The weekend everyone had been eagerly anticipating had finally arrived. City and Colour and Alexisonfire were set to headline the 2nd edition of the Born and Raised festival in St. Catharines, Ontario. Following the resounding success of the first edition in 2022, the two homegrown acts seized the opportunity to do it all over again this year. With the first day featuring City and Colour and notable opening acts such as Metric and Sloan, the stage was set for a night of pure musical delight, and the anticipation in the air was palpable.
The first band of the day was Dooms Children, Wade MacNeil’s solo project. He made a memorable entrance by riding his motorcycle to the stage. His accompanying band performed a great set that featured the psychedelic rock sounds from his self-titled album. Wade promised that a new album is coming, as he previewed a new untitled song with a catchy chorus. The early crowd was captivated by Dooms Children, and they applauded excitedly at new Dooms Children music.
Next up was the long-standing rock band Sloan. The 5-piece band regaled the audience with a set brimming with hits from their extensive discography spanning over 20 years. The crowd, clearly jamming with Sloan’s music, sang along with passion, a testament to the band’s enduring status as a classic of Canadian rock music.
Lineup:
Jay Ferguson – Vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar
Chris Murphy – Vocals, bass guitar, drummer
Patrick Pentland – Vocals, lead guitars
Andrew Scott – Vocals, drummer, rhythm guitar
Gregory Macdonald (Touring member) – Keyboards, percussion, vocals
Setlist:
1. If It Feels Good Do It
2. Dream It All Over Again
3. The Rest of My Life
4. Scratch the Surface
5. Who Taught You to Live Like That?
6. Money City Maniacs
7. Something’s Wrong
8. People of the Sky
9. Losing California
10. Underwhelmed
11. The Good in Everyone
Rock band Metric took the stage as the third act of the night, delivering their unique blend of synthpop and indie rock in a high-octane 11-song set. Emily, with her distinctive vocals, commanded the stage, while her bandmates, brimming with energy, delivered a performance that was nothing short of captivating from start to finish, leaving the audience and myself in awe of their passion and talent.
Lineup:
Emily Haines – Lead vocalist, keyboards, percussion, guitars
James Shaw – Lead guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Joules Scott-Key – Drummer
Joshua Winstead – Bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Setlist:
1. Cascades
2. Doomscroller
3. Gold Guns Girls
4. Satellite Mind
5. Artificial Nocturne
6. Days of Oblivion
7. Gimme Sympathy
8. All Comes Crashing
9. Breathing Underwater
10. Synthetica
11. Black Sheep
The intro music started, and the audience roared in excitement as City and Colour arrived on stage. An enthusiastic crowd greeted Dallas Green and his bandmates. “St. Catharines….Let’s get emotional!” Dallas says before the beginning of “Meant to Be.” The moment Dalla’s voice opened, the audience was immediately hooked in and sang along with him. The audience and I can never get tired of Dallas’s voice; it remains one of the best voices I have ever heard.
From start to finish, Dallas and his band entertained the crowd with a set filled with old and new songs. Some of the new tunes were from his latest album, The Love Still Held Me Near, which contained Dallas’s most vulnerable lyrics to date. Tracks like the album title track and “Bow Down To Love” showcased Dalla’s ethereal vocals. Some of my favourite songs were “Strangers” and “Young Lovers” on A Pill for Loneliness, my favourite album from City and Colour.
The classics could not be ignored, such as “We Found Each Other in the Dark” and “Waiting…,” where Dallas dedicated the song to his mother, who didn’t like the demo version of the song. But Dallas and his band saved the best for last at the encore with the crowd favourites: “Comin’ Home with a cover of Alexisonfire’s “This Could Be Anywhere in the World” and “Sleeping Sickness” as the entire audience sang the late Gord Downie’s verse. But the night’s surprise came from the last song with City and Colour performing “Sometimes (I Wish)”, one of the first songs Dallas released when his solo career started. It was the picture-perfect ending to the first day of Born and Raised, filled with a fantastic lineup of Canadian acts.
Lineup:
Dallas Green – Vocalist, guitar
Matt Kelly – Guitar, pedal steel, backing vocals
Erik Nielsen – Bass
John Sponarski – Guitar, backing vocals
Leon Power – Drummer
Setlist:
1. Meant to Be
2. Living In Lightning
3. Wasted Love
4. Strangers
5. The Love Still Held Me Near
6. Runaway
7. Harder Than Stone
8. We Found Each Other in the Dark
9. Weightless
10. Young Lovers
11. Underground
12. Lover Come Back
13. The Grace (Neverending White Lights cover)
14. Two Coins
15. Waiting…
16. The Water is Coming
17. Hello, I’m in Delaware
18. Bow Down to Love
Encore:
19. Comin’ Home / This Could Be Anywhere in the World
20. Sleeping Sickness
21. Sometimes (I Wish)
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Andrew Wu is a music photographer based in Toronto, Canada. His work focuses on capturing and documenting special moments of performers during concerts and various events. His photos have been featured such as music publications in Spill Magazine, Imprint Entertainment, and Patchchord News. In 2020, he completed his BFA in photography at OCAD University.
Andrew is a massive fan of music, as he enjoys a variety of genres such as pop, alternative, rock, hardcore, and metal.