After bringing the good medicine to Cache Creek on Sept. 12 and the remote mountain community of Shalalth on Sept. 19, the 2 Rivers Remix (2RMX) Movable Feast tour will be in the Toquaht Nation village of Macoah on Sept. 26.
Accessible off Highway 4 along Kennedy Lake, Macoah Village is about a 45-minute drive from Ucluelet. Camping is available at Secret Beach Campground and the free Indigenous music festival is set against the breathtaking background of the ancient waters of Barkley Sound.
“I just love going out to Toquaht. It’s such a beautiful location to work at,” said Brianna Underhill, 2RMX marketing manager. “It’s probably one of my top three locations that we’ve ever gone to. The camping there of course is just so beautiful. For me personally, the location is just spectacular. It’s going to be a great show. The line-up is really stacked.”
Toquaht Movable Feast opens at noon with a Welcoming Ceremony from the Toquaht Nation and elders, as well as a special performance by Mexika-Tenochka artist Ana Cornejo.
For the fourth year running, festivalgoers can expect a wide variety of contemporary music, alongside traditional Nuu-chah-nulth songs and dances, plus food and market vendors.
The festival highlights beloved local Nuu-chah-nulth youth artists Hasaatuk (Kalilah Rampanen) and Kiva MH (Kiva Morgan-Hall).
Hasaatuk’s music explores a diverse range of Indigenous, environmental and social horizons that combine a blend of acoustic, blues and alternative styles of expression. Morgan-Hall is a trained traditional cultural Nuu-chah-nulth dancer and performer, and his young wisdom shines through his verses relating to all generations.
Other featured performers include the Anishnaabe poet, singer/songwriter and MC from Little Saskatchewan First Nation Leonard Sumner, Toquaht’s own intergenerational healing roots-rhizome, hip-hop fusionists The Melawmen Collective, Juno award nominee Siibii, soulful pop heart-opening Hayley Wallis, and resident elder artist and Inuvialuit folk-rock legend Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback.
The evening will close with a live DJ set; an epic collab between the Godfather of Powwow Step, Shub, and Anishinaabe/Métis/North African global bass weaver, producer and DJ, Handsome Tiger.
Once again, the Movable Feast tour is hauling all their gear with a fleet of electric trucks.
“Charging is our passion,” laughed Underhill.
“It’s quite the process for sure, just planning out how long we have to stop here and if there are electric chargers there. It definitely is a learning curve going to all these remote Indigenous communities; a lot of them don’t have a charger, so we have to plan for that, but it’s all worth it,” Underhill shared.
Folks are encouraged to pre-register for the free Toquaht Movable Feast concert by visiting VirtualFeast.ca, where the performances will also be livestreamed to promote accessibility.
