Saskatchewan-based band Bombargo has a special appreciation for Waskesiu, so playing the Waskesiu Lakeside Music Festival was an easy decision.
The seven-piece touring band will headline the annual festival, which runs from Aug. 23-25. Lead singer Nathan Thoen grew up attending sleepovers at a friend’s cabin in the Waskesiu area, and is thrilled to be back there playing music.
“It’s always been a very special place in my heart,” Thoen said during a phone interview. “I think it’s one of the most beautiful lakes on planet earth. When we heard that we were going to be headlining the Lakeside Music Festival we were just stoked.
“It’s an amazing, amazing festival that they put on up there and to have that backdrop with the amount of great artists that they bring in, and the fact that the entire festival is free for everyone, it’s honestly just a win-win-win. It’s an amazing experience.”
Spencer Chilliak and Anthony Thoen (guitar), Matt Folkerson (keys), Connor Newton (saxophone), Niall Cubbon (drums) and Sammy Folkersen (bass) will join Nathan on the main stage Saturday, Aug. 23. The performance is the second last on their Stay Groovy Tour, which wraps up in Oregon on Aug. 31.
Music fans enjoy a main stage performance during the 2023 Waskesiu Lakeside Music Festival. The 2025 event begins on Aug. 22.
“We’ve have just been playing tonnes of music festivals, and a bunch of our own shows,” Thoen said. “We just have been on tour non-stop travelling all over the United States of America, and Canada as well. It’s been a lot of touring and a lot of shows, but (we’re) just enjoying it man, trying to soak up the moments.”
The third and final leg began on July 4, and included stops in New York, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Utah, among others. Thoen said it’s been a surreal experience.
“You kind of just look around and go ‘holy smokes’. You’ve got to pinch yourself every once in a while,” he said. “I’m just a boy from PA out here chasing the dream. It’s been a lot of fun to be doing it, and to be doing it with my brother and my best friends, it’s something that we never take for granted. It’s something that we’re really grateful to be doing.
“Obviously, there are times where you get a little tired out on the road, but it’s always worth it once you get to go and play the show. We always joke that we get paid to travel but we do the shows for free.”
Bombargo has a large musical catalogue to draw on. The list includes their debut IP ‘Back on Main’ from 2015, which was lasted as one of the Top 10 best Saskatchewan Albums of the Year by SaskMusic. It also includes ‘Mr. No Good’, which made waves when pop superstar Taylor Swift added it to her Spotify playlist.
The group has partnered with American DJ Walshy Fire for a new remix of their first song ‘Let it Grow’. It’s one of several new songs the group has yet to formally release, but Thoen said they’ve been sprinkling those unreleased songs into their live performances this tour.
Thoen said there have been some changes as the years go by, but the group tries to keep things light and fun.
“It started as more of a hobby, just writing songs and hanging out and then we’d play the odd show,” he remembered. “Now it’s becoming more of our entire lives. It’s definitely more all-encompassing I’d say, but from a music perspective, we always just try to write songs that we love. That’s our main criteria when we’re writing: is this a song that we want to play for the rest of our lives?”
Bombargo takes the stage at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. The festival starts at the Sunset Stage on Friday, Aug. 22 with performances from Brock Andrews, Sammy Lee Folkersen, and The Great Fuss, plus the Friends of the Park Lakeside Kick-Off Cabaret.
Saturday main stage performances include Kateryna Grace, Jay Semko and Danica Lorer, East Side of 2nd, Cupid’s Heart, JJ Lavallee Band, Blue Beach Band, Oral Fuentes, Zhe the Free, and Skaravan, with the Lakeside After Party Cabaret to follow.
The festival wraps up with a street fair and car show on Sunday, along with the Indigenous Talent Showcase featuring Mitch Daigneault, Raven Reid, Dakota Favel, Krystle Pederson, Julianna Parenteau, and JJ Lavallee.
Visit www.lakesidefestival.ca for more details.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
