Nest Fest is back with a punch! This year’s one-day Nest Fest will have live music performances with names like Tim Hicks, Royal Tusk, the Boom Booms and the Be Easys, emceed by Randy and Mr. Lahey of The Trailer Park Boys. Throughout the night, there will also be motocross demonstrations by none other than Monster sponsored athletes Kris Foster, Billy Kohut and Chad Bauman.
Sounds like a party, looks like a party, it is a party! This year, it’s all happening right on the CAT Quad on NAIT’s Main Campus, Friday, Sept. 15. Also featured are pizza and a beer gardens, of course.
Last September marked the first Nest Fest at NAIT, with performances over the course of three days by Alberta’s own Brett Kissel, with the Wet Secrets and DJ Human Kebab, bringing people to the new turf between the CAT Building and the Spartan Centre.
This year’s artists were all hand picked by NAIT students, with music from different genres to cover the diverse tastes here at NAIT. It’s an awesome way to meet some new people or just hang out and listen to some awesome tunes and kick off the new school year. What tops pizza and beer?
Rephrased: Live music emceed by Randy and Mr. Lahey from The Trailer Park Boys tops pizza and beer.
Nest Fest’s headliner, country singer Tim Hicks, hails from Niagara Falls, Ontario, and has released three studio albums. He’s definitely made his mark as a country singer, his Shake These Walls tour in 2015 was sold out, and he’s had several Top 10 hits on Canadian country radio.
“I am a band guy at heart and I love playing music live,” Hicks told CMT. “I’m always asking, ‘How will these songs fit into my live show?’ ”
Royal Tusk, an alternative rock band from Edmonton, birthed from former members of the pop-punk group Ten Second Epic, is also gracing the stage at Nest Fest. Their songs “Shadow of Love” and “Smoke Rings” off their EP, Mountain, were played on the radio across Canada, and they played a show in June at the Needle Vinyl Tavern with a few other bands in the Edmonton rock music scene. Influences of the band’s album DealBreaker include Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Aerosmith.
The Boom Booms are an indie soul band from Vancouver and they’ve travelled around the world, from Europe to Brazil. They are no strangers to touring and driving around in their yellow school bus to play their music. Their past influences include Latin music, Al Green and Bill Withers. They also give back to the community, as their annual East Van Summer Jam fundraiser festival raises money for the band’s nonprofit, The Music Tree, which has donated money to several Vancouver-based and national charities.
The Be Easys’ surf-rock and heavy blues sound graced the Nest at NAITSA’s Take The Stage in 2016 and they’re here to take the stage again, this time on a bigger
scale.
Entrance to the beer gardens will be free from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. After 3 p.m., Nest Fest is a ticketed event, costing $25 for students and $40 for non-students. The live music starts at 4 p.m., and motocross demos will happen throughout the night. Remember, Nest Fest is a one-day event this year, with all the events packed into Sept 15.
Just taking a shot in the dark here, but first-day-of-school team building activities and figuring out who’s going to “borrow” all your school supplies are nothing compared to school year kickoff activities like live music, motocross, pizza and Randy and Mr. Lahey. Just a thought.
– Kat Nykolaychuk
