Westfest Weekend Success

Entertainment — 11 June 2012

By Ming Wu

With favourable weather, a great entertainment lineup, and the support of the community and merchants of Westboro; the 9th edition of the Westfest weekend saw a lot of pedestrian traffic coming out to hear great music, and to take part in a good old fashion street party.

As part of a three day celebration of free outdoor live music, Westfest 2012 ended off with a local affair, showcasing the musical talent from our own region.

The Churchill School of Rock, a choir made up of 80 students, sang songs from the movies and popular hits. Their performance was thoroughly enjoyed by the large crowd that came out to listen.

The main stage was then graced with Al Wood and the Woodsmen, combining guitar and harmonica with a blues/ rock set that got the audience revved up. Al Wood sure knows how to play that harmonica!

Tara Holloway entertained with her rock pop music, playing tracks from her album “Sins to Confess”. She was very energetic and engaging the audience with a voice that sounded like she was channeling Janis Joplin.

Ty Hall provided a mix of pop, electro-acoustic and hip-hop music which fit well with the festival setting and beautiful summer weather. His music provided colourful references to the carefree lifestyle of youth that may have piqued the curiosity of the (much) younger members of the audience .

Andrea Simms-Karp entertained with her indie pop folk and country music. She played tracks from her current album “Hibernation Nation”. Considering the songs she sang was about winter and with today’s weather, don’t we just want abit of coldness while standing in the sun? Great full band which she rarely has since she mostly plays solo. At the end she did a wonderful cover of Bill Wither’s Ain’t No Sunshine.

John Allaire entertained with his Blues and Rock music.

The Riot Police were dressed to the nines because one of the members was attending the Cappies Awards halfway during their set; causing the band to finish as a four-piece for the last two songs. They entertained a slew of teenagers with their indie pop rock music.

The Joynt entertained with his rap and hip-hop music. Peter Joynt is getting well known in the area for his music video Capcity which was shown during a Sens Game. Rapped about a song on how he proposed to his fiancee. Later Maya Erik joined him on stage to perform on some tracks. When they sang Capcity both threw the Capcity t-shirt into the crowds.

Before the Cooper Brothers came on Elaina Martin the founder of Westfest came on stage and wanted to thank everyone who made this year’s Westfest a success.

She gave a shout-out to the staff and volunteers who made Westfest possible and what it is today.

The festival ended off with the headliners The Cooper Brothers, who entertained and wowed the crowds with their classic country rock music.