One of the largest music festivals on Vancouver Island has announced its lineup for this year’s event, and it’s a good one.
Rock The Shores, scheduled for July 18 and 19 on the soccer fields at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre, will feature a mix of local and up-and-coming talent and established international stars for its 2015 edition.
“Last year I think we had 8,000 attendees per day and this year they’re anticipating between 12,000 and 15,000,” said Rob Martin, Colwood councillor and chair of the West Shore Parks and Recreation board of directors. “The numbers have just been getting better and better and better,” he says, as have the bands being booked.
Akron, Ohio’s The Black Keys are set to headline this year’s event, joined by ageless rockers Jane’s Addiction, along with Canadian rock icons 54-40 and Victoria’s own Current Swell.
“We are extremely excited by the world-class talent we’ve been able to secure for this year’s Rock The Shores,” says Nick Blasko of festival promoter Atomique Productions.
He adds they expect it to be “by far the biggest yet.”
Last year, Rock the Shores was the first “open liquor” festival in B.C., meaning there was no “beer gardens” area where alcohol needed to be served and remain within. This year’s festival continues with that model.
“It actually lowered the number of alcohol-related issues,” Martin says. The “beer gardens” model causes a situation where once people are in, they are hesitant to leave because they will need to wait in line to get back in, Martin says, so it creates more binge-drinking and over-consumption issues.
The full lineup can be found at rocktheshores.com. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (April 3).