There were feathers, beards, leather jackets, fir coats, matching outfits, surprise guests, bad performances, good performances, new friends, and much more. Between the many highlights of the festival are:

Coleman Hell’s unicorn skin jacket – like can we all slow clap for that or what! Thing got really weird though when he smashed his ukulele on the stag, but hey, why not.

One of the note-worthy up-and-comers Lucas Dipasquale shocked everyone with his jazzy voice, strong rhymes, and personal stories. Looking forward to what comes next from him!

Dirty Radio made it snow and made a new track, with audience participating right on the stage.

Keys N Krates headline performance brought everyone to one stage and jumping up and down into the air with passionate ambition. If anyone knows how to turn it up it’s definitely these three.

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Brave Shores: New synth kids on the block, Brave Shores is Jay and Stefanie McCarrol, a sibling duo from Toronto. It was an interesting choice to have them up on the main stage at Royal Athletic Park, as their performance of their own songs was an A for effort. High-spirited songs like “Never Come Down” or “Dancing Underwater” felt much more spontaneous on record than they did live. Give or take a year, there’s no doubt Brave Shores will do justice to themselves live.  Playing new tracks for the crowd, the infectious quality to their songs is what makes Brave Shores continue to stand out in a sea of synth pop bands, however the overall impact was diluted by repetitious lyrics that didn’t quite hit the mark live.

Sticky Fingers: There were a lot of artists playing in Victoria, but Sticky Fingers was a memorably good-looking band. The drummer was wearing jean shorts that left nothing to the imagination, and everyone needed a haircut and shower a week ago – such a look for a reggae band from Australia. Incredibly fun live, Sticky Fingers was a true delight. From love dub tunes like “Gold Snafu” to heavy noise throwdown, this was a warm set. Amusingly enough, on their Facebook description they say, “They’ll hypnotise you into a swaying trance, then punch you in the face for dancing like a hippy.”

The Zolas: Local darlings of Vancouver, The Zolas are an indie rock band with a hip sensibility and polished antics. The lead singer had interesting hand gestures and flips that were as elegant as they were silly. “Strange Girl” was amped, played up for all its worth in all the right ways. Having released the “Molotov Girls” off Light Organ Records earlier this summer, The Zolas have been on tour and plan to release a new album, currently titled Swooner in the near future.

Neon Indian: Long gone are the days when Neon Indian and chillwave will ever be in the same room again. The intense look in Alan Palomo’s eyes as he danced in serious and nimble fashion to the pop pastiche of his current discography was a blunt reminder of this. Drifting in between electronic genres, weaving synths with disco beats, there was this same dance in Neon Indian’s set that performed classics like “Terminally Chill.” VEGA INTL. Night School, despite a cover that tries too hard to be tacky, appears to be a goodie.

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Irene Lo: Let’s start with touring. You were in Toronto the other day and now Victoria. How does it feel? Do you find you are surprised by the fans you encounter when you play?

Doug Haynes: I am surprised every single time. I’m always like, “there’s only going to be 10 people.” I’m not sure if that’s a good way of looking at it, but I guess it is. It’s a positive experience to see that support in person. The show has fans that come talk to you and that’s the best feeling.

IL: It’s interesting to see what pulls everyone into this project. What do you find most interesting about this community you are devoting your time to?

DH: My first band was a metal band. If you compare that to the music we do, it’s a bit different. We all have roots in various genres. But in terms of why [I was drawn to this project], it’s hard to describe, but there is energy that is a positivity. Everyone in this band is a huge music consumer. You’d think most musicians would love music, but you can get wrapped up in the motions. We love listening to new projects and pushing ourselves to develop our sound further. With alternative pop, you can do weird stuff. Pushing yourself to be weird is accepted.

IL: How did you come to pick these songs to be featured on Dazzle Camouflage?

DH: A lot of the songs were written over the past year and we went through them. Our goal was to have twenty songs written and then have a ten-song album.

IL: What did you do with the rest of the songs?

DH: We still have them. They weren’t quite there yet.

IL: You are releasing this off Indica Records. What drew you towards releasing your debut with them and what was the process?

DH: We talked to a few labels, but Indica seemed very passionate about the project. The people that work at Indica are great people. They care about music and fostering artists rather than paychecks. That drew us to them — they take chances on bands. Not that I know a lot about music business, but there is a tendency to wait for bands to develop before you sign them so you’re already making money off them. With Indica, they believe in helping artists develop, and that was huge to us.

IL: Your producer was Luke Smith. He’s helped you write a cohesive record. I’d like to learn more about what new things you learned, and how that reflects on Dazzle Camouflage.

DH: It was cool, our first time working with a producer. The EP we produced ourselves. With Dazzle Camouflage we wanted to work with a producer who would push us to do our best work. We love him because [of] the sound he is able to create — they’re not huge elements, but if you take them out, you notice. Luke said he didn’t like being called a producer. He’s an artist. He wants to help artists make good songs.

We had probably called 35 producers. It got to the point where it was stressing me out, because how [was] I going to know [which producer would be the best choice]? We [were] talking about an end product that [wasn’t] conceptualized yet. Luke was one of the last people we talked to, and the minute we talked to him, every person in the band was like, “yeah, this is the guy we want to work with.” It was that aha moment.

IL: And it worked out, as you are happy to release it to the public. You were creating songs as soon as you wrapped up this record.

DH: Yeah, I don’t think we ever stop making songs.

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Rifflandia takes place over four days at venues around downtown Victoria (Vancouver Island’s largest and most populated city), with two main stages at Royal Athletic Park. It’s kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure. Plus, Victoria is so small that you see everyone you know, making it one of those magical, all-nighter adventures you talk about for months afterwards.

A strange mix of old school electro, indie rock, and Canadian talent, this year’s festival also turned out to be pleasantly hip-hop heavy and a little bit nostalgic.

Hot Hot Heat played on Saturday afternoon and sounded exactly like they did on the radio, circa 2004. Stars, Hawksley Workman and Souls of Mischief also graced the festival with their old school ways. (Souls are getting a bit old by the way – wasn’t ‘93, like, twenty years ago?)

But that’s not to say Rifflandia is for the uncool. Oozing West Coast everything – from trendy food trucks to colourful hippie fashions – there were a ton of great acts and, unfortunately, not enough time to see them all, even when running from venue to venue. Kid Koala, Mykki Blanco, and Bosnian Rainbows (Omar Rodríguez-López’s new project) were a few of the standout performances.

St. Lucia was also a breath of fresh air. They were so good live, in fact, they could have converted many a nonfan into die-hard supporters. Despite some technical difficulties, their set ended on a high note with the much-loved hit “September,” which was probably the highlight of the festival, as well-dressed West Coasters swayed in the afternoon sun.

Wintersleep was another highlight, drawing in a more wholesome crowd. They played a tight set, appropriately timed during nice weather, “You guys are fun. This is awesome!” they shouted, after playing their gorgeous new single, “Nothing Is Anything”.

In true festival fashion, rain poured during the headliners on the final night, making the whole experience a little more authentic, if not hardcore. The rain cast a spell on people drunkenly grooving to the last of the live music. Big Boi stole the show as he sat on a throne and pumped out his famous rhymes, including a few OutKast hits, obviously.

Matt & Kim also gave an outstanding performance that could have been hit or miss. Their fun energy in songs such as the brilliant “Let’s Go” and “Block After Block” remixed with hip hop beats, made up for the cold, blustery rain. Finally, it felt like a badass West Coastin’ festival.

Despite seamless vocals by Jade Castrinos, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros delivered an extremely lacklustre close to the weekend, especially in comparison to last year’s performance by Mother Mother, who topped off the festival with an epic, upbeat show.

The rain finally stopped, and crowds tiredly yawned their way home to recoup from four days of hearty fun.

Rifflandia, while still figuring out its direction as a festival, is most definitely the magical, mystery kind, with a little love and nostalgia, too.

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