By KRISTA ASHFORD
Staff Writer

People took over the streets of downtown St. Catharines on June 27. No, It wasn’t a G20 protest - it was the day of the city’s largest annual music festival, S.C.E.N.E. What started out as a small, grassroots festival has become a huge success for the city and its local musicians. This year, there were 17 stages which hosted more than 160 bands including; the Arkells, Down with Webster, The Reason and The Junction. 2010 was one of the most successful years for the festival and as support continues to grow, so does the festival.

The band, InLimbo, was playing in S.C.E.N.E. Photos by Krista Ashford

“Down with Webster played this year, not that they’re the end all be all of bands, but anyone who was on that bill can say that they played with them and that looks good on a creative resume,” Bergsma continued. Playing the festival gives bands the opportunity to make their name known in the music community.

“It’s great to have that variety of music around, you can draw new fans and make new contacts for tours or out of town shows,” says Byron Coombes of the metal band Tmesis. This year was his fifth time playing in the festival.

“It all depends on how much the band wants to promote themselves. S.C.E.N.E is something for people who want to play once in a while for fun or for bands trying to make it a full-time thing,” he said.

Since the bands are playing a festival atmosphere, they play for a mixture of musical tastes. “The beauty of a festival is that there are ample amounts of people, so you’re not responsible for bringing in a crowd because the big acts will do that for you. You just have to bring people in off the street,” says Bergsma. “Alexisonfire and Dallas Green, they once had a hand in S.C.E.N.E festival. In those days they built a strong community and I think it’s kind of continuing on that way.”

Tim Inceoglu has been involved with the festival for two years and last year his venue, 73, served as a stage for the event. He says he does not think the festival’s success is solely to do with the S.C.E.N.E name but more so to do with the people who put on shows in the city throughout the year.

“They give Niagara the flavour it has, they put St. Catharines on the map,” he says. He said that this year at S.C.E.N.E every venue hosted a local act including; Elk, Waterbodies and Black Majik Movement.

Samantha Brennan has attended S.C.E.N.E the last six years, “The festival continues to be the best showcase of local talent for the entirety of southern Ontario,” says Brennan. She says that having an outlet for the local bands to present themselves is important to the livelihood of “our scene.”

She describes the environment of S.C.E.N.E.

“It’s like the best party you’ve ever been to, you celebrate music by seeing your favourite bands with your best friends. You run into people you haven’t seen in years. The streets are lined with people of all types who are there for the same reason: to have a good time and celebrate music!”

To learn more about S.C.E.N.E festival and its 2011 schedule visit www.scenemusicfestival.com and for more on Niagara’s local music and upcoming shows try www.niagaramusicscene.com.