Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, happening at the Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park on Saturday, August 6, has announced the lineup for its summer return.

Headlining this year is Grammy award-winning rock band from Philadelphia,

The War on Drugs. The band’s moody but straightforward guitar rock places them increasingly in line as torchbearers of the American roots rock sound on their 2017 Grammy-winning A Deeper Understanding and fifth and latest album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore. Labelled “the best American rock band of this decade,” by The New Yorker.

The festival will also feature other can’t-miss performers from the U.S. and Canada including:

An eight-piece New Orleans-based brass ensemble, the Soul Rebels, incorporate elements of soul, jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and pop music within a contemporary brass band framework. They received national attention following the release of their new album, Poetry In Motion.

Ontario’s Ruby Waters, critically-acclaimed Métis/Slovakian singer-songwriter, is often praised for her unique, raspy voice, evoking Janis Joplin and Amy Winehouse. A fast-rising indie alternative artist, Waters mixes modern tempos and catchy guitar riffs.

Balkan Shmalkan is East Vancouver’s sweet dance party orchestra; think global music with local attitude who blend traditional South Serbian Trubaci music with a mixture of pop and jazz. A colourful, vibrant, and celebrative group of funky brass dance beats, energize crowds with their power vocals, drums and horns.

Singer-songwriter Robert Connely Farr, a Bolton, Mississippi transplant, resides in East Van and garnered legions of fans after dropping his first album in 2018, Dirty South Blues. 2019 Maple Blues Awards nominee for Songwriter of the Year & New Artist of the Year.

Rounding out the bill, a blues journey with Brandon & Jack, a six-piece blues band fronted by Brandon Isaak and Jack Lavin, featuring some of the best sidemen on the Vancouver blues scene.

The entire site is licensed, so you can enjoy your beer or wine and food (eight to 12 food trucks are expected) at your blanket or chair, anywhere on the Festival Lawn.

Gates open at 12 p.m., with a family activity area available from 2 to 8 p.m. There’s no on-site parking, but a free shuttle runs from various BCIT parking lots and Brentwood SkyTrain station.