With 118 acts over four jam-packed days and nights, Rifflandia isn't short on musical offerings - from underground upstarts hoping to drive a stake in the ground to veterans looking to ensure their legacy.
Need help deciding who to see? Here's a shortlist of 20 acts that should make your Rifflandia decisionmaking a little less difficult.
The Flaming Lips
Friday, Royal Athletic Park main stage
You can't do much better, entertainment-wise, than these Oklahoma City artpop maniacs, who are known for their dazzling, highly visual stage performances. The group, led by frontman/jester Wayne Coyne, is making its Victoria debut on Friday under the weight of massive expectations. The biggest band at this year's festival is expected to deliver.
DJ Shadow
Tonight, Market Square
DJ Shadow makes his long-awaited Victoria debut this week. The California producer (born Josh Davis) arrived like a shot with his 1996 debut, Endtroducing....., which positioned him at the forefront of a new era of hiphop. His DJ set at Market Square is guaranteed to shake the foundations.
Band of Skulls
Friday, Royal Athletic Park main stage
The U.K. trio of singer-bassist Emma Richardson, singer-guitarist Russell Marsden and drummer Matt Hayward knows a thing or two about buzzsaw rock, having put their stamp on the sound with two excellent albums over a three-year period.
Killer Mike
Tonight, Club 9ONE9
Killer Mike brought gangsta rap back to the forefront in 2012, thanks to his awe-inspiring record from earlier this summer,
R.A.P. Music. He's an old-school rapper in the 37-year-old body of Atlanta native Michael Render. He slings from the hip and takes no prisoners.
Morgan Page
Friday, Market Square
The trajectory of Vermont native Morgan Page has risen steadily in recent years, due in part to the electronic dance music explosion that has taken his contemporaries (Deadmau5, Ti脙芦sto, Armin van Buuren) to the top of the charts. Page isn't at that level yet, but a recent collaboration with Tegan and Sara (on the single Body Work) laid the groundwork for a bright future.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Friday, Royal Athletic Park side stage
The Seattle duo of rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis is the perfect side-stage preamble for the Flaming Lips set that follows on Friday. Expectations are that these swagger-heavy upstarts are poised to break out of the Pacific Northwest when The Heist full-length drops later this year.
Bright Light Social Hour
Saturday, Royal Athletic Park side stage; Saturday, Victoria Event Centre
You've got two chances to catch this '70s-sounding combo from Austin, Texas, which dips often into beatheavy jam-band territory. Prone to long stretches of musical exploration, in addition to Spinal Tap-ian excess, BLSH is like the Steely Dan of the hipster set - bad mustaches and all.
Reggie Watts
Sunday, Royal Athletic Park side stage
This regular Conan O'Brien collaborator specializes in the absurd; how else do you describe the man who sang Big Ass Purse? Watts, 40, has the potential to go completely off the rails, but what keeps the Brooklyn bad-ass in good stead with Funny or Die fanatics is his razorsharp comic timing. That and his interplanetary afro, commensurate with his extra-large personality.
The Head and the Heart
Sunday, Royal Athletic Park side stage
Pacific Northwest indie favourites the Head and the Heart make classic folk with a modern-day approach akin to likeminded groups such as the Lumineers, the Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons. Those in the mood for a laid-back listening session could do worse than a set by the Head and the Heart.
The Antlers
Saturday, Alix Goolden Performance Hall
A heightened sense of drama appears to line every song by the Antlers, a Brooklyn band fronted by songwriter Peter Silberman. Look for major-league impact when the band brings Saturday night to a close at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall.
Chixdiggit!
Saturday, Victoria Event Centre
At one point during the late 1990s, Calgary's Chixdiggit! were at the forefront of the small but dedicated power-punk movement in this country. The band is older, but there's an inherent youthfulness to classic cuts like Henry Rollins is No Fun and I Wanna Hump You.
Saul Williams
Saturday, Metro Theatre
The spoken-word poetry and music of Saul Williams has a way of clarifying the "contemporary ghetto experience," according to the Washington Post. That's heavy - but accurate - praise for this wordsmith, who rose to fame after starring in the 1998 film Slam.
Kode9
Tonight, Lucky Bar
Glasgow native Steve Goodman kicks off his 10-stop tour at Lucky Bar tonight, one of just three Canadian dates on a tour that has met with acclaim. In addition to his musical accomplishments (which have taken him into dreaded dubstep territory), Goodman is a published author and owner of London's highly regarded Hyperdub record label, home to such pioneering acts as Burial and The Bug.
Data Romance
Tonight, Alix Goolden Performance Hall
The Victoria-bred, Vancouver-based synth-pop duo of Ajay Bhattacharyya and Amy Kirkpatrick originally found its footing at Lucky Bar, but has made the jump at Rifflandia to the stately surroundings of the Alix Goolden Performance Hall.
The Aggrolites
Friday, Royal Athletic Park side stage
While they haven't shown the promise of their early recordings on recent outings, L.A.'s the Aggrolites are seasoned pros live. Combining the rock-infused jump of Rancid with the steady vibes of white-boy soul, the band absolutely brings it on stage, pleasing hardcore punks and soul fans in the process.
Everlast
Sunday, Royal Athletic Park side stage
From his days in Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate posse to his work with House of Pain and Cypress Hill, New York native Everlast has lived a lifetime in hip hop. He turned a corner in 1998 with Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, a radical reinvention that saw him branch out into singer-songwriter territory. The result was the smash hit What It's Like, which came close to - but did not eclipse - hit signature song with House of Pain, the party-rocking Jump Around.
The Stanfields
Friday, Victoria Event Centre; Saturday, Royal Athletic Park side stage
If you've listened to local rock station The Zone of late, you've undoubtedly heard Ship to Shore, the Celtic-infused rallying cry from these hard-charging Nova Scotians. Those who are as yet unaware of the group might want to pencil in some face time with the Maritimes' answer to the Dropkick Murphys.
Lunice
Friday, Lucky Bar
Montreal beatmaker Lunice Fermin Pierre II is not yet 25 but already has three dozen credits to his name, from remixes of The xx and Deerhunter to mixtapes that date back to when he was a 16-year-old upstart. Lunice remains below ground for the most part, but don't expect him to stay there for long.
Mother Mother
Sunday, Royal Athletic Park main stage
Mother Mother is poised for a breakout, and all signs are pointing to its festivalclosing date as the launching pad. The Juno nominees' new album, The Sticks, arrives Tuesday with all the triple-harmonies Quadra Island native Ryan Guldemond and his singing partners Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin could muster.
Wake Owl
Tonight, Victoria Event Centre
This Vancouver-based roots rock outfit fit in nicely alongside locals Jon and Roy during their Phillips Brewery gig together back in June, and they should feel right at home between their set-mates (including Rich Aucoin) during a rootsy all-ages showcase at the Victoria Event Centre. A quietly assured group that is slowly on the rise.
