The Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival is a Vancouver music festival that takes place on the lawns of Deer Lake Park in August.
The one-day event attracts great bands and up to 5000 people.
Deer Lake Music Festival
In 2019 the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival is on Saturday, August 10th. Bands scheduled to perform include Southern Avenue, William Prince, The War & Treaty, Dan Mangan, Lord Huron and Feist.
The headliner band a couple of years ago was Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, and other great bands included Matt Andersen, Sue Foley, Leeroy Stagger, Jesse Roper, Murray Porter, Little Miss Higgins, Jesse Waldman, and Kaya Kurz. In 2018 the headliner band was Nathanial Rateliff & the Night Sweats.
About the Festival
The Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival takes place at Deer Lake Park in central Burnaby not far from the City Hall and Burnaby Village Museum. The park is a beautiful venue, and the festival features three different stages, a market, food vendors and (very importantly) beer and wine service.
2019 Concert Lineup
The schedule for the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival in 2019 is listed below. (Note: times and performer details are subject to change.)
- 2:05 to 2:50 pm – Southern Avenue: a Soul music quintet from Memphis Tennessee.
- 3:10 to 3:55 pm – William Prince: a JUNO Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician from the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba.
- 4:25 to 5:10 pm – The War & Treaty: the husband and wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter.
- 5:30 to 6:30 pm – Dan Mangan: a 2-time JUNO award-winning Vancouver-based musician and songwriter.
- 7:00 to 8:15 pm – Lord Huron: an American Indie band from Los Angeles.
- 8:45 to 10:00 pm – Feist: a Canadian Indie Pop singer.
Performers at the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival in 2018 included the following:
- Amythyst Kiah – a southern Gothic singer
- Begonia – a Winnipeg-based singer
- The Suffers – a Soul band from Texas
- Nikki Lane – a Nashville singer
- The Rural Alberta Advantage – a Folk group
- Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats – a Denver Colorado-based group
Things to Take and Leave at Home
There are a number of things that the festival recommends you bring to the event, as well as items you should leave at home.
TIP: NOT allowed at the festival are the usual things like outside alcohol, drugs and weapons, but also not welcome are pets, frisbees, balls, BBQs, musical instruments, shaded canopies and even umbrellas (so hope it doesn’t rain)!
Things to take include sunscreen and/or a raincoat depending on how the weather looks. Items you can take with you include low back beach style chairs (not more than 8″ in height off the ground) and small blankets.
The Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival is a fabulous family-friendly event with great music. The crowd is all ages.
Festival Admission
Most years the gates open at noon on the Saturday and performances run from 1 until 10 pm.
In 2018 single tickets cost $50 plus taxes and service charges when purchased in advance, and a 4-pack of tickets cost $180. Early-bird tickets were also available until the early spring for about $40. Tickets on the day could also be purchase at the gate for $60.
Children 12 and under are usually free with an accompanying adult, but they still need tickets.
Note: Advance tickets in previous years cost about $65 each or $220 for a set of four, including GST but excluding fees, so more than in 2018. Tickets at the gate in 2018 cost about $80. The reason for the price drop? Likely due to fewer performers in 2018 than in previous years.
Other Information
For more information on the event, check out the official Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival website.
For more ideas on things to do in the month of August, check out our Events Calendar.
