Contributor Matt Hertendy wraps up his sojourn to Lawnya Vawnya 13 with a whirl-wind of coverage from days 3 and 4 of this year’s festival in St. John’s, NL.
DAY 3:
12:00 pm:
Walking fast, I make my way downtown to the much anticipated Lawnya Vawnya Music Crawl. Almost every person I have talked to since I landed has told me the Music Crawl is the place to be.
The first stop is the War Memorial, where the golden-voiced Nico Paulo plays an acoustic set of songs off her latest album.
Then we’re off to Nico’s design studio, where a series of spoken word poets perform to a packed house. It is so packed that the festival technicians scramble to set up a speaker outside so everyone left outside can hear. This festival has had a few bumps in the road logistically, and it is amazing how nimble the staff is at solving any issue.
After this, we head to the historic Fred’s Record Store, where Charlottetown rapper Vince The Messenger spits a few tracks. This event was so well run that we arrived ahead of schedule before Vince entered the building.
The next stop on the crawl is the patio of the Alt Hotel. Lounging business types in the lobby are in for an earful when St. John’s punk rockers Sick Puppy kick into gear for some harbourside noise.
We cram into a soap and skincare boutique where moody Guelph rockers Bonnie Trash rock the shop. The scent of the soap and the sound of the music creates a strange sensory dissonance.
A chilly and chill set down by the docks by Cedric Noel rounds out the Music Crawl, leading us directly to an artist and merch fair. The crawl was a great way to see downtown St. John’s and certainly caught the eyes and ears of some passersby.
Despite being labelled a crawl, there was technically only one attendee who did any crawling:
7:00 pm
I finally get to see a show that is not at The Rock House. While I quickly fell in love with The Rock House and its shabby charm, a change of pace is always nice. Nico Paulo and Cedric Noel, two artists who I can safely describe their music with the same word – gorgeous – are playing in a very fitting venue. This church-turned-performing arts centre is an immense church, and its acoustics are phenomenal thanks to the technicians, who have tricked out the space and mixed it so anywhere you sit sounds excellent.
Cedric Noel begins, accompanied by Tim Crabtree, aka Paper Beat Scissors, and plays a sparse set featuring only guitar, clarinet and/or saxophone accompaniment. The cavernous ceilings of the space can barely contain Noel’s voice as he exhibits his entire powerful vocal range from bottom to top. Some new songs were played, and I can’t wait to hear them released.
8:00 pm
It’s local favourite Nico Paulo’s turn to enchant the crowd, and she does. Paulo does one-eighty-degree turns between the most nervous stage banter before launching into the festival’s most self-assured, lush, full-bodied set so far. The complex arrangements ebb and flow throughout the set, pulled off by her instrument-swapping five-piece backing band. When it comes to creating warm, sweeping tracks, she’s a master.
10:00 pm
Thandi Marie is performing her first EVER live show. Programmed on the strength of her two singles, which are very strong, Thandi boldly opens the set unaccompanied, reeling everyone in with the vulnerability of the performance. Early nerves were present, but once the beat dropped, Thandi settled in and brought everyone along for the ride. We’re all looking forward to hearing more from Thandi Marie.
11:00 pm
I asked Vince before the show what we’re in for, and he said, “Lots of rap,” and boy, he wasn’t kidding—well, he was joking—but he also wasn’t because that’s what we got, and then some.
Vince comes out swinging, and immediately the crowd is hooked. With producer Niimo on the turntables, Vince whip the crowd up with their retro-tinged beats and a seemingly never-ending stream of rhymes. Tunes from Trust Fall and some unreleased tracks are played. Niimo keeps things booming and even jumps out front for a few verses. This duo is super fun to watch.
St. John’s went wild for Vince, to the point where crowd members forced dollar bills straight into his hands mid-song. If that’s not a seal of approval, I don’t know what is.
12:00 am
Last on the night is rapper Cakes Da Killa, an already legendary gay rapper often credited as a pioneer of queer acceptance in rap music. Featuring a DJ in a full gilly suit and two incredibly talented dancers, Cakes Da Killa commands the dance floor to shake their bodies for a set of pure queer euphoria.
DAY 4:
3:00 pm
Another annual and much-anticipated event is the Open Air Punk Show, which takes place in a garage next to the harbour. It is incredible the range of ages who have turned out for this. Punks old and new come together.
First up is a band of high schoolers called Brandon Monkey Fingers, who are ones to look out for. These teens are miles ahead of any high school band I grew up with and could hold up even among more seasoned acts. And they’re not just about teen angst, their lyrics, when discernable, are sharp and pointed, and their songs are very sophisticated in structure. Watch out for them.
4:00 pm
Halifax’s Crossed Wires, a fuzz-driven trio, opened their set with a sample from Tim Robinson’s “I Think You Should Leave” before ripping into a fast and furious set. They covered the Daria theme song between their old and new original songs.
By this point in the day, my punk battery is drained, and my eardrums need relief. The garage at this point is packed as more arrive to catch local favourites, El Toro.
8:45 pm
After a few evening photoshoots with artists around the festival, I arrive at The Ship Pub in time for WAMPUMS. The psychedelic rockers ran on fumes after their flight was diverted from St. John’s to Deer Lake, adding hours to their travels. A recurring theme with a message for future Lawnya Vawnya attendees – plan your travels to arrive well in advance if you can.
Nevertheless, WAMPUMS ripped through tracks from their collection of LPs. Recorded, WAMPUMS can sound laid back and feature otherworldly vocal manipulation. In-person, their sound takes on a louder, more garage-driven shape. It works great in the rowdy Ship.
9:30 pm
The crowd begins to split, and many of us head back to the Rock House for rising St. John’s hardcore rockers Sick Puppy. They bring us back to 1997 in spirit and quite literally with a Hole cover. Sick Puppy are best consumed in a proper venue than on the patio of a hotel, as we saw them yesterday, and everyone is much more engaged.
10:30 pm
Anyone I talked to at the festival knows that I think Bonnie Trash is one of the coolest bands around. Playing cuts from their gothic folk opus Malocchio, the Guelph-based post-rockers have the packed venue in the palm of their hands. The Bortolon-Vettor twins play off each other well— Emmalia’s heavy loops and drones are the perfect backdrop for Sarafina’s croons and belts. Nightmarish never sounded so good.
Rising alt-country star Bria goes up to close out the festival with her signature reverb-laden country vibes, as heard on Cuntry Covers 1 & Cuntry Covers 2. Perhaps Briadid didn’t get dealt a winning hand for her set on the festival’s final night when everyone was ready to party, which was reflected in the chattery crowd. It is a tough ask for a crowd to go from Black Sabbath to Gillian Welch, figuratively speaking. Bria keeps in tight and gives a solid show to the dedicated fans at the front who are there for more than “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone.”
1:00 am
Everyone heads to The Velvet Nightclub and Lounge, where Cecile Believe and Regularfantasy are spinning DJ sets all night. Not much to say about it other than we danced our hearts out.
I went to sleep as the sun was coming up.
—
All of this to say, Lawnya Vawnya is an incredible experience. The festival is anything but traditional Newfoundland fare, but it does share the same well-known sense of community and hospitality. A tight-knit staff and the most outstanding volunteers are the backbone of this festival, who go out of their way to make artists and guests feel welcome. Lawnya Vawnya is a serious cultural force, bringing in great new acts to discover and broadening perspectives through their panels and workshops.
For you mainlanders reading this, know there is serious talent based in Newfoundland. When asked about their ambitions, they all said they hoped to gain recognition off the island. I hope I have done much to help this, but I implore you: seek out some Newfoundland acts, give them a follow, share them with a friend, and buy their albums.
You’ll be glad you did.
