Wednesday on the Wharf

Get ready for live music in the sun!

Wednesday on the Wharf is an open-air summertime concert series where people of all ages gather at Salmon Arm’s Marine Peace Park to meet up with friends, soak up the evening sun, and enjoy live music. Audiences are treated to a rich musical journey that features a wide range of musical genres. From blues to pop, latin to funk, and country to calypso, Wednesday on the Wharf enlivens our community and brings us together through the joy of live music.

The online application process for the 2024 season is now closed.

The 2024 lineup will be announced in late spring.

Questions? Email Astrid at wow@salmonarmartscentre.ca

Looking back at 2023

Now that the summer heat is behind us, we can take stock of the 2023 WOW season. The end of August was marked by devastating wildfires in our area, which cut our concert series short, and caused distress for so many. We are grateful that Arts Centre staff, WOW technicians and crew, and musical performers were spared the worst from the wildfires, and our thoughts are with those in our community who are facing a long road to recovery.

Our opening concert on July 5th had all the features of a stellar WOW concert: Under a beautiful blue sky, a huge crowd of 600+ cheered on local favourites Cod Gone Wild. The following week, light drizzle cleared to sunny skies as crowds welcomed well-known Indigenous singer Kym Gouchie; followed by up and comer Métis artist Kaeley Jade and her high-energy performance on July 19th. The Gabriel Palatchi Trio’s Latin-jazz and global funk beats wrapped up the month, and left audiences wanting more.

Cod Gone Wild

Kym Gouchie

Gabriel Palatchi Trio

Kaeley Jade

The Misery Mountain Boys

August 2nd began on a high note with the nostalgic tunes and comic timing of the Misery Mountain Boys. This was to be our last sunny concert, as the following week’s Francis Baptiste was chased off the stage by a deluge after only three songs. The Wednesday ahead of the Roots and Blues festival typically features a festival artist, and this year award-winning Francophone folk artists Le Vent du Nord wowed an appreciative crowd at the intimate setting at Song Sparrow Hall, as thick smoke made an outdoor concert impossible. In the aftermath of an anxious weekend of wildfire activity, we made the difficult decision to cancel the last two concerts in August. The health and safety of our artists, our audiences, our staff and our crew took top priority.

Francis Baptiste

Le Vent du Nord

Despite these challenges, there were many successes this past season, including an increase in average audience size, a focus on reconciliation through Secwepectsin language, and a fantastic working relationship with our community partners, which allowed us to skillfully respond to all of August’s challenges. Like so many outdoor presenters, we will be using the off-season to examine how to deliver future WOW concerts in such an unpredictable climate. Adaptability and innovation, while keeping WOW’s core values of diversity, musical excellence, and accessibility, will be key.

The Shuswap District Arts Council extends a heartfelt kukwstéc-kucw to all the sponsors, supporters, artists and crew who made this year’s concert series possible.