Evolve Festival


Evolve Festival is an annual music and cultural festival which until 2016 took place near Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In 2016, the festival was moved to Jailletville, New Brunswick. The festival is dedicated to the promotion of sustainable living and environmental awareness. The festival uses renewable energy sources, recycled and biodegradable products and endeavours to limit solid waste. In 2010, Evolve Festival won the CBC Radio 3 contest vote for "Best Festival In Canada".

History

The festival was first held in 2000. The festival was first conceived by Joe MacEachern, a resident of Antigonish, who then recruited Jim Dorey of Toronto to become the second founding member of Evolve Tribe. Jay Cleary joined the duo as the festival publicist and was able to raise significant export development funding from the Nova Scotia Government to develop the festival as a Nova Scotia Tourist Attraction. In 2005 the team was joined by longtime supporter and Evolve Tribe member Jonas Colter of Fredericton, NB. In 2006 Jim Dorey sold his shares to Jonas and Joe, and then later in 2008, Joe sold his shares to Jonas in order to pursue a degree in Sociology. The festival presents a diverse lineup of rock, jazz, funk, world music, hip hop, bluegrass and electronica performers.
in 2016, the festival moved to Jailletville, New Brunswick.

Performers

Performers at the festival have included k-os, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, The Trews, Michael Franti, Spearhead, !!!, Battles, Beardyman, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Brazilian Girls, Danny Brown, Chali 2na, Delhi 2 Dublin, Do Make Say Think, Dub FX, Easy Star All-Stars, Grandtheft, Hey Rosetta!, Holy Fuck, Man Man, Medeski Martin & Wood, Pretty Lights, Rezz, Rheostatics, Xavier Rudd, The Sheepdogs, Slowcoaster, The Jimmy Swift Band, Telesma, That 1 Guy, The Be Good Tanyas, Wintersleep, and Luther Wright and the Wrongs.
Elizabeth May of Green Party of Canada spoke at the 2007 event.
In addition to its main stage, the festival also features several smaller stages genres such as electronic, bass, and indie rock. There are smaller yurt stages highlighting smaller acts from around the world.
Canadian music video channel MuchMusic has covered the Evolve Festival on Going Coastal.
In 2010, over 115 acts performed.