Regularly voted “Best Local Festival” by readers of The Overcast, Lawnya Vawnya will be back for its 8th year this May, and another round of memorable bar shows, stellar sitdown acoustic shows, artist talks, music crawls, readings, film screenings, and more. Grab your ticket or pass here.

A Broad Swath of Music from Abroad to Headline

This year’s big draw is Alvvays. Arguably the most buzzed band of their genre in the country right now, they’ve won a Juno, and the hearts or critics, cool kids, and mainstreamers alike. Their super polished sound borrows the best aspects of pop to build the distinct, infectious rock sound they crafted on their 2 much-lauded LPs.

Montreal’s indie rock staples Land of Talk, Toronto’s genre-busting, successfully experimental fusion all-stars Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, and one of the country’ biggest hits in hip hop, Clairmont the Second round out the CFA headliners.

Other big names on the bill from abroad include electro-pop five piece Bernice, Calgary’s force-of-nature multi-disciplinary artist Rae Spoon, Halifax’s trending post-punk band Booji Boys, Sorrey, the PEI dream-rock band lead by frontwoman, Emilee Sorrey, Nova Scotia’s Strongboy and Botfly, and New Brunswick’s Jane Blanchard.

“We are also thrilled to present Eamon McGrath, a folk-rock based singer songwriter from Edmonton, Alberta,” says Festival Director Chrissy Lee, “and Toronto’s creative powerhouse Maylee Todd, an independent musician, performance artist and producer who will be showcasing her latest multimedia experience, Virtual Womb.”

A Wicked Mix of Locals to Round out the Lineup

The festival will also showcase a rare performance from Grammercy Riffs, a set from Mark Bragg fresh on the release of his latest album, the best Ukrainian Band in Newfoundland, The Kubasonics, alongside sets from some of the best of what’s round these days:

  • Lo Siento
  • Conditioner
  • Kira Sheppard
  • Family Video
  • Trouser
  • Weary
  • Yee Grlz
  • john
  • Greta Warner
  • Cicerone
  • Rube & Rake
  • Land of the Lakes
  • The Van Buren Boys
  • Albert Dalton

As Always,
The Festival Offers More than Late Night Live Music

Complementing the live music, Lawnya Vawnya will sandwich some author readings into the events, host a few artist talks, a special Lawnya Vawnya episode of the Renee Sharpe Show, a film screening of Play Your Gender, and more, including a record fair, and the always popular downtown & Quidi Vidi music crawls, where people are treated to 2-3 songs by a band, and saunter a few paces away to catch a few songs by another band, for a total of 4-5 sets in some really great settings.

Tickets on sale at lawnyavawnya.com