Okay, so the Olympics are, hands-down, the biggest party that Whistler will ever host, but bigger isn't always better, right?
At least, that's the attitude that the folks organizing the annual Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival (TWSSF) are adopting. Even in the face of an epic post-Olympic hangover they've gone full-steam ahead planning the 10-day festival, which runs from Friday, April 16 to Sunday, April 25.
In fact, they've just released a pretty impressive lineup of free, outdoor concerts set to take place on the main stage in Skiers Plaza. The Outdoor Concert Series runs from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day of the festival, offering up a wide range of musical styles to sate the crowd's aural senses.
So far, the roster includes everything from hip hop and funk to blues-rock.
East Coast hip hop artist Classified is in the lineup, as is the Canadian blues-rock band Big Sugar. Whistler newcomers include Breakestra, a California-based band that worships "that 10-second slice of percussive magic in the middle of a funk song," and Mutaytor, which features an 11-piece modern analog and electronic dance orchestra alongside 15 physical performance artists. The drum 'n' bass and psychadelic-inspired beats of the MarchFourth Marching Band will reverberate through the village, while EOTO is sure to have the crowds swaying to the beat and moving their feet with their fusion of live instrumentation, house, dubstep and electro. Keller Williams, a veritable one-man jam band, and Vancouver's 12-piece rhythm machine, better known as Five Alarm Funk, are also set to wow the masses with their eclectic styles, while the legendary hip hop group Arrested Development promises to wow the TWSSF crowds with a combination of throwbacks and new tracks.
For a schedule of performances, or to check in for the latest additions to the lineup, visit wssf.com.
