We are so excited to welcome back one of Oregon's most ferocious bands, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. The band cemented their place in the collective musical memory of an entire generation as the head of the neo-swing revival of the late 90s with their album Zoot Suit Riot – which spawned the criminally catchy hit song of the same name. Born as a ska-punk band, Cherry Poppin' Daddies rode their success into a career that has seen them embrace their classier side, incorporating lots of 1950s jazz and Tin Pan Alley blues influences, playing it all with serious teeth and power. When it comes down it, the band is an Americana band – tying together many of the ends of the country's vast musical history: punk, swing, jazz, big-band, blues and rock 'n' roll, third-wave ska – turning into a cocktail all their own. It's been awhile since the Cherry Poppin' Daddies made it up this way and we're pumped they're finding their way back to help us celebrate Year 20!

To provide support and get the night started with serious funk we have both of Canada's coasts coming together to light a fire in Distrikt. Victoria's own 9-piece jungle-funk monster, APEX BREAKS. Featuring members of some of our favourite bands from around the city – Rocky Mountain Rebel Music, Zoubi & The Sea, Crude Cultura, to name a few – Apex Breaks puts on one of the most explosively fun live shows we've seen in a long time. When they got a packed Lucky Bar dancing and soaked with sweat last fall playing our show with Erica Dee, we knew right away that they needed to be on the Festival stage. And getting things started on the night is New Brunswick's multi-instrumentalist looping wizard STEPHEN LEWIS. A one-man funk phenomenon, Lewis' sets are little celebrations of joy, drinking deeply of the happiest grooves. We're so thrilled to be able to catch the leader of the Big Band of Fun for this special performance in the midst of one of the busiest touring seasons ever for he and his band. And last, but certainly not least, our good friend and renowned Man of Taste, TECSTYLEZ. The groovy homie will be kicking the speakers warm between sets with the finest in hip-hop, soul, funk and all associated sounds that people love dancing to.