Northern Lights Festival Boreal

Artists

LINEUP 2025

Melbourne Ska Orchestra

Formed in 2003, Melbourne Ska Orchestra is a 26-member powerhouse led by Nicky Bomba. Known for their explosive live performances, they have captivated audiences worldwide, from Montreal to Tokyo. Their debut album led to sold-out shows and international tours, while Sierra-Kilo-Alpha earned them an ARIA award in 2016. In 2019, their ambitious One Year Of Ska project—52 songs in a year—won them a second ARIA award. With the support of Ska legends like Stranger Cole and Neville Staples, their unique sound continues to resonate globally.

Melbourne Ska Orchestra
4

Shad is one of Canada's most respected rappers, a masterful wordsmith who captures hip-hop’s ability to both entertain and educate. Since releasing his self-made debut in 2005, the Toronto-based MC has developed a unique blend of socially conscious yet irresistibly fun hip-hop across five critically acclaimed albums. His music has garnered attention from top outlets like Rolling Stone, Complex, The Ringer, and NPR. With over 30 million streams, Shad has earned a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year for TSOL in 2010 and has made the shortlist for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize four times, most recently for his 2018 album A Short Story About a War. Beyond music, Shad has hosted CBC Radio’s q program and is featured on the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Netflix series Hip-Hop Evolution. His latest album, TAO, was released in October 2021 on Secret City Records, continuing his legacy of thought-provoking and engaging music.

Shad
The Weather Station

Tamara Lindeman, the Canadian artist behind The Weather Station, returns with Humanhood, her seventh and most powerful album to date. Born out of a period of personal crisis, she channels her disorientation into an intimate yet experimental folk-rock sound. Following the critical success of Ignorance (2021) and its companion How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars (2022), this album captures the raw improvisational energy of a band responding in real-time to her emotions. Recorded with co-producer Marcus Paquin at Canterbury Music Company, Humanhood unfolds as a journey from chaos to tentative renewal, oscillating between despair and hope. Tracks like Body Moves and Window reflect an internal struggle through shifting musical structures, while moments of redemption emerge in Humanhood and Sewing, where Lindeman finds solace in nature and embraces life’s uncertainties.

The Weather Station
Klô_Pelgag_plan large crédit Benoit Paillé

Klô Pelgag is a major artist in Quebec and Canada, with a career marked by 20 ADISQ Gala Félix awards, a JUNO Award, and nominations for the Polaris Music Prize. Her latest album, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, received critical acclaim in Canada, France, and the U.S., with praise from Télérama and influential critic Anthony Fantano. She has performed sold-out shows at MTelus, in France, England, and Japan. From her first album, L'alchimie des monstres (2013), she won prestigious awards such as the Prix Barbara and the Grand Prix de la Francophonie. Her second album, L’étoile thoracique, earned her the Prix Félix-Leclerc and the SOCAN Songwriting Prize. Through her music, she seeks to capture deep emotions, creating art that is both personal and universal.

Klô Pelgag
David Francey

David Francey is a Scottish-born Canadian carpenter-turned-songwriter, recognized as one of Canada’s most revered folk poets. He spent decades working in rail yards, construction sites, and the Yukon bush, while writing poetry and composing songs in his head. Francey never planned on making a living from music, but his wife encouraged him to share his songs, leading to the release of his debut album Torn Screen Door in 1999. Over the years, he has released thirteen albums and won four Juno Awards. His songs have been covered by artists like The Del McCoury Band and Tracy Grammer. Francey’s music reflects his deep connection to Canada, drawing inspiration from his experiences across the country. He has earned prestigious awards like the SOCAN Folk Music Award and the John Lennon Songwriting Award. His straightforward, heartfelt songs continue to resonate with audiences seeking depth and meaning in everyday life.

David Francey
Burnstick

Built on emotion-stirring storytelling and unmistakable vocal harmonies accompanied by a century-old instrument, Burnstick, a JUNO nominated husband and wife Folk duo, are intent on creating affecting music that inspires listeners to feel. The Manitoba based Indigenous duo features Nadia and Jason Burnstick, esteemed independent artists who united over a decade ago to create deeply moving, cinematic Folk music using their trademark vocal pairing, and Jason's mastery of the lap slide Weissenborn guitar. Five years after their nationally acclaimed debut album, "Kîyânaw," Burnstick unveils "Made of Sin", their remarkable and poignant sophomore album.  Nadia and Jason perform deeply resonant music that strikes a chord with audiences. With thought-provoking lyrics and engaging stories, they often leave listeners reflecting on their own experiences, feelings, and memories.

Burnstick
the honest heart collective

The small Canadian city of Thunder Bay exists somewhere in the time and place between never and nowhere. Home to a modern rock band with a heavy history and a sheer will like no other. The Honest Heart Collective. Their three albums present an unintended trilogy; Liar’s Club, the naïve home studio DIY, Grief Rights, a blue collar coming-of-age tale, and More Harm, an accumulation of failures and victories picked up along the way. Standing at the crossroads of promise and pain, The Honest Heart Collective offer themselves up to you. Take what you will.

The Honest Heart Collective
bustamento

Nicky Bomba and his band Bustamento have returned with a fresh album, INTERCONTINENTAL JOURNAL 7, after two years of global performances. Building on their highly acclaimed debut, Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Islands, the new album showcases the band's creative evolution, moving beyond their Caribbean-based style. The album opens with the energetic "Fez in Fez," kicking off an adventurous musical journey. Tracks like "Caretaker" and "Rise Up" still honor their reggae and calypso roots, while the addition of steel pan adds a vibrant twist. The first single, "Back Again," blends Motown with calypso, while "We All Make Mistakes" features a Pacific ukelele serenade over a heavy drum bed. "Josephine" honors the legendary Josephine Baker with a jungle groove, and "Glasto Mud Shuffle" brings a New Orleans swamp boogie vibe. The diverse tracks reflect Bustamento's multicultural influences and their creative range.

Bustamento
bad actors

Bad Actors are a folk music duo based out of Sudbury, Ontario. As former members of Murder Murder, Barry Miles and Jonathan Danyliw have been mining the annals of appalachian, Americana, and bluegrass traditions for over a decade. This is folk music in the truest sense of the term, music that borrows from a centuries long catalogue of resources in an effort to both honour the genre's history and also examine the unique experiences of contemporary life. Sometimes the best way to process the present is to filter it through an old lens. Debut album "Silver Hands/Diamond Teeth" out now.

Bad Actors
Black Bull Singers

The Black Bull Moose Singers are a group of Anishnawbek drummers and singers from Georgian Bay and Southern Ontario who make their home in Sudbury with their families. Each year the group tours the Pow-wow circuit across Canada and beyond, delighting audiences with their inspiring brand of traditional music.

Black Bull Moose Singers

More artists to come...

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National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Events details

Date: Saturday, December 21st, 2024

Doors open: 6:30PM

Time: 7 PM – 9 PM

Location: Sudbury Indie Cinema

Tickets:

  • – Members: $10
  • – Non-Members: $14
  • – 13 & Under: $7

Northern Lights Festival Boréal (NLFB), in partnership with Sudbury Indie Cinema, is thrilled to invite you to a festive evening with a special screening of the holiday classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation! The event will take place on Saturday, December 21, 2024, from 7 to 9 p.m., and is the perfect opportunity to get into the holiday spirit.

Wear your ugly Christmas sweaters and enjoy a warm evening of laughter, giving and community. All proceeds from the night will support NLFB’s mission to bring music, arts, and culture to our community.

Holiday Refreshments & Festive Fun

To keep the holiday spirit flowing, we’ll be offering a festive cocktail and mocktail available for purchase during the screening. It’s a great way to support NLFB all while toasting to the holiday’s!

This event is more than just a movie night—it’s a chance to come together as a community, support our mission, and make a difference. So grab your tickets, bring your donations, and join us for an unforgettable evening of laughter and giving.

​​Support Our Community with the Go-Give Project

In the spirit of the season, NLFB will host a donation drive for the event at Sudbury Indie Cinema to support our vulnerable community. Attendees are encouraged to bring items such as socks, hats, gloves, jackets, hand/foot warmers, emergency blankets, or pre-packaged snacks.

All donations will be sent to the Go-Give Project, a local organization dedicated to helping our community through a safe and stigma-free approach. The Go-Give Project will be onsite for the event to share more about their mission and impact.

Volunteer Booth

The volunteer booth is essential to ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience for festival visitors. Their main mission is to warmly welcome other volunteers, listen to their needs and answer any questions they may have. They are also responsible for guiding volunteers through the different areas of the festival, directing them to their stations.

Ticket Booth

Volunteers in this area are responsible for selling festival passes to the general public. Volunteers must be well informed on the program, ticket prices, and the park layout. Experience handling money, good customer service skills, and organizational skills are required.

Beer Tent

Volunteers are responsible for selling and serving alcohol. Servers must have Smart Serve certification. Ticket sellers and beer stein sellers do not require any certification; however, good customer service skills are an asset.

Please email your Smart Serve number to volunteer@nlfb.ca

Coffee Tent

Volunteers are responsible for selling beverages to the general public. Volunteers must serve coffee, keep the booth clean, handle money, and alert the Area Coordinator when stock is low. Bilingualism is an asset.

NLFB Merchandise

Volunteers are responsible for selling all festival, artist, and performer merchandise. Good customer service and organizational skills are required for processing monetary transactions and taking inventory. Bilingualism is an asset.

Site Patrol

These Volunteers will be our festival ambassadors! Site Patrol is one of the key positions in the team and the largest group. Volunteers are stationed throughout the park and it’s suitable for varying levels of mobility, some areas you can be seated most of the time and some areas require walking. Volunteers in this area must be knowledgeable of the festival program, the park layout, and general festival rules. This crew must ensure the safe and secure conduct of all persons at the festival and respond to enquiries in a pleasant and courteous manner.

Children’s Area

Volunteers will assist the Area Coordinator in organizing and executing various crafts, activities, and games for our young festival patrons. Volunteers must be friendly, courteous, patient, and enjoy having fun! Experience working with children is an asset. A Police Record Check is required to work in this area if you are age 18 or over (no Police Check is required if you are age 14-17). Please email your Vulnerable Record Check to volunteer@nlfb.ca

Green Team

Volunteers are responsible for maintaining the park to be clean at all times. In keeping with the festival’s green initiatives, volunteers in this area should recycle as much as possible, and keep all park areas clean and free of garbage.

Runners

Volunteers are responsible for several festival errands and tasks that arise during festival weekend. Tasks are assigned throughout the weekend as assigned by the Volunteer Coordinator.

Posters and Signs

Volunteers are responsible for hanging and distributing all NLFB posters, banners, and promotional material in designated areas of the city and at the festival site. This crew is also responsible for taking down all signage post-festival and returning it to the NLFB office.

Instrument Lock-up

Volunteers must ensure all artist equipment is safely stored during the festival weekend. A large container is available for storage and a key is provided to the Area Coordinator. Volunteers must be able to lift and move equipment.

Site Setup

Volunteers are responsible for setting up fences, and all equipment used at the festival. Volunteers in this area work before festival weekend. Experience with manual labour an asset. Closed toed shoes are mandatory, steel toe boots are suggested but not required.

Tear Down

Volunteers are responsible for tearing down tents, fences, and all equipment used at the festival. Volunteers in this area work after festival weekend. Experience with manual labour an asset. Closed toed shoes are mandatory, steel toe boots are suggested but not required.

Back Stage

These Volunteers will be assisting Sound Engineer Matt Wiewel, to load in & out instruments onto the main stage. 

Their role will also be to prepare the various back-stage snacks and look after the artists on the main stage.

Stand des bénévoles 

Le stand des bénévoles est essentiel pour assurer une expérience fluide et agréable aux visiteurs du festival. Sa mission principale est d’accueillir chaleureusement les autres bénévoles, d’être à l’écoute de leurs besoins et de répondre à leurs questions. Ils sont également chargés de guider les bénévoles dans les différentes zones du festival et de les orienter vers leurs postes.

Enregistrement

Les bénévoles accueilleront et enregistreront tous les artistes, les interprètes, les médias, les membres du conseil d’administration, le personnel, les représentants du gouvernement et les invités de marque entrant sur le site du festival. De bonnes compétences en matière de service à la clientèle et d’organisation sont requises. Les bénévoles doivent être préparé à répondre aux questions des visiteurs. Ils doivent donc bien connaître le festival. Le bilinguisme est un atout.

Arrière-scène

Ces bénévoles aideront l’ingénieur du son Matt Wiewel à charger et décharger les instruments sur la scène principale. Leur rôle consistera également à préparer les différentes collations en coulisses et à s’occuper des artistes sur la scène principale.

Désinstallation

Les bénévoles sont chargés de démonter les tentes, les clôtures et tout le matériel utilisé lors du festival. Les bénévoles de ce secteur travaillent après le week-end du festival. L’expérience du travail manuel est un atout. Les chaussures à bout fermé sont obligatoires, les bottes à embout d’acier sont suggérées mais pas obligatoires.

Installation

Les bénévoles sont responsables de l’installation des clôtures et de tout le matériel utilisé lors du festival. Les bénévoles travaillent avant le week-end du festival. L’expérience du travail manuel est un atout. Les chaussures à bout fermé sont obligatoires, les bottes à embout d’acier sont suggérées mais pas obligatoires.

Local à instrument

Les bénévoles doivent s’assurer que tout le matériel des artistes est entreposé en toute sécurité pendant le week-end du festival. Un grand conteneur est disponible pour l’entreposage et une clé est fournie au coordinateur de zone. Les bénévoles doivent être en mesure de soulever et de déplacer le matériel.

Affiches et Panneaux

Les bénévoles sont chargés d’accrocher et de distribuer toutes les affiches, les bannières et le matériel promotionnel de la NLFB dans les zones désignées de la ville et sur le site du festival. Cette équipe est également chargée de retirer toutes les affiches après le festival et de les renvoyer au bureau de la NLFB.

Coureurs

Les bénévoles sont chargés de plusieurs courses et tâches pendant le week-end du festival. Les tâches sont assignées tout au long du week-end par le coordinateur des bénévoles.

Equipe Verte

Les bénévoles sont chargés de maintenir le parc propre en permanence. Conformément aux initiatives écologiques du festival, les bénévoles de cette zone doivent recycler autant que possible et veiller à ce que toutes les zones du parc soient propres et exemptes de déchets.

Zone Enfant

Les bénévoles aideront le coordinateur de secteur à organiser et à mettre en œuvre divers travaux manuels, activités et jeux pour les enfants. Les bénévoles doivent être amicaux, courtois, patients et aimer s’amuser ! Une expérience de travail avec des enfants est un atout. Une vérification du casier judiciaire est nécessaire pour travailler dans ce domaine si vous avez 18 ans ou plus (aucune vérification n’est nécessaire si vous avez entre 14 et 17 ans). Veuillez envoyer par courriel votre vérification du casier judiciaire à l’adresse suivante : volunteer@nlfb.ca

Patrouille du Site

Ces bénévoles seront les ambassadeurs du festival ! La patrouille de site est l’un des postes clés de l’équipe. Les bénévoles sont postés dans l’ensemble du parc et s’adaptent à différents niveaux de mobilité, certaines zones pouvant être occupées en position assise la plupart du temps et d’autres nécessitant de marcher. Les bénévoles de cette zone doivent connaître le programme du festival, l’aménagement du parc et les règles générales du festival. L’équipe doit veiller à la sécurité de toutes les personnes présentes au festival et répondre aux demandes de renseignements de manière agréable et courtoise.

Marchandises NLFB

Les bénévoles sont chargés de vendre toutes les marchandises du festival, des artistes et des interprètes. Un bon service à la clientèle et des compétences organisationnelles sont nécessaires pour traiter les transactions monétaires et faire l’inventaire. 

Le bilinguisme est un atout.

Stand Café

Les bénévoles sont chargés de vendre des boissons au grand public. Ils doivent servir le café, veiller à la propreté du stand, gérer l’argent et alerter le coordinateur de zone lorsque les stocks sont épuisés. Le bilinguisme est un atout.

Stand de bière

Les bénévoles sont responsables de la vente et du service de l’alcool. Les serveurs doivent être certifiés Smart Serve. Les vendeurs de billets n’ont pas besoin d’être certifiés, mais de bonnes compétences en matière de service à la clientèle sont un atout.
Veuillez envoyer votre numéro Smart Serve par courriel à volunteer@nlfb.ca

Billetterie

Les bénévoles de cette zone sont chargés de vendre les billets du festival au grand public. Les bénévoles doivent être bien informés sur le programme, le prix des billets et l’aménagement du parc. Une expérience de la gestion de l’argent, de bonnes compétences en matière de service à la clientèle et un sens de l’organisation sont nécessaires.

REGISTRATION

Volunteers will greet and register all artists, performers, media, board members, staff, government officials, and VIP guests entering the festival site. Excellent customer service skills and organizational skills are required. Volunteers will survey festival patrons and collect valuable information and feedback. These volunteers should be knowledgeable about the festival and have excellent customer service skills. Bilingualism is an asset.