The Beachfest Rocks music festival is just around the corner and will see a dozen bands jam out on the Parksville Outdoor Theatre, including Ten Souljers, billed as "Canada's No. 1 Special Event Band".
The festival, now rebranded in its fourth year, will see music fans drawn to the community park for three days of classic rock covers and more, from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10.
Ten Souljers band leader Marty Robson says summer festivals are where the 10-piece band is truly in its element.
They will play two sets on the final day of the festival — an atmosphere that Robson said lends itself to classics such as Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and "All the Small Things" by blink-182.
“We find that that kind of material really kind of hits hard when we're playing at the outdoor kind of festival stuff,” said Robson, and added this will be the Vancouver-based band's first concert in Parksville. "It's rare we get an opportunity to play the Island. So, I've always wanted to."
Robson will be joined on stage by two vocalists, two guitarists, a drummer and a full horn section of trombone, trumpet and saxophone.
He has been a front man for about 30 years, including 10 years back in the UK.
“I love performing," Robson said. “My strength, is not my vocals, it's my front man ability, and I can really get a crowd going, no matter who it is, and if you're there on Aug. 10, you'll see that."
Another big name slated for this year's festival is Tom Lavin and the Legendary Powder Blues Band, which is celebrating 47 years of music this year, according to Lavin, who is fairly sure this will be his first performance in Parksville.
"We generally do a mix of our radio hits and some lesser known albums," he said. "What I also like to do is make sure I play some stuff that we can improvise on, because I think that's where the real magic comes."
The Powder Blues Band's popular mix of swing, blues, jazz, rock and roll and R and B has taken them on tours across Canada, the US and overseas, as well as sell more than a million albums.
Lavin wrote many of the band’s best-known songs including "Doin’ It Right".
"I get inspired by the musicians that came before me and some that came after me," he said. "I've been really lucky to have good friendships with a lot of blues musicians that span many, many decades."
He has played and befriended blues legends such as BB King, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
As a teenager he listened to Chuck Berry's records, and would go on to play drums in Berry's band years later.
"That's always super magic to wind up on stage, either performing with or in their band," he added. "I couldn't believe that I was sharing a stage with these guys who, as I was growing up, were all my idols."
The Powder Blues Band will perform Saturday, Aug. 9, capping off the festival's second day.
Day one (Aug. 8) will be headlined by Canadian rock legends Prism, known for hits like 'Spaceship Superstar' and 'Take Me to the Kaptin', the band has sold millions of albums and earned two Juno Awards.
Also performing on the first day are Doobie Brothers Experience and Barracudea (a tribute to Heart).
Day two will have the park rocking out to Centrefield (a tribute to CCR and John Fogerty), Eagle Eyes (a tribute to the Eagles), Dead Man's Town (a tribute to Bruce Springsteen) and Bonnie Kilroe’s 80’s Ladies and Rock Chicks, who pay tribute to barrier-breaking female rock stars like Tina Turner, Joan Jett, Blondie and Pat Benatar.
Day three will include Synchronicity IV (a tribute to the Police), Truly Tina (a tribute to Tina Turner) and Silhouette, featuring Parksville's own Lloyd Derry (entertainment director and Parksville Beach Festival organizer) and his wife Velma, who will entertain with a variety of popular hits.
Tickets are available through the McMillian Arts Centre Box Office website.
