The Summertime live music tradition continues!

Wednesday on the Wharf 2025

The Salmon Arm Arts Centre is thrilled to announce the lineup for the 2025 Wednesday on the Wharf (WOW) by-donation live music concert series. Every Wednesday evening at 6.45pm in July and August, audiences will gather at Marine Peace Park in Salmon Arm in the warmth of the evening sun. The Arts Centre extends our gratitude and pays our respects to the Secwepemc host nation on whose unceded and traditional territory we gather to connect with family and friends, and to take in a fantastic array of live music.

This year, WOW kicks off with a focus on Salmon Arm talent, and a showcase of the bevy of musical opportunities that are available in our town:

July 2nd will be a jam-packed, double-bill season opener. The 45+ members of the  Salmon Arm Community Band will kick off the first set with audience favorites, including marches, overtures, and film scores. Joining them in a special performance are recent Shuswap Music Festival youth award winners Nico Glanville on piano, vocalist Joy Braby Pel, and vocalist Evje Knutson making their WOW stage debut. After donation collection at intermission, Scotch Creek’s own Megan Abel Band will shake up the crowd with powerhouse vocals and their fusion of outlaw folk-pop.

July 9th will see the six piece Indigenous Funk/Soul/Hip-Hop artist Curtis Clear Sky & the Constellationz enliven the WOW stage with beats and positivity, followed by the roots-rockabilly quartet The Promised on July 16th. ROOTSandBLUES festival artists Empanadas Illegales will get the crowd on their feet with their mix of psychedelic cumbia and salsa on July 23rd, while Juno award-winning folk-pop duo Big Little Lions will use every limb, and then some, to make two people sound like a full band on July 30th.

International touring act Tennyson King will bring a global flavour to the park on August 6th by infusing traditional Chinese instruments into indie-folk-rock. Barefoot dancing will be on the menu on August 13th, when Vancouver-based Kutapira brings their high-energy fusion of Zimbabwean marimba with West African and Afro-Cuban percussion to town. Finally, audiences of all ages will connect to the effortless harmonies and timeless sound of the award-winning bluegrass quartet Jackson Hollow on August 20th.

The collaboration between WOW and our Secwepemc friends continues this year, with another mini PowWOW set for August 27th. Everyone is welcome at this cultural showcase celebration to enjoy the dancing, drumming, singing and regalia.

As always, audiences can bring their lawn chairs, blankets, and picnics down to the park, and know there will be plenty of room for dancing. Donations collected at intermission support the concert series, all of which would not be possible without the support of WOW’s incredible sponsors.

The Arts Centre and WOW thanks the following Series sponsors for their enthusiasm and support: Centenoka Park Mall, Doane Grant Thornton LLP, H&R Block, SASCU Credit Union, Shuswap Denture Clinic, Shuswap Orthodontics, ProAir Heating and Cooling, and the Prestige Harbourfront Resort Hotel.

Performance Sponsors include Askew’s Foods, Armstrong Regional Coop, Braby Motors, Cindy Derkaz REALTOR Royal LePage Access Real Estate, Johnston Meier Insurance Agencies Group, Okanagan College, ROOTSandBLUES, Shuswap Music Festival Society, Shuswap Veterinary Clinic, Stella-Jones Inc., and Sterling Land Wealth Advisory Group.

The Arts Council gratefully acknowledges the support of the BC Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia, BC Live Performance Network, the BC Gaming Commission, Rotary Shuswap, the Shuswap Community Foundation, Creative BC, and the City of Salmon Arm, and our community partners The Shuswap Family Centre, RiseUp Indigenous Wellness, and Zest Commercial Food Hub.

Wednesday on the Wharf thanks our sponsors and supporters for bringing the gift of live music to the community… we couldn’t do it without you!