Sunfest 2016 is officially wrapping up.
Cowichan Valley rockers Row of Crowz got the ball rolling on the main stage this evening closing out their set with “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones.
Following the local boys was BC country band The County Line, with lead vocalists Megan Johns and Hayden Cyr (who is also lead guitar). Johns and Cyr formed the band in 2013, and in three short years have made a big name for themselves in the west coast country scene, performing at BC’s biggest country music festivals and holding a house gig at The Duke Saloon.
“While we have a passion for performing, we both agree that the true payoff for us both is reaching through to the crowd, big or small, and sharing something with them,” Johns states on the band’s website.
Next on stage was Quoia, a six-member band from Victoria with a “genre-hopping” sound that “epitomize[s] the West Coast Vibe.” The band’s members are also the founders and producers of the acclaimed Tall Tree Music Festival and Song and Surf Music Festival in Port Renfrew. In May Quoia released its fourth album: Prospector.
Toronto duo Autumn Hill (Mike Robins and Tareya Green) followed Quoia, with a sound the blurs the line between country and adult contemporary. Their single “Blame” from the 2015 album Anchor was their first song to reach to the top five on the Billboard Canada Country chart.
After much anticipation, Dierks Bentley took to the stage. The 12-time Grammy Award nominee played songs from his latest album, Black, released earlier this year as well as some of his old standards. The album’s second single, “Different for Girls,” features singer/songewriter Elle King.
Sunfest organizers expected Bentley’s performance to draw roughly the same number of attendees as Carrie Underwood’s Saturday night show (approximately 17,000).
