Maxi Priest to headline Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival
The Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival is returning in 2023 with headliner Maxi Priest.
The five-day festival will be spread out over three venues – Ship Point, the Victoria Curling Club, and the Upstairs Cabaret – from June 21 to 25.
Maxi Priest is making his festival debut after nearly four decades of performing around the world.
"We are proud to welcome this legend to our stage for the first time," the Victoria Ska and Reggae Society said Monday in a statement announcing the lineup for the 24th annual festival.
This year's event will also feature hip-hop artist Chali 2na, a festival alumni after performing in 2018 with Los Angeles-based band Ozomatli.
Fellow rapper Brother Ali is also set to perform at this year's festival, bringing "conscious lyrics and banging boom-bap beats to the city," the society says.
Performers the Aggrolites and Kid Koala will return to the festival for the first time in nearly a decade, while Congo Natty will make his inaugural appearance on the festival stage.
"He'll be joined by our longtime ally Stickybuds, who returns to the festival for a very special Friday night party that guarantees to be one of the sweatiest nights of this year's festival," the organizers say.
Rounding out the lineup are Sister Carol, Perfect Giddimani, Ojo De Buey, Out of Control Army, Stope the Presses and Junior Toots, son of reggae icon Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals.
The society will also host free public workshops with festival artists.
Tickets are on sale Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.