The Jade Music Fest will highlight Vancouver’s linguistic diversity in some innovative ways from November 5 to 8. First of all, it will accomplish this through songs performed at free showcases in a variety of Chinese languages—including Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, and Cantonese—as well as English. Linguistic diversity will also be addressed through free panel discussions and workshops, community events, a film screening, and ticketed concerts.
The opening night showcase at 7 p.m. at Performance Works features three Indigenous acts. One of them, Good Medicine Songs, is a bilingual project with songs in Halq’eméylem and English. The second, the Spiritual Warriors, play reggae music in U’cwalmicwts, which is the language of the Lil’wat Nation. And Handsome Tiger is an Anishinaabe Metis and North African DJ/producer.
Earlier that day, the first community event, Voices of Nature Mandarin, will bring together three West Coast musicians—Holly Arntzen, D’Arcy Han, and Kevin Wright—for a session on multilingual songs. It begins at 10:30 a.m. on November 5 at the Annex (823 Seymour Street).
“In this workshop, participants will experience how language, ecological science and inter-cultural connection can work together for climate action,” the Jade Music Fest website states. “They will display song lyrics on screen, so that the audience can learn and sing with them.”
Another free community event will be held at the same time on November 6 at the Annex. It will feature Toronto alt-pop artist Vicki Lovelee sharing how she infuses storytelling into her theatrical musical shows.
Jade Music Fest will present a Mandarin drag show
The first ticketed event is at 7 p.m. on November 6 at Waterfront Theatre. Two multilingual Canadian songwriters—Van Lefan and Jacq Teh—will perform at Voices of Our Generations: A Tribute to the Mandarin Classics of the 70s and 80s.
A second ticketed event, Forbidden City, brings together Vancouver’s Mandarin-speaking drag queens and kings. Led by Wanting Moi, it will be the only locally produced Mandarin drag show in North America. This will take place at 8:30 p.m. on November 7 on the Revue Stage.
Moreover, free showcases will be held on the final three days of the festival. On November 6, three acts will be on the Revue Stage from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The band Sultry includes members from China, Taiwan, Ukraine, Italy, and Canada. The second act, Dr. Holic, is a trilingual hip-hop and R&B artist based in Toronto. The third, Sunny Daydream, is a Nanjing-born and Langley-raised musician who writes evocative songs in English and Mandarin.
The next free showcase is at Performance Works at 8:30 p.m. on November 6, featuring three Vancouver musicians. Caroline Ding sings in Taizhou, Mandarin, and English. The funky and soulful Kristin Fung lights up every room she plays in with her original songwriting and charismatic stage presence. The third performer, Jas Wishes, moved from Hong Kong to Vancouver, where she serenades audiences with her jazz and soul singing.
On November 7, there will be yet another free showcase at 6:30 p.m. at Waterfront Theatre. The singing artistic storyteller Vicki Lovelee will be joined by a Taiwanese storytelling musician, Cliff, and Taiwanese Hakka folk artist Shu Chan Chiu.
Granville Island Takeover
This year’s festival also includes an all-day musical extravaganza on the final day. More than 40 musicians will perform across four indoor stages and seven outdoor busking sites as part of “Granville Island Takeover” on November 8.
Vancouver singer-songwriters Daniel Lew and Dino Acconci and the Taiwanese band HoNi will kick off the indoor shows at Waterfront Theatre between 12:30 and 2:45 p.m. Over at the Review Stage, Toronto-based actor, filmmaker, and musician Violet Ziyi Grace, Vancouver indie pop artist Emma, and the Taiwanese alt-rock band Shallow Levee will perform from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, three Vancouver-based musicians who can flip between Chinese dialects and English will be at The Nest from 3 to 5 p.m.. James Tseung is a Hong Kong-born composer and singer songwriter who defies categorization by drawing on jazz, soul, R&B, and classical musical influences. Shinlok, who is also from Hong Kong, delivers a lo-fi bedroom sound in his original songs while usually remaining within the pop realm. The third artist, Elvin Chang, balances tenderness with intensity in his original music.
Language breathes through rhythm and connection
Then it’s back to Waterfront Centre for another showcase, which will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. This one will include Singapore-born and Toronto-based folk indie songwriter Chiniyi C, Taiwan-born jazz and bossa nova vocalist Aivee Hsu, and Toronto-based Malaysian-Canadian neo-soul artist Eunice Keitan.
Granville Island Takeover continues from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Revue Stage with another diverse lineup. Merv xx Gotti is an indie pop singer-songwriter who draws on his Cantonese and Thai ancestry. Musician Chiu Shu writes and performs Hakka-language folk songs and often collaborates with theatre companies. Indie bedroom pop and alt-pop artist Chara Kai-Le has lived in Malaysia, Singapore, England, and Canada, which informs her songwriting.
The final showcase is at Performance Works from 7:30 to 9 p.m.. It will feature Taiwanese Hakka folk artist Shu Chan Chiu again, this time alongside Jacq Teh, a Juno-winning Canadian songwriter and jazz singer.
“Mother Tongue, New Beats captures how language breathes through rhythm and connection,” says Charlie Wu, General Manager of the Society of We Are Canadians Too (SWACT), the organizers of Jade Music Fest. “Granville Island Takeover is more than a music event—it’s a movement that unites generations and communities to rediscover pride and identity through their own languages.”
For tickets and more information about the Jade Music Fest, visit the website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social. The publication is also on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
