“Festival of the people” is set for biggest year yet with political punk act Propagandhi among the highlights. Plus: Check out our list of five must-see performances.
Where:Ship Point, Victoria Curling Club, and moreWhen:June 18-22Tickets:Ticketweb.caor Tourism Victoria Visitor Centre (812 Wharf St.), Fascinating Rhythm (Nanaimo), and Area 51 (Duncan)Information:victoriaskafest.ca
The Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival enters its 26th year this week as one of the top events in the city. It is also steadying itself for the biggest attendance in festival history, at a point in time when other events are feeling the weight of ballooning budgets.
Advance tickets — all 1,430 of them — for the Friday performance by headliners Propagandhi are sold-out, and it looks like a Saturday appearance by The Pharcyde may reach its 1,900 capacity come showtime. “We have more advance tickets sold at this point than we did in total last year,” said co-founder and artistic director Dane Roberts. “And that’s with a few days to go.”
Producers of the annual event grew the festival’s format in 2011 by expanding to five days for the first time. That move laid the groundwork for future success by giving Roberts the ability to realize his multi-format vision of what the festival is today, with a mixture of art, music, and free and paid programming.
Another key move was securing the Victoria Curling Club as one of its anchor venues in 2022, its first year back following the COVID-19 pandemic. Paired with the festival’s longtime home at Ship Point, on the Inner Harbour, the addition gives the longest-running festival of its kind in North America two large capacity all-ages venues to play with — and Roberts the ability to approach acts with a higher profile.
“That allowed us to take some chances, to expand our horizons,” Roberts said of the Victoria Curling Club. “But we grew into it. It wasn’t easy, because it was a big step. But we had to grow.”
The festival has found its way by catering to its niche audience, and often being ahead of the curve when it comes to booking future stars and established veterans. Shaggy, Booker T. Jones, Toots & the Maytals, The Wailers, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Maxi Priest, Fishbone, Barrington Levy, Neville Staple of The Specials, Mighty Mighty Bosstones — the festival’s alumni list reads like a who’s who of ska, reggae, hip-hop and ska-punk from the last 50 years of music.
“When everyone is over inflating [their performance fees], we tend to do free shows and book bands that are reasonable,” Roberts said of his philosophy. “There’s no reason to break the bank. People will come for good music.”
The addition of Propagandhi this year is an example of the festival’s evolution, and was one of several shrewd moves this year. The Pharcyde, now with three of its four founding members in tow, has not played a meaningful show here in more than 20 years, while ska-pop favourites Save Ferris and Sublime offshoot Jakobs Castle will be making their Vancouver Island debuts this week.
Propagandhi has only played Victoria twice since 1993, with its most recent appearance coming in 2016; with more than 1,400 tickets sold for their return, there was a clear demand to see the band on local soil. Though he had some reservations about booking a punk act as a headliner, Roberts said the Winnipeg band’s reputation for political activism and socially conscious lyrics aligned with the core values of the non-profit Victoria BC Ska & Reggae Society, which produces the event.
“When you look at the title of our festival, it says ska and reggae — but we’re so much more than that. Reggae had a hand in creating hip-hop, and punk is adjacent to ska and reggae racially and stylistically, because it is fused with so many genres.”
Roberts said the festival is a success because of its community feel and group mentality on the organizational front. Long ago, it was dubbed “the festival of the people,” for its ability to include a variety of genres and cultures. He never took that title for granted, and programs with that same mentality more than a quarter century into the festival’s run.
“In other parts of the world, reggae and ska are a lot better known. But there are always enough people here who know how good it is, despite the fact it doesn’t get the mainstream nod. And they support it.”
The Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival is set to have a banner year, with more than 50 artists booked to play the city this week. While some names on the program may be new to some, there’s plenty to like — and several to not be missed, especially on Saturday. Here are five picks you’ll want to see.
1. Propagandhi(Canada). The biggest draw at this year’s Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival festival is a dyed-in-the wool punk act, which speaks to both the enduring legacy of Winnipeg legends Propagandhi and the sheer variety of the 2025 event. A whopping 1,430 tickets have been sold in advance for the punk quartet’s hugely anticipated appearance, its first in Victoria in several years. Buckle up, fans — this one is going to be a wild ride. Friday, June 20, Victoria Curling Club.
2. The Pharcyde(United States). Hip-hop — much like punk — has officially found its footing at the festival, despite only ska and reggae making it to the moniker of the event. No matter:Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, the 1992 debut by these vets from Los Angeles, remains a high water mark in the jazz-rap genre, and their Inner Harbour appearance will be a summer highlight, to be sure. Saturday, June 21, Ship Point.
3. Jakobs Castle(United States). Twenty-nine year old Jakob Nowell is the founding frontman of Jakobs Castle and de facto singer for Sublime, the ska-punk force of nature founded by his late father. Nowell’s set on Saturday will pay tribute to his Long Beach, California roots with a set of Sublime-centric material, perhaps with help from some of his dad’s former collaborators in the Long Beach Dub All Stars, who are also on the bill Saturday. In a word, sublime. Saturday, June 21, Victoria Curling Club.
4. Sister Nancy(Jamaica). Bam Bam, a dancehall staple and by far the biggest hit of Sister Nancy’s career, has been sampled in more than 150 songs since 1982, includingLost Onesby Lauryn Hill,Truth Hurtsby Lizzo,Bamby Jay-Z andHold Upby Beyoncé. The native of Kingson, Jamaica, can still rock at age 63, and will return to the festival (where she performed in 2019) to receive her long overdue flowers. Saturday, June 21, Ship Point.
5. Mad Professor(United Kingdom). An icon of dub reggae, this Guyana-born Brit has a list of production credits unlike few of his peers, including projects with Lee Scratch Perry, Sly and Robbie, and Massive Attack. In the world of cutting-edge electronics, his ability to coax sounds from his vintage gear is something of a lost art at this point. Music fans will want to see this master at work when he returns to Victoria for the first time since 1999. Saturday, June 21, Victoria Curling Club.
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