A hot time in the city is planned for the week leading up to and into this year's ROOTSandBLUES Festival.
On July 22, Downtown Salmon Arm kicks off its Tuned Up Series – daily concerts giving people a taste of what's to come at the end of the week when the festival gets underway, from the 25th to the 27th.
This year's Tuned Up Series at the Ross Street Plaza stage begins with a group of local talented artists The Jazz Implication, led by Liam Nadurak (trumpet), Jordan Dick and Dan Smith (guitars), Darrin Herting (bass) and Will Friesen (drums). The gig begins at 11:45 a.m. on July 22.
Next up, at 11:45 a.m. on July 23, it's Sing N' Uke, featuring New Zealand/Canadian musician Paul Jonson playing ukulele with pizzazz.
On Wednesday, July 23, the concert moves to 6:45 p.m. with Empanadas Ilegales taking the stage. The Vancouver-based psychedelic cumbia and salsa band will transport you to a world of contagious groovy melodies and altered sounds.
At 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, July 24, the plaza stage belongs to Jimi, a magnetic performer who’s re-imagining the blues for a new generation. Jimi balances storytelling, soulful guitar lines, and an intimacy of voice with a musical maturity beyond her years.
The Sons of Django, from Saskatoon, play the plaza at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, July 25. The Sons include Lorne Deighton (rhythm guitar), Stephen Davis (lead guitar) and Emmett Fortoski (bass), paying homage to Django Reinhardt while adding their own contemporary touches to this popular genre of Gypsy jazz.
Closing out the Tuned Up Series at 10 a.m. on July 26 is Indigenous B.C. singer/songwriter Hayley Wallis, who delivers a powerful emotional performance that evokes a response as dynamic as her vocal range.
While Downtown Salmon Arm has the lunch hour covered on the 24th, the evening belongs to ROOTSandBLUES and the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society, which will be presenting their downtown Kickoff Concert at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Hudson Avenue and McLeod Street. Jimi returns to open the show, followed by Ashcroft B.C.'s The Melawmen Collective, who will share their music comprised of contemporary Indigenous fusion woven together with elements of hip hop, rock/folk, righteous rhymes and rich harmonies, carried through with experience, manifestation and visions of intergenerational stories of pain and healing.
Closing out the Kickoff show is Kingston, Ont. artist Miss Emily, whose unique combination of impassioned performances and incomparable vocals, earned her multiple Maple Blues Awards including New Artist of the Year and three consecutive nods for Female Vocalist of the Year.
For more about the above artists and the 2025 ROOTSandBLUES Festival, visit rootsandblues.ca.
