Burlington's Lakeshore Festival Taps Walk Off the Earth, The Trews, Katie Tupper & More For Inaugural Edition

The first acts of the Lakeshore Music & Arts Festival’s inaugural lineup have been revealed.

The two-day event — held from June 20 to 21 — will see indie pop band Walk off the Earth, Nova Scotia rockers The Trews, neo-soul singer Katie Tupper, and Ontario’s The Dirty Nil take the stage at the new Burlington waterfront event at Spencer Smith Park.

It’s one of the first announcements from the MRG Live-operated festival, which took over the reins from the storied four-day Sound of Music Festival, which was forced to cancel after 40 years due to financial hardships.

Returning to their hometown, Walk off the Earth will bring their 2010s hits to the stage, including “Red Hands,” which hit No. 9 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, the band’s highest charting single in Canada. Meanwhile, The Trews are striking a chord on Canadian radio, with their current Mainstream Rock hit “Carolina.” Tupper is hot on the heels of multiple sold-out shows in support of her debut album, Greyhound, while The Dirty Nil released their acclaimed fifth studio album, The Lash, last year.

Following the first wave of artists announced, more than 30 artists will be added to the lineup in the coming weeks.

According to an initial concept — shared in a one-page brief in February — the festival includes three stages, including a main performance stage that’s filled with a lineup of hometown musicians from several music genres, with a “notable Canadian headliner” closing out each evening.

In addition, a community stage, focusing on family-friendly and youth-oriented programming, will be implemented alongside the Brant Street stage, which will feature city-based musicians, emerging performers and Indigenous artists.

The Lakeshore Music & Arts Festival will maintain Sound of Music’s free ticket structure, but will implement paid VIP ticket tiers to “enhance the visitor experience.” The brief outlined that the planned VIP section features premium seating, exclusive food and drink options, merchandise and artist meet-and-greet experiences.

In addition to music, the multi-stage festival will feature a downtown street festival that brings artisans, food vendors and family-friendly programming to the forefront.

VIP tickets are available here, and more festival details can be found here.