Victoria's 15th Annual Ska Festival

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Saturday, July 5th, 2014

As the largest and longest running SKA festival in North America the most common question surrounding the festival from newcomers is: WHAT IS SKA? Before we go any further, simply put, ska is a danceable, high energy music genre born in Jamaica in the early 1960s that was later transplanted into England and then worldwide. Its roots stem from Jamaican mento (aka Jamaican folk), jazz and Cuban musical styles. Simply put SKA is a faster form of reggae that often uses larger ensembles that use horns and woodwinds to their utmost advantage. Another fact worth noting is that SKA is the father of REGGAE and was important in its musical development. For example, many of Bob Marley's popular songs on albums like Legend were performed in a SKA style before they became massively popular through Island Records and Tuff Gong. Popular Marley family musicians like Ziggy Marley include SKA when playing live and in various recordings. So when you hear that reggae beat sped up you'll know you're listening to SKA.

This year the festival will be celebrating its 15th Anniversary July 1 - 5, 2014 at Ship Point Inner Harbour and other venues throughout Victoria. Musically Ska Fest offers more than just ska. The festival has loads of reggae, worldbeat, soul, funk and more! World class bands from countries such as Jamaica, Mexico, Colombia, and Israel will be performing with numerous regional and national bands. Headlining artists include: Shaggy, Fishbone, Barrington Levy, The Aggrolites, Lynval Golding of The Specials, Los Rastrillos, Kobo Town,and more. The majority of presentations are all ages with licensed beverage gardens. There are affordable ticketed and free concerts all week as well as educational workshops at Long & McQuade and other venues. Tickets range from $19.50 - $45 for single passes; $35 - $64.50 for Double passes; $69.50 - $79.50 for all ages Harbour Passes and $129.50 - $149.50 for Full Festival Passes. Children under 5 years are free so bring the whole family!