The Niagara Stage

Jun 30, 2018

Queen Victoria Park, Niagara Falls

The Niagara Stage Concert Series is presented by Niagara Parks, with support from the renowned Polaris Music Prize & the Government of Ontario. Happening every Saturday (plus Canada Day) throughout the summer at our epic Queen Victoria Place stage, this series draws from the long list of diverse Canadian musical talent that has been awarded, recognized, and listed by the prestigious Canadian Music Prize across its 12 year history.

Stay tuned for the official release of the 2019 concert lineup!

The Niagara Stage Concert Series is presented by Niagara Parks with support from the renowned Polaris Music Prize & the Government of Ontario. This series draws from the long list of diverse Canadian musical talent that has been awarded, recognized, and listed by the prestigious Canadian Music Prize across its 12-year history. Enjoy a spectrum of sounds, styles, talent, and culture as vast as Canada itself.

Past Niagara Stage Performers

Basia Bulat

With an electrifying voice and lyrics like silver arrowheads, Basia Bulat has become one of Canada’s most conspicuous talents. Juno nominated and shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, she often appears solo in gigantic halls, winning over crowds with an autoharp or charango, stomping feet and two mighty lungs.

The Darcys

The Darcys are an alternative pop duo from Toronto, Canada that combine the anthemic songwriting of The Killers and Arctic Monkeys with the dance-floor-ready fun of Chromeo and Justice. Always the life of the party, The Darcys’ music is lush with vibrant synths, 808s and funk bass that makes their sound feel as at home in today’s modern pop landscape as it would in a crate of classic vinyl.

Weaves

In 2016, Weaves’ self-titled album was among the most anticipated of the year, lauded internationally upon its release for the band’s sideways approach to guitar pop, described as “one of the most unpredictable sounds of 2016” (MTV), and “a triumphant assault on all things conventional” (i-D). For the band, the year was a transformative experience, spent mostly on the road, playing festivals and touring with fellow 2016 breakout artists like Sunflower Bean and Mitski.

Philippe B

A pillar of Quebec’s author’s music scene, Philippe B was the recipient of the singer-songwriter of the year award at ADISQ’s 2014 Gala. He carefully weaves his web of rich and unique songs, creating a distinct musical universe that makes him stand out from his peers. He has twice made the Polaris Long List, only confirming Philippe B’s place as one of Quebec’s leading singer-songwriters and as a major artist of his generation.

Nap Eyes

Nap Eyes makes crooked, literate guitar pop refracted through the gray Nova Scotian rain. Their songs are equal parts shambling and sophisticated, with one eye on the dirt and one trained on the starry firmament, inhabiting a skewed world where odes to NASA, brain protein aggregation, and the Earth’s magnetic field coexist easily with lyrics about insomnia, self-reproach, and drinking too much.

Antoine Corriveau

Critically acclaimed and SOCAN Song Award winner (Le Nouveau Vocabulaire, 2015) Antoine Corriveau redefines himself from album to album whilst imposing his racy song-writing style. Both bared down and unpolished, then sometimes magnified by rich orchestral arrangements, he has refined his firm and balanced voice out of the ashes of Dylan, Waits and Nick Cave.

Jessy Lanza

Jessy Lanza's second album 'Oh No' is addressed to her own constant nervousness. The pressure of music making, which used to calm her nerves, has led to a whole new world of contingencies that stoke the anxiety mill. The exclamation 'Oh No,' for Jessy, marks yet another incident of randomness interrupting her tranquility.

Kobo Town

Kobo Town is named after the historic neighborhood in Port-of-Spain where calypso was born amid the boastful, humorous and militant chants of roaming stick-fighters. Founded and fronted by émigré Trinidadian songwriter Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town’s music has been variously described as “an intoxicating blend of lilting calypsonian wit, dancehall reggae and trombone-heavy brass” (Guardian) and a “unique, transnational composite of rhythm, poetry and activist journalism.”(Exclaim!)

Tanika Charles

In a few short years Tanika Charles has transformed from an emerging solo artist to a commanding performer and band leader, a staple of the Canadian soul scene. Both on stage and off, Edmonton-raised Charles presents an immutable charm, at times endearingly abrasive and honest in her vulnerabilities.

Fiver

For a decade, Simone Schmidt has been writing new life into and around folk, country, and rock songs. Critically outspoken and largely evading the branding of the music industry proper by working under several aliases, Schmidt might be recognized for her tenure as the front person and songwriter for country act One Hundred Dollars (2007-11) or psych rock unit The Highest Order (2011-ongoing), or from her solo work as Fiver (2012 - on).

Polaris Music Prize history

Basia Bulat

2008 – Short List for the album Oh, My Darling
2010 – Long List for the album Heart Of My Own
2014 – Short List for the album Tall Tall Shadow
2016 – Short List for the album Good Advice

Weaves

2017 – Short List for the album Weaves
2018 – Long List for the album Wide Open

Antoine Corriveau

2017 – Long List for the album Cette chose qui cognait au creux de sa poitrine sans vouloir s’arrêter

Tanika Charles

Long List for the album Soul Run

The Darcys

2014 – Long List for the album Warring

Philippe B

2014 – Long List for the album Ornithologie, la nuit
2017 – Long List for the album La grande nuit vidéo

Jessy Lanza

2014 – Short List for the album Pull My Hair Back
2016 – Short List for the album Oh No

Fiver

*2009 – Long List for the album Forest Of Tears
*2011 – Long List for the Songs Of Man
2017 – Long List for the album Audible Songs From Rockwood
* as a member of One Hundred Dollars