Slash Need is a Toronto-based industrial act pushing the boundaries of live music with a wild fusion of sound, movement, and performance art. Describing themselves as a “dance music performance art group,” their mantra “punk, sin, sit and grin” perfectly captures the spirit of a project that refuses to be ignored. Led by musicians Dusty Lee and Alex Low (aka Lex), with dancers Stella and Camille, Slash Need creates a visceral experience that’s as much about feeling as it is about sound. Their performances are immersive, theatrical, and unrelenting, “where chaos meets precision, and every show feels like an unpredictable, beautifully unhinged spectacle,” as Cool Hunting puts it. Think one part dancefloor, one part fever dream, late night Saturday at the Campfire Stage.
The R&S Late-Late-Night Dance Party will be curated by Brad Weber (Coy Haste) and Cayden Mowbray (Oreku) from Toronto label Stereo Ferment. Their lineup of fellow DJs and night owls will be announced soon.
The Lionyls are a five-piece rock and soul outfit based in Ottawa with an unmistakable sound and ability to make their audiences move. Inspired by rhythm & blues, funk, soul, and rock & roll traditions, they have crafted an organic sound that is both timeless and current, raw and refined. In over 10 years together, The Lionyls have released two full-length studio albums with a third on the horizon in 2025. A constant dedication to honing their craft has led them to perform at many landmark festivals and events including Ottawa Bluesfest, NXNE, CityFolk, Canadian Music Week, The Grey Cup Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, The National Arts Centre and many more.
Huge thanks to our funders Ontario Creates, Ontario Arts Council, and Canadian Heritage for making River & Sky possible.
River & Sky will be releasing its third wave, and final wave of acts, in early June.
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