Arrested Development ripped two Grammy awards, one for best new artist and one for best rap single, which was a first. These pioneers of the conscious rap game took one big step for mankind by giving back and becoming the first African American artists to donate money to Nelson Mandela and the ANC.

Seeing Arrested Development live is not only a trip, but a journey to other lands and places not found on any map—emotional destinations tattooed deeply on the human heart. As crowds sway, dance, laugh, cry and, in some cases, even get in touch with who they were created to be, the group transports true believers beyond themselves, creating a current connecting body, mind and soul. The light comes on and darkness flees by the back door.

Mia Dyson packed her guitars, her band and a portable recording studio into her car and headed out to a friends mud brick house in Daylesford Australia, she had no idea she was about to make one of the most talked about debut albums of 2003. Cold Water was nominated for an ARIA award and jettisoned the then 22 year-old into a continuous touring schedule both here and overseas. In 2005 she returned with her self-produced sophomore album Parking Lots, which earned her an ARIA for Best Blues and Roots Album and a nomination for Best Female Artist. After a stellar 2006 touring the US and Australia supporting the likes of Ani Di Franco and playing sell-out shows with Deborah Conway’s Broad Festival, Mia looks forward to even more success as she concentrates her time in North America. Mia will be joined by a stellar trio of musicians for her KMF show!

Samsara started 7 years ago in the interior of BC by accident when songwriter/drummer Thomas Thomas of Trinidad and Tobago and wife Devaki Chatterton of Vancouver BC an ex Hare Krsna singer/drummer and daughter of well known Hare Krsna musician Bahudak Das, were asked to put something together for a grass roots festival The Cherryville Festival of the Arts. Thomas' reggea/soca influences and Devaki's folk/rock/Indian background affected how the songs were played and ended up with a dancy vibe that people were starved for. Thomas songs speak to people as they are direct and heartfelt, lacking in pretension and Devaki has an emotional spirited energy that together has been spearheading a new Canadian sound fusing the rhythm & passion of the Caribbean with the excitement & soul of rock & funk music! Samsaras legendary reputation for working crowds into dancing frenzies while building strong spiritual bonds with their fans have driven them further & further into the busy touring circuit of Western Canada - propelling them to become one of the most successful independent touring bands in BC. With over 1,500 shows under their belts Samsara has sold thousands of albums independently from the stage and their 4th album set for release this summer is already receiving critical acclaim. At the forefront of the arts in their region Samsara founded and directs the Komasket Music Festival in Vernon BC as well as countless arts & culture events around the Okanagan year round.

The Kinnie Starr you already know: MC-singer-poet-actress-beatnik - musicmaker - who was born in Calgary, became her adult self in Vancouver and began making her presence felt around 1995 with edgy visual arts, graffiti, rhymes, outspoken race and gender politics, decidedly unorthodox performances, stunning good looks and envelope-pushing, beat-slamming recordings. This combination earned her a well-deserved and devoted fan base, a record contract with Mercury/Island/DefJam (1996-1999), and an immediate connection with critics and consumers alike. She’s gone on to win countless awards and become one of Canada’s prominent artists in her genre!

Featured at the KMF Kidzone 2009!!
They were a band that captured the imagination of a generation with their antics and amazing no holds barred playing and stopped traffic on a regular basis. And now they're back!! 23 years later, the Shuffle Demons return to form with a greatest hits album, a DVD and a whole lot of demonic attitude. So get ready to sway in your seat, jump to your feet and dance to the Demon beat!

The Fugitives, a combination of multi-talented Vancouver artists Mark Berube, Barbara Adler, and Brendan McLeod, have been classified under many guises: slam folk, folk hop, spoken word cabaret. Yet a common throughline is always their remarkable storytelling abilities. That, and the fact that audiences all over the world have never seen anything like this blend of skilful musicianship and passionate performance poetry.

Flying Fox & the Hunter/Gatherers have been trolling the Winnipeg music scene since 2005. Flying Fox shows are high energy and bring crowds to their feet. With music ranging from sing-along pop songs to adventurous funk-influenced compositions in odd time signatures, they appeal to both the sophisticated musician and less scrutinizing dancer. As one recent show attendee put it, Flying Fox "has this unique, enticing sound that unexpectedly pulsates throughout the room with all its exuberance."

The sounds and words of Sarah Noni Metzner create an unlikely musical concoction. Equal parts grit and glamour, soul and silk, tattoos and mandolins, her work is a magical-realist mix of cabaret, folk, rock and pop. A multi-instrumentalist with a dynamic voice, Metzner performs music that contains acoustic, electric, and sometimes subtle electronic elements. Having released three albums in four years, Metzner is fast becoming a distinctive figure on Canada’s musical landscape. The Canadian Folk Music Awards have honoured her with a Best Solo Artist win in 2007 and a Best Songwriter nomination in 2006 for her last release Daybreak Mourning.

Taiya ‘windblossom’ Curle has been on the stage since she was a child, first through theatre and then through Middle Eastern Dance. Despite a severe childhood illness which has repercussion in her life Taiya has developed her art form through years of study and performance which has taken her to dozens of countries where she has dazzled audiences at festivals, theatres and even royal palaces. Recently returning from Thailand and India Taiya brings with her new styles and props that will add excitement to her performance. The KMF brings Taiya back again because she continuously explores creativity and expression through an incredibly passionate, intensely rhythm packed middle eastern dance explosion which transports the audience to the many cultures she explores in her performance. Taiya brings Middle Eastern Dance a deeper meaning and an exciting edge!

Electrifying Flamenco, Balkan and Sharqi Beats - Border Bashing Dance Show!
Tambura Rasa is a buoyant cultural cross-pollination that fuses contemporary grooves and traditional rhythms into one energetic musical brand all their own! Packed with fiery Spanish guitar, fully orchestrated Baladi Gypsy string section, burning Afro-Latin percussion and sensual Flamenco and Belly dancers, this 8-piece act raises the roof and lights-up skies of any concert grounds they land on. Global in its reach, Tambura Rasa has become BC's favorite caravan of vivacious globalistas, filling everything from intimate soft-seat theatre shows, large dance filled festivals to hip urban clubs in attempt to bring dance, joy and vigor to the world around them.

M I H I R A N G I has been on a global whirlwind which has seen her astonishing one woman show capture and mesmerize audiences in Canada, USA, Australia and Aotearoa. Mihirangi was raised in a touring musical family with a history that exposes a passionate affection for her Maori ancestry. Taking music to a new level with her performance style, Mihirangi creates her own band sound live in front of her audience using a loop pedal, the key to her sound is the layering of her own vocals. From the foundation of phat solid bass lines to intricately layered harmonies, rhythmic ‘ska’ chops, sensuous jazzy riffs and beat-boxing it’s all done with her voice. Also a multi-instrumentalist Mihirangi plays percussion, guitar and traditional Maori instruments.

Ghost Brothers: Vasudeva “V” and Govinda “G” Clayton were both given the middle name, Ghosh, in honour of two renowned ancient Hindu musicians wielding the same moniker. As kids, their friends would nickname them the Ghosh brothers. The band name, “Ghost Brothers”, is a modern adaptation of that traditional Sanskrit word which means to access meaning of life. Influences of pop, reggae, urban, world and surf rock combine flawlessly to create a sound unique to the Ghost Brothers

Presenting to you an exciting reinvention of circus sideshow entertainment. Blending the traditional sideshows of the early 1900’s with their own unusual creativeness, Aprile Dunlop and Ben Garbe of Bow & Arrow Sideshow takes aim to inspire the bulls eye of wonderment, humour, and pure dazzling entertainment through their stilt walking and fire performances.   Don’t miss this one folks, aim your arrow’s at this unmissable bullseye!

Karen Michelle Pitkethly has been dancing her whole life and discovered Flamneco only a few years ago. She began her flamenco training at Vancouver’s Harbour Dance after taking a random summer workshop which included flamenco dance. She then enrolled in Centro Flamenco and quickly began amercing full time in Flamenco dance, teaching and performing with Vancouver’s premier dance company Flamenco Rosario. She has trained in Vancouver and Spain picking up different dance styles and choreographies from many well established flamenco artists. For the KMF Karen will be presenting a troupe of Flamenco dancers and will be joined by Tambura Rasa for a special treat of live dance/music collaboration.

BLACKBERRY WOOD will shake the dance out of people until they drop to the ground and pedal imaginary bycycles in the air. They'll slam you with giant cymbals and toot sweetly in your ear, Squeeze ya' with accordian and groove your soul with a heavy bass; but it all starts with a warmup on the treadmill as Blackberry Wood's beat man busts out some seriously continental beats that get people sweatin' and pantin' for more.  The songs take you on a journey to another dimension - a dreamy circus bliss. Gypsy punk?  Circus Ragtime?  Alt-Country Carnival?
The LIVE SHOW: Costumes, colours, fun and magic! Blackberry Wood lives - in an energy ball of delight.

Since signing with One World Records last spring, nailing Best New Group at the 2007 Okanagan Music Festival awards in the fall and releasing their self-titled debut CD in February, fans of the world/funk/dance/ hip-hop/ electronica Earthbound vibe are jostling for space on jam-packed dance floors all over the Thompson/Okanagan. Earthbound is gathering accolades wherever it goes. The word is out.

Extraordinary musicians Earthbound, quite simply, sizzles. The room heats up. The sound lifts the rafters and fans are in second heaven -- the other one has more room on the dance floor.

Kinshira (meaning Poetic Movement) uses an exciting array of fire apparatus to create a magical tribal expressionistic dance experience. This local dynamic youth collective aim to achieve ‘poetic movement’ through diverse art mediums including poi and staves, hula hoops, fire fans, costumes, juggling, masks, stilt-walkers, theatrics and more!! They are able to combine the excitement of traditional fire spinning with deep artistic expression and extreme technical ability! Gaining recognition throughout the Okanagan Kinshira was recently featured at a Samsara dance in Vernon BC where they transformed the downtown core into a vibrant tribal pulsating experience!!

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Olga grew up in a musical family. Her uncle, a famous concert pianist, recognized her talent from an early age and made sure that Olga received classical piano lessons from the best instructors in the country. At fourteen, she was already an accomplished pianist, winning awards and performing complex arrangements well beyond her years. Things started happening fast for Olga Osipova after the launch of her all-original debut CD “Velvet & Lace”. Not even a month after the Canadian release, the CD has already topped the smooth jazz charts in her native Russia, added to rotation on many radio stations in Canada and across the world, including USA, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, France, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Poland etc., Olga’s music is receiving rave reviews on a number of TV stations and local papers; her picture appeared on the cover of BC Musician Magazine in August, she was featured in Madeleine Magazine in November, won the Best Jazz Artist of the Year at the BC Interior Music Awards, and most recently, Olga was announced Finalist in the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards.

New Clear Sound is a fusion of rock, pop, folk, and blues.   With high energy catchy songs, this band is often compared to a combination of the Barenaked Ladies, R.E.M. and the Dave Mathews Band.  New Clear Sound recently released their self titled first full length studio album to great reviews.  Playing extensively in the Vernon area for the past 4 years, the band got its start at an open mic night at El Portillos coffee house, where all the members were there to perform on their own.  After hearing each other's set,  They decided to try and pull together a band from it.  New Clear Sound was born, and was offered a regular gig at El Portillos, where they still play weekly.   Touted as one of the best dance bands in the Okanagan, New Clear Sound has always been able to get people out of their seats.   With thousands of shows under their belt this local band is an act that shouldn't be missed.

And Many Many More TBA!!!