With the big event mid-March in Surrey, students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University are learning how to plan and run a multi-genre music festival that explores and celebrates social justice.
The free-admission Wake Up! fest returns to KPU's Newton campus for a third year on Thursday, March 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Cedar building's Conference Centre (room 1205).
The stage is set for headlining hip-hop artist Ndidi Cascade, Lowkita, Dusty Pines and Chico Zander, along with KPU students making their debut.
The annual festival is organized by KPU music instructor Gordon Cobb and the 30-plus students in MUSI 3500 who come from all corners of the university, including journalism, business, fine arts and creative writing departments.
Students in the course are responsible for planning and building all aspects of Wake Up! with video, backdrops, marketing, logistics, stage planning and more, with Cobb's lead.
, Wake Up! aims to enhance KPU's visibility as a potential hub for music and cultural development in Surrey, the instructor says.
"In a time when civil rights, EDI (equity, diversity, inclusion) and social justice is diminishing in North America, we want to remind the KPU community of the power of the fine and performing arts in society,鈥� Cobb said.
鈥淔or decades, music artists have worked in tandem with politicians to fight for people's rights and freedoms. The Wake Up! Social Justice Music Festival is one such event 鈥� a call to action by the students, staff and faculty at KPU. We are here to ask questions, evoke discourse, and create hope through a communal expression of joy."
Festival attendees can expect "a night of thought-provoking lyricism, groove-worthy beats and positive community connection," with free Wake Up! merchandise and door prizes available.
KPU students Damean Rose, Kelly Pang and Karina Kovalenko are emerging artists who will all debut their work at the festival March 13.
Kovalenko, whose stage name is Karrality, is from Raisovka, a village in Kazakhstan. She wrote her first song at age 16, and has released music in both Russian and English in recent years.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about Wake Up! as it will be my first time performing my songs on stage,鈥� Kovalenko said. 鈥淚 really like that a lot of different people can relate to my music with their own experiences at points in their lives.鈥�
Fellow performer Lowkita, a Vancouver-based hip-hop artist originally from Calgary, is a rapper, singer, songwriter and producer whose performances bring "high-energy music representing everyday ups and downs of life.鈥�
While admission is free at the festival, attendees are urged to register online, . The event is open to everyone, and younger school students are allowed in with a parent or teacher, the website notes. No alcohol will be allowed in the concert venue, at 12666 72 Ave., Surrey.
Check out the artist bios on .
