(Okanagan, B.C.) Get ready to see and experience some of Canada’s top touring artists coming straight from the summer’s festival stages. Route97 Cultural Development Society has announced its latest ‘Road Trip’ music series that is set to take place at a range of Okanagan venues.
Designed to foster Canadian talent while promoting the B.C. Interior ‘Route 97 Highway’ from Penticton to Salmon Arm as a viable touring corridor, the Route97 Culture Road Trip Series will see several Canadian artists perform at regional venues. Venues include Caravan Farm Theatre in Armstrong, Covert Farms Family Estate in Oliver, the Cleland Community Theatre in Penticton and Okanagan College’s South Okanagan-Similkameen campus in Penticton.
Beginning on August 17 and running through to December 16, 2022, the series will feature a mix of emerging and nationally recognized artists such as:
· Buzz-worthy Vancouver rage-funk band Raincity (August 17, 2022, at Caravan Farm Theatre and September 12, 2022, at Covert Farms Family Estate)
· Festival favourite Vancouver Indigifunk band Curtis Clearsky and the Constellationz (September 5, 2022, at Covert Farms Family Estate and September 10, 2022, at Caravan Farm Theatre)
· CBC darling and JUNO-Award nominee Begonia (November 21, 2022, at the Cleland Community Theatre)
· JUNO Award-winning Winnipeg folk and country singer-songwriter William Prince (December 2, 2022, at the Cleland Community Theatre)
· Vernon pop/rock artist Andrew Allen (holiday show – Dec 16, 2022, at the Cleland Community Theatre)
· Further dates will be revealed in October. Visit route97culture.com and sign up for the mailing list to stay in the loop on new shows and receive early notifications of concert experiences, offers, deals and more!
At each venue, guests will be treated to a unique experience specifically curated for the road trip series, so no two gigs will be the same. In addition, organizers are committed to keeping ticket prices affordable to ensure the shows are as accessible as possible.
Mark Greenhalgh of Penticton’s Misty Mountain Productions is one of the co-creators behind the Route97 Culture Road Trip Series, and he is excited about the blend of creative talent, fun experiences and Okanagan venues that are going to be a part of the Route97 Culture Road Trip Series:
“The idea of this initiative is to further enhance the amazing curation of experiences our partnering venues and locations have already been building. It’s a natural and additional pairing to introduce some of Canada’s best music artists along with a healthy inclusion of many of our best B.C. emerging talent at these fantastic venues.
The team at Route97 Culture is very excited to be presenting these experiential concerts with the much-valued assistance from Creative BC and, in the case of the Cleland Theatre, The City of Penticton. Through a lengthy and detailed engagement process last year with venues, stakeholders and presenters all around the regions of the Thompson, Okanagan and Shuswap, we found an extremely healthy appetite to further our regional cultural tourism offerings in a very collaborative way that especially highlights both music artists and the regional venues.
Music brings people together, and you’ll find that many of these artists are proponents of cultural change, positivity and unity. We are very excited and grateful to launch The Route97 Culture Road Trip Series now and equally excited for the future plans already in the works.”
Additional acts and venues are set to be announced over the weeks ahead. The Route97 Cultural Development Society expects to see the series continue to grow heading into 2023 as they have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 19 B.C. Interior venues. The organization is committed to strongly supporting artists from diverse backgrounds, including women, Indigenous artists, those in the 2SLGTBQIA+ community and under-represented BIPOC groups.
Estelle Shook, Artistic Director of the Caravan Farm Theatre in Armstrong, believes the Route97 Culture Road Trip Series will be beneficial to the area:
“This live music series promotes diversity and increases the musical options available to our
community. Mark, Mandy and the project team are the perfect fit to energize this area and have the knowledge and connections to bring through both nationally renowned and emerging artists.”
While B.C.’s Highway 97 is the longest continuously numbered route in the province, covering over 2,000 kilometers, the team behind the ‘Road Trip’ music series is focused on the B.C. interior for now, with the goal of bringing both nationally known acts and B.C. developing artists to underserved audiences, helping to build the region’s touring infrastructure in the process.
Mandy Wheelwright from Blister Management, a full-time career artist manager with artists Frazey Ford, Kinnie Starr, Steph Cameron and The Be Good Tanyas on her roster, is the other co-creator of the project, and she hopes folks up and down the valley will get involved, enjoy a road trip and help support the series:
“Our project team is taking an innovative approach to remedy the twofold problem of lack of both promoters and venues in the B.C. Interior which restricts market access for Canada’s touring artists and limits choice for live music consumers. The Route97 Culture team is excited to work with incredible regional venues and partners in order to bring our nationally acclaimed and B.C. live music performers to help improve the regional live music infrastructure and provide local audiences with artists that they don’t have to travel to the major urban cities to experience. We are proud to be bringing extraordinary artists to our stunning venue locations of the BC interior.”
Tickets for August 17 and September 10’s shows at Armstrong’s Caravan Farm Theatre are on sale now. Additional announcements and ticket sales will be revealed over the coming weeks and months, so sign up for the Route97 mailing list or follow along on Facebook and Instagram to stay in the know. You can learn more about the Route97 Cultural Development Society here.
