Kelowna will be hosting Breakout West this fall, and 20 acts from across Western Canada were announced as the first wave of artists who will be performing at the festival, Oct. 10-15.
Breakout West says it is a showcase festival of emerging acts alongside iconic acts. Now in its 16th year, the annual festival which rotates from city to city says its goal is to help develop, support, and honour the best of Western Canadian music. Kelowna last hosted Breakout West in 2010.
Amongst the 20 acts who were named on Monday to this year’s festival were two with Okanagan roots: The Grapes of Wrath and Ben Klick.
At this year’s festival, which will take place at several venues, The Grapes of Wrath will be celebrated for being inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The band released its first full-length album in 1985.
“We are especially excited to be receiving this honour in Kelowna, the town where we got our start,” Grapes of Wrath founding member Kevin Kane said in a press release. “Incredible to think that it’s been 40 years since we were two teens and a tween, gathering every Friday night in a basement in Glenmore to bash out British Invasion and punk rock songs.”
The Hall Of Fame award annually recognizes an artist/band which has made a significant impact in their career; traditionally being awarded to an artist/band from the host province.
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“The Grapes of Wrath will join a great group of past inductees who have built the Canadian music scene and have been recognized worldwide as a key element in the soundtrack of the past few decades,” said Robyn Stewart, executive director of the Western Canadian Music Alliance. “We are incredibly excited to honour them with this induction in Kelowna.”
Meanwhile Klick is an up-and-coming new country artist who describes himself as having a traditional twist. He released an EP in September 2015 and has won five music awards.
A schedule is available at breakoutwest.ca.
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