Starbelly Jam Music Festival, Crawford Bay, Canada
This is a festival that wouldn’t have been on my radar at all if it weren’t for Australian band Oka. They were due to play there this year, so I figured I’d tag along and see what this little festival in the Kootenays was all about. Long story short, Oka didn’t make it, but I did, and I was so glad I made the nine hour journey from Vancouver.
Starbelly Jam is billed as a ‘family-friendly music festival’ - it’s even written on the wristbands in case you forget - and I swear there were almost more kids than adults in the crowd for the three-day event. Nestled amongst the mountains just east of Nelson are two stages, lovingly decorated as the Star Stage and Moon Stage, a collection of food trucks, vendors and a collection of one-thousand-odd music lovers. There’s camping available just across the road, with minimal facilities but lots of space, if you’re willing to embrace a weekend without a shower. I was. Bring it on!
This festival is pretty special, and you can feel the sense of community as soon as you arrive. The whole thing is run by a group of volunteers, who give their time and energy to bring the whole thing together. They’re determined to keep it a ‘Goldilocks’ festival, too - not too big, not too small… juuuuuust right. So, shhhh, don’t tell anyone.
I loved this festival because it gave me a chance to check out a bunch of bands that I’d never heard of before. I had literally seen any of these artists before Starbelly weekend. And when you go to gigs as much as I do, that’s a rare treat!
You might think that a small festival in the Kootenays would just be filled with local artists, but that wasn’t the case at all. Antidoping are a band with (what I think is) a terrible name, but an awesome sound. They made the trek from Mexico for the festival, and made the most of their time onstage. I think the last 20 minutes of their set were spend doing encores - “you want one more?” The answer was always yes. Antidoping have been around since 1992, making kick ass reggae music, and they have a serious cult following in Latin America. Have you ever heard of the Razteca movement? It’s the fusion of Jamaica’s Rastafari culture and Mexican culture and these guys are one of the founding bands of the genre. Those years together are evident onstage - they were jumping all over the place and had all of us in the crowd doing the same!
Five Alarm Funk are a staple in the Canadian music scene, but Starbelly was the first chance I’d had to see them live. Holy moly. How do you even sum up the chaos and energy that was created onstage with these guys? Before seeing them I’d been told that drummer Tayo Branston is a bit like Animal from the Muppets. Accurate description! Crazy hair, minimal clothes, centre stage, and a ball of funky energy. Actually, that describes the whole band. They’ve been doing this for fourteen years, and I honestly don’t know how they’ve continued to be this animated for so long. I would have been tired just watching them, if I hadn’t been so busy dancing. There were costume changes, props, and a ladder was climbed onstage, which promptly broke, sending the band member flying onto his drums and the floor. Their sixth studio album Sweat just came out - I suggest you check it out.
Another band that made the journey from Vancouver was The Boom Booms. The sweet soul vocals of Aaron Ross was backed up by their band of brother Sean Ross, Tom Van Deursen, Geordie Hart, Richard Brinkman and Theo Vincent. Their set was a mix of original tunes and soulful covers that made us dance in the afternoon heat, and I couldn’t help thinking that they would be an ideal party band. I’m always more a fan of original tunes than covers (and in my younger days was known to heckle covers bands for an original), and theirs hit the spot. They played some new stuff and some old stuff, but it was all new to me. Their new album will be out soon, too, and I’ll definitely be hunting it down.
So guess who was headlining Starbelly Jam? Deep Forest. Yep, THE Deep Forest. From the 90s. From France. They’ve been making ambient electronic music, with a serious world music bent, for 25 years now. I have listened to their albums many times over the years, but honestly never thought I’d see them live. Firstly, I have to say, I love their music. It is profoundly beautiful, and unlike anything I’ve heard, particularly in those early days. It has accompanied me through many houses, breakups, quiet moments of introspection, and days of cleaning my home. But live? I found it disappointing. The music was still beautiful, but visually it was not that interesting. Éric Mouquet was accompanied by Senegalese bass player and vocalist Alune Wade onstage, and they seemed a strange pairing. At times I wondered why Wade was there, but in the brief moments that he sang it became apparent. As I say, the music was good, but perhaps if they had combined it with some beautiful visuals it would have worked better, rather than the static Deep Forest logo that hovered behind them for the entire set.
Overall, Starbelly Jam was adorable. I really do love the smaller festivals more than the giant ones, and this one fit the bill perfectly. Apart from feeling left out because I didn’t have any small children to take, it was brilliant! I would definitely recommend, and commend the volunteer organisers for doing such a spectacular job. The lake around the corner for swims was a nice added bonus too.
They even have a parade on the Saturday afternoon, essentially involves anyone and everyone at the festival getting dressed up, grabbing a puppet or a drum, and walking around together. There were smiles all 'round.
Four weekends, four festivals. Let’s see what I can find next!
Sarah Howells, Festival Hunter, signing off.