It’ll be a while before all the numbers are in for this year’s Rock on the River music festival.
For one local band, the chance to open the main stage was definitely a success though.
After winning Timmins Festivals and Events Committee’s (TFEC) Gimme the Gig contest, All the Wasted Years (ATWY) opened up Saturday night’s shows on the main stage, which capped off with a high-energy performance from Billy Talent.
“What’s great is being a local band we’d never have the opportunity to play with Billy Talent in Toronto,” said ATWY guitarist Darcy Larouche.
For the Gimme the Gig contest, two bands went head-to-head in a bracket elimination each week, with fans voting for their favourite.
With Saturday’s shows also featuring The Motorleague, Bleeker and Death from Above, Larouche said the lineup fit really well with their punk band.
“It was cool to share the stage with bands like that,” he said.
They made the most of their time at the festival.
When they were on stage, they brought their hype guy to help pump up the crowd. Backstage, Larouche said they taught The Motorleague how to play Kan Jam.
He said there were a lot of faces in the crowd that he’s never seen at The Working Class where they play a lot of their local shows. After, they did really well at their merch table and met new fans as well.
The Gimme the Gig contest is just one way that TFEC supported local acts at Rock on the River.
The Northern Roots Stage had regional acts playing in between sets on the main stage.
“We’re proud to have worked with the majority of bands and artists in Northern Ontario over the past few years and are always on the lookout for new talent to work with. Our Northern Roots Stage from Northern College allowed these local acts to share the same crowd as our headliners, even if they weren’t on the same stage,” said Ryan Daly, TFEC director of community relations.
“We’re hoping people see the artists in our backyard, grab some merch and support them next time they’re playing, whether it be at a TFEC event or not. Culture and a good quality of life go hand in hand and a strong musical community is a big part of a city's culture and community. Musicians talk and when artists come in from out of town they’re amazed to see that ‘things are happening in Timmins.’”
To be part of the festival, In My Coma, who was a runner up in the Gimme The Gig contest, even drove up from Toronto to play the side stage.
“When artists play our events we do the best we can to accommodate them and make sure they bring good news back to their music scene. Timmins is a great, fun place to live and there’s cool things happening here. We want people to know about it, and for us, that starts with local and upcoming artists,” said Daly.
For All the Wasted Years, this was the second time they’ve played Rock on the River.
“Even if we never get a chance to play again, we’ve played twice and it was awesome,” said Larouche.
“I hope other bands get the opportunity we’ve had with TFEC.”
Now that the fun is over, TFEC is working on getting all the numbers together from the event.
Although it’ll be a while before those details are finalized, Daly said the third-annual festival was mint.
