Wednesday on the Wharf
2026 Wednesday on the Wharf Recap
Fall is here! With cooler temperatures and much-needed rain, the beginning of September signals that the 2026 Wednesday on the Wharf season has officially come to a close. Bringing together over 100 performers and 3,300 attendees across nine concerts, this year's series was a fantastic celebration of community and live music. Here is how the season unfolded:
July 1: We kicked off the season with a triple bill of Shuswap talent: the 45+ members of the Salmon Arm Community Band, Shuswap Music Festival Award Winners Esther Langridge and Leila Sui, and much-loved Folk/Celtic group Birchbark. When evening rain arrived, the Community Band sprang into action and managed to get the entire orchestra set up under a borrowed 20 x 20 tent. Dozens of umbrella-toting audience members still showed up, and by the time the first set was over, the clouds had parted and the crowd had grown to 300 strong.
Salmon Arm Community Band
Esther Langridge
Birchbark
Leila Sui
July 8: Mike Gouchie and the Classics brought award-winning country music to a beautiful 30°C summer evening. Their rich songs, standout musicianship, and what may have been the most joyful breakup song ever played at WOW kept the crowd engaged from beginning to end.
Mike Gouchie and the Classics
July 15: We welcomed our first-ever Filipino-Canadian band to WOW with Vancouver’s Gelo Granados Band. Making their first performance outside the Lower Mainland, they delivered two fantastic sets of Tagalog and English indie-rock. Afterward, they joined the crowd at the Art Gallery for a Karaoke Party featuring delicious food from Fork Seasons. The mingling and celebrations carried on until nearly 11:00 PM.
Gelo Granados Band
July 22:The city was alive for ROOTSandBLUES week! Shuswap Pipes N Drums filled the park with the unmistakable sound of bagpipes before Winnipeg’s Leaf Rapids brought their dreamy, cinematic sound to the stage. The evening was made even more memorable by the Festival’s Whimsey Squad, who were out in full force spreading cheer ahead of the festival.
Shuswap Pipes n Drums
Leaf Rapids
ROOTSandBLUES Whimsey Squad
July 29: Kelowna’s Kailee Duggan closed out the month with her soulful, mellow sound that kept the family-friendly audience enhanced. A comfortable 28°C and a soft evening breeze created the perfect conditions for that classic, easygoing WOW atmosphere our audiences know and love.
August 5: Blackberry Wood brought the weird, wild and wonderful to Salmon Arm. Decked out in circus-style marching band attire, this high-energy crew had the audience laughing, singing along to pirate songs, and enjoying their wonderfully chaotic blend of interactive play and top-tier musicianship.
Kailee Duggan
Blackberry Wood
August 12: Midnight Bugaloo brought vibrant Latin rhythms to the wharf, and the crowd was dancing from the first note. This Vancouver-based four-piece kept the energy high throughout their performance, even when the mosquitoes decided to join the party!
Midnight Bugaloo
August 19: We continued our global musical journey with Kelowna-based Francophone pop artist Elodie Orsei. Her bilingual songwriting, infectious energy, and radiant stage presence captivated the audience. We love supporting emerging artists, and we have a feeling we’ll be seeing much more of her in the years to come.
Elodie Orsei
August 26: We closed the season with an Indigenous Celebration curated by Salmon Arm’s own Kenthen Thomas. We were deeply honoured to welcome Gord Cuthbert and the Sage Hill Singers, alongside so many Indigenous community members who gathered to dance and share their culture. Gord provided rich context for each song and dance, deepening the experience for everyone present. A delicious community meal featuring bison and vegan chili from Rise Up Indigenous Wellness was so popular that we ran out! The celebration concluded with a traditional inter-tribal Round Dance, with so many people joining that we had to form a circle within the circle to welcome everyone.
Selena Pollard
Sage Hill Singers
Jay Bearhead
As Artistic Producer and emcee, I feel fortunate that clear weather allowed us to gather week after week. Huge thanks to Production Humans, our dedicated WOW crew, and our generous sponsors for making this magic possible. Building community through shared cultural expression deepens our connection to this place—and to one another. See you all next year!
—Astrid Varnes
