Stressed-out Badgers are in luck: tickets are still available for the Vertigo Music Festival, the perfect distraction from the anxieties of March.
Dubbed “Niagara’s dizziest festival experience,” the Vertigo Music Festival returns to Brock this Saturday, March 15, after launching last year. Boasting an impressive 13-band lineup across two stages, the festival’s second iteration promises to be bigger and better than its predecessor.
Whether you stick to the Main Stage or the Side Stage or traverse between both, festivalgoers are in for a sprawling aural epic of musical excellence, with the opener starting at 3 p.m. and the main act not coming on until 10 p.m.
Better yet, all these bands are local within Ontario, some even within the region. Maggot Pizza and Sunshine Express, two of the early acts, are both signed under the Niagara-based record label Routine Exploits, and pop artist Sophi is from Niagara Falls.
You’ll find me at the main stage, rocking out to the seven bands spanning emo, punk, electronic, indie, rock and other genres: Maggot Pizza, JULES IS DEAD, Sun Junkies, Sunshine Express, DEAR-GOD, Cam Kahin and the headlining, certified rockers, The Dirty Nil.
The Dirty Nil single-handedly make the ticket worth it for me. I’m a recent fan, but I fell hard for these punk-rockers, whose songs exude youthful, carefree energy and have a wicked knack for getting my head to shake back and forth. Despite St. Catharines being an old haunt of theirs, having played at Merchant Ale House and Warehouse in their early years, I’ve only seen them live once for their AC/DC tribute show in Hamilton, which I covered in a previous article. At Vertigo, St. Catharines gets to welcome this stellar band once again with a new generation of Niagara punks.
And with so many local powerhouses supporting them, Vertigo is gearing up to be one of the best local concerts in recent years — on a similar level, I’d argue, as the momentous Born & Raised concerts in 2022 and 2024.
The Main Stage Vertigo show might be the best thing for stressed and burnt-out Badgers. Haven’t been to the gym since January? You’ll burn that winter weight right off after eight hours in the mosh pit. Worried about the political scene with the U.S.? These Canadians will give you but a taste of our country’s majesty. Stressed about exams, graduating and your future beyond your undergrad? The Nil’s chainsaw-ripping guitar riffs will drown those worries out, no problem.
If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, the Side Stage might just be for you. With bands influenced by pop, folk, rock, jazz, country and alternative sounds, the show features Lydia Stephen, Soft Animals, Velvet Beach, Sophi, Lauren Dillen and prog-folk, femme-pop choral collective Minuscule.
The Side Stage show won’t be nearly so intense, providing a serene and poetic experience — whether that’s experienced between the hard stuff or purely on its own.
Tickets can be purchased for just the Main Stage ($69.83), the Side Stage ($48.88) or both ($97.77) on DICE.
It wouldn’t be a festival without vendors, and that’s why Vertigo teamed up with Cozy Bones to organize a vendor fair with “20 amazing handmade and hand-curated vendors” alongside the live performances. Interested businesses can still sign up for a spot at $75 per table. Rosewood Print Co. and Warehouse Concert Hall are also listed as sponsors and partners alongside Cozy Bones.
The Vertigo Music Festival promises to be the best local music event of the year: not only a showcase of local talent, but a rip-roaring rock concert, period. Let’s show these bands just how great Brock is: that we can rock with the best of them, and that we’re a crowd worth playing for.
I’ll see you in the pit.
Stay tuned to The Brock Press for my upcoming review of the Vertigo Music Festival Main Stage show.