Port Alberni’s summer music festival is shaking things up this year

A Port Alberni music festival will be “shaking things up” this summer.

Organizers of the Five Acre Shaker, set for Saturday, Aug. 9 at Port Alberni’s Fall Fair Grounds, are focusing on providing a “homegrown experience,” with an all-Canadian lineup for this year’s event.

Greg Banman, the Director of Business Development for Five Acre Co. Events, says it was an intentional choice to make this year’s lineup fully Canadian amid the ongoing tariff war with the United States. Many Canadian artists have been struggling to book shows in the U.S., and many Canadian music fans are feeling the pinch of rising costs.

In order to cut production costs without impacting entertainment, Banman says Five Acre Co. made the decision to cut the music festival down from a two-day event to a one-day event. They decided instead to focus on “big names” in order to deliver a “high-impact” one-day event.

“That way we’ll save some production costs, but not at the cost of a great lineup,” Banman says. “We really pride ourselves on providing premium entertainment. That has been our goal for a long time, and we have a bit of a reputation to uphold now. We wanted to keep that going.”

But Five Acre Co. also wanted to keep things budget-friendly for music fans this year. They were able to keep tickets under $100, which Banman says was “really important” for organizers.

“Fans are looking for value for their money spent,” he says. “We still deliver an amazing festival atmosphere that people are looking for. The precedent that has been set over the last few years will be carried into this year’s Five Acre Shaker. We’re just packing the party into one day.”

The lineup was “carefully crafted and curated,” starting with headliners The Funk Hunters and Râve. Winners of the Electronic/Dance Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards, The Funk Hunters create forward-thinking electronic music that is influenced by old school funk, soul and hip-hop. Râve, meanwhile, is a Juno Award-winning dance music artist.

They’ll be joined on stage by multi-talented musician Mark Woodyard, DJ and producer THAT’S GOOD and Alick Mac, the winner of this year’s Zattzoo Project’s Battle of the Bands.

When coming up with a lineup, Banman says organizers looked at what else was happening around Vancouver Island in order to avoid duplication. On the same weekend as the Five Acre Shaker, for example, the Laketown Amphitheatre in Lake Cowichan will be hosting Nickelback. The market for country fans, meanwhile, is already covered with Sunfest.

“We really wanted to focus on providing premium entertainment, not just in Port Alberni but for the whole Island,” Banman says. “We looked at what we can do to make our festival different and unique.”

In previous years, electronic artists were “well-received” by both locals and visitors, so Five Acre Co. organizers decided to shift the genre in this direction.

“There’s a big electronic and dance scene, but it hasn’t really been a focus on the Island,” Banman says. “We’ve had demand for electronic and dance shows and have had success with that. This would give the Shaker a brand that met a need.”

For most of the day, the shows will take place outdoors and will be open to all ages, and there will be plenty of vendors and food trucks to keep fans entertained between musical acts. But after sunset, the festival moves indoors for a 19+ “After Hours” show, featuring Dunks, Neon Steve and Stickybuds.

“We have a demand for more family-friendly events,” Banman says. “We’re proud to be able to carry that outside on the mainstage. But the afterparty is a chance for adults to come inside and just let loose.”

The festival will once again take place at the Kinsmen Community Centre (KCC) on the Fall Fair Grounds. Five Acre Co. switched to this venue back in 2022 because it offers the ability to host large-scale events in an easily accessible location, with “ample parking” for visitors. The KCC is owned by the Alberni District Fall Fair, but Five Acre Co. has a an agreement in place to operate the space outside of Fall Fair weekend (in early September).

To have a venue like this in a small town like Port Alberni “is huge,” Banman says. Five Acre Co. has been using it to offer entertainment events throughout the year, not just during the Five Acre Shaker. On the weekend of July 5, for example, the organization hosted country singer Cameron Whitcomb for the biggest outdoor concert in Port Alberni history.

“We want to build a community and be a space for everybody,” Banman says. “People often want something to do to get out of the house. In Port Alberni, there are lots of smaller scale entertainment events throughout the year, and those are great. We definitely don’t want that to stop. But we offer bigger lineups, bigger production.”

The success of Five Acre Co., Banman says, can ultimately be attributed to the support from the community of Port Alberni.

“This summer we are putting Port Alberni on the map, entertainment-wise, and it takes a community to do that,” he says.

Five Acre Co. will also be hosting a Halloween event later this year, after the success of last year’s “Vortex” event, and Banman hints that the Five Acre Shaker will offer the first “glimpses” into this year’s Halloween event.

He has just one suggestion for music fans: book your tickets early. Presale tickets for the event were sold out within a day, and Banman expects the rest to go fast. Tickets can be purchased online at fiveacreshaker.ca.

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