It’s been a long time coming, but the first-ever High Times Cannabis Cup in Canada is taking place this weekend—and frankly, we can’t wait to pitch our tents and weed through the festival’s many offerings (pun absolutely intended).
The event, formerly known as the Legends Valley Music Festival, takes place in the heart of the Cowichan Valley at Laketown Ranch on Vancouver Island.
If you’re attending, you can expect to see music on two stages, a massive cannabis vendor expo, the always-exciting Cannabis Cup, and a series of seminars hosted by locally and internationally renowned cannabis experts like Dana Larsen, Neil Magnuson, Danny Danko, Carly Marley, and more.
After a series of lineup changes, we’re pretty impressed with the array of local and international artists High Times organizers have been able to pull together, and we’re pumped to see so many different genres on the bill.
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Here are our top five music choices for this weekend’s festival.
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer (Friday, 6:45 to 7:45 p.m.)
We had the pleasure not too long ago of watching this duo (supported by vocalist Dawn Pemberton) play an unplugged show at the Georgia Straight headquartes,, so you can bet that we’re looking forward to hearing Shawn Hall and Matt Rogers amplified on the festival’s main stage. In March, music editor Mike Usinger commended the duo for its ability to ‘pull off the admirable trick of bringing something new to a famously tradition-bound genre’, and frankly, we don’t disagree with him on much. The combination of Hall’s perfect rasp and bluesy harmonica with Rogers’ meaty guitar solos also makes for pretty good road trip music. We’ll likely be pumping their latest album, Apockalipstick, en route.
House of Pain (Friday, 11 p.m. to 12 a.m.)
Do we really have to give you a reason to check these guys out? If not for the stage antics of Everlast, DJ Lethal, and Danny Boy, then at the very least for what is bound to be the most pumped up version of ‘Jump Around’ you’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing.
Mat the Alien (Saturday, 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.)
We love this purveyor of wobbly bass lines and hip hop-infused remixes, plus Mat gets bonus points for being local to the southwest coast. This turntable magician is a festival veteran, and blew us away at last year’s Legends Valley Music Festival with his insane ability to keep an indecisive crowd of stoners in one place for three hours. (We know he’s scheduled for one hour this year, but if we know Mat, it will likely be a longer set.)
Lil’ Kim (Saturday, 10:30 to 11 p.m.)
Arguably one of hip hop’s biggest female stars, our love for Lil’ Kim runs deep. (Her badass verse on Notorious B.I.G’s ‘Get Money’ is among our faves.) The rap diva better known as Kimberly Jones will bring her Brooklyn style to the main stage on Saturday for a headlining show that is sure to put the jive she did on Dancing With the Stars to shame.
Wyclef Jean (Sunday, 4:15 to 5:15 p.m.)
Singer, actor, one-time Haitian presidential candidate and former Fugees front man Wyclef Jean will bring the heat on Sunday afternoon—on a day that’s already meant to be a scorcher in more ways than one. This master collaborator has worked with the likes of everyone from Cyndi Lauper to Shakira to Young Thug, so we’re expecting a set as diverse as his body of work.
Delhi 2 Dublin (Sunday, 5:15 to 6:45 p.m.)
Another act that score points for having local roots, Delhi 2 Dublin is known for taking elements of Bhangra and Celtic music and infusing them with hip hop, funk, dub, and electronic music. With guitars, citars, dhols, and fiddles in hand, the seven players in D2D are known for their consistent energy and crowd interaction, so expect to move around during what is sure to be a lively set.
