Evolve Festival is an annual multi-genre music and cultural festival in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. The festival is dedicated to the promotion of sustainable living and environmental awareness. It uses renewable energy sources (aided by

diesel generators A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression-ig ...

), recycled, and biodegradable products and endeavours (aided by

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...

) to limit solid waste. The festival originally took place near

Antigonish, Nova Scotia , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, until 2016, when the festival's permit was revoked due to issues related to rampant drug use among attendees.; it subsequently relocated to Beersville, New Brunswick. In 2010, Evolve Festival won the

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

contest vote for "Best Festival In Canada". The festival presents a diverse lineup of rock, jazz, funk, world music, hip hop, bluegrass and electronica performers.

History

The festival was first conceived by Joe MacEachern, a resident of

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, who then recruited Jim Dorey of Toronto to become the second founding member of Evolve Tribe. Jay Cleary joined the duo as the festival publicist and was able to raise significant export development funding from the

Nova Scotia Government The Government of Nova Scotia (french: Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse, gd, Riaghaltas Alba Nuadh) refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is one of Canada's four Atlantic Provinces, and the se ...

to develop the festival as a Nova Scotia Tourist Attraction. The first Evolve Festival was held in 2000 in Antigonish. In 2005, the team was joined by longtime supporter and Evolve Tribe member Jonas Colter of Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 2006, Jim Dorey sold his shares to Jonas and Joe; in 2008, Joe sold his shares to Jonas in order to pursue a degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. In 2016, the festival moved to Beersville, New Brunswick, after the Municipality of the County of Antigonish revoked Evolve's permit due to issues involving the lack of a medical plan.

Performers

Performers at the festival have included k-os,

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American folk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2005. The group is led by singer Alex Ebert. The band's name is based on a story Ebert wrote in his youth, about a messianic figure named E ...

The Trews The Trews are a Canadians, Canadian rock music, rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, consisting of vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Chris Gormley. The band is currently based in Hamil ...

Michael Franti Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966) is an American rapper, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and singer-songwriter, known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs ...

, Spearhead,

!!! !!! ( ), also known as Chk Chk Chk, is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1996 by lead singer Nic Offer. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as the Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers. They are curr ...

Battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Beardyman Darren Alexander Foreman (born 14 May 1982), better known as Beardyman, is a British multivocalist, musician and comedian from London known for his beatboxing skills and use of live looping. Early life After studying at Queen Elizabeth's Gra ...

Black Tiger Sex Machine Black Tiger Sex Machine, often abbreviated BTSM, are a Canadian electronic music trio based in Montreal, Quebec. The trio are the label heads for Kannibalen Records, which has signed such artists as Kai Wachi, Apashe, Dabin and Lektrique. BTSM s ...

Brazilian Girls Brazilian Girls is a band from New York, United States, known for their eclectic blend of electronic dance music with musical styles as diverse as tango, chanson, house, reggae and lounge (but no Brazilian rhythms at all). None of the member ...

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing ...

, Chali 2na, Delhi 2 Dublin, Do Make Say Think,

Dub FX Benjamin Stanford (born 11 June 1983), better known by his stage name Dub FX (stylized as ''Dub Fx'' or ''DubFx''), is an Australian musician and worldwide street performer. Born in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia,Moses, Allan (2010)Dubbing int ...

Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae styl ...

, Grandtheft, Moldylox,

Hey Rosetta! Hey Rosetta! is a Canadian seven-piece indie rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and led by singer/songwriter Tim Baker. Known for their energized live shows, the band created a large, layered sound by incorporating piano, viol ...

Holy Fuck Holy Fuck is a Canadian electronica band from Toronto. They were a part of Dependent Music, a music label and artist collective that began in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2004 until its closing. They were then a part of the Young Turks label and in ...

Man Man Man Man is an American experimental rock band from Philadelphia currently based in Los Angeles. Their multi-instrumental style is centered on the piano playing of lead singer, songwriter, and lyricist Honus (Ryan Kattner). Honus is accompanied ...

Medeski Martin & Wood Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and ...

, Pretty Lights, Rezz,

Rheostatics Rheostatics are a Canadian indie rock band. They were formed in 1978, and actively performed from 1980 until disbanding in 2007. After a number of reunion performances at special events, Rheostatics reformed in late 2016, introducing new songs a ...

Xavier Rudd Xavier Rudd (born 29 May 1978) is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. Several of Rudd's songs incorporate socially conscious themes, such as spirituality, humanity, environmentalism and the rights of Indigen ...

The Sheepdogs The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Ju ...

, Slowcoaster, The Jimmy Swift Band, Telesma, That 1 Guy,

The Be Good Tanyas The Be Good Tanyas are a Canadian folk music group formed in Vancouver in 1999. Their influences include folk, country, and bluegrass. The style of music they perform can be referred to as alt-country or Americana. History The Be Good Tanya ...

Wintersleep Wintersleep is a Canadian indie rock band formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2001.Heidi Ulrichsen"Wintersleep offers 'sneak peeks' of new album at Boreal" ''Sudbury Star'', June 30, 2014. The band's original lineup consisted of vocalist and gui ...

, and Luther Wright and the Wrongs.

Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer who is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2022, and previously served as the leader from 2006 to 2019. Sh ...

of Green Party of Canada spoke at the 2007 event. In addition to its main stage, the festival also features several smaller stages genres such as

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

, bass, and

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

. There are smaller

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia ...

stages highlighting smaller acts from around the world. In 2010, over 115 acts performed.

Controversy

According to ''

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

'' and ''

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'', Evolve Festival has had a reputation for rampant drug use for most of its history. In 2015, a 21-year-old man died from natural causes after attending the festival. Though the death was unrelated to the event itself, it brought the festival's drug policies into public interest as medical professionals raised concerns. In December 2015, Evolve was issued a conditional permit by the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, with one of the conditions being a committed medical plan, developed and overseen by a physician by February 1, 2016. In 2016, the Municipality revoked the festival's permit after Evolve organizers were unable to satisfactorily address a medical plan as per their condition. Evolve was thereby forced to relocate from

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, eventually finding a spot in

instead.

References

External links

Evolve Festival
{{Coord, 45.551, -61.788, display=title, type:event_dim:2000_region:CA-NS Rock festivals in Canada Jazz festivals in Canada Music festivals in New Brunswick Music festivals in Nova Scotia Recurring events established in 2000 Electronic music festivals in Canada Antigonish, Nova Scotia