Up Here music and arts festival back for another year

Up Here—Sudbury's urban art and music festival—is returning for a third year, but things might look a little different this time around.

The festival will take place at venues around the downtown core, instead of closing down Durham Street. Up Here co-founder Christian Pelletier said they had to scale back the event, after last year's festival was rained out.

"Last year we took a little bit of a hit with the weather," he said. "We really wanted to keep going and so we decided alright, let's just pull it back a bit."

Pelletier said this year will be an opportunity to think outside of the box and explore new venues instead.

"Seeing as there's less risk, without being on Durham Street, we can really try new things out," he said.

Festival will feature surprise concerts and venues

The festival will feature live music from over 30 artists, including Polaris Music Prize nominee Lido Pimienta, and several local groups.

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Up Here will also be bringing back its surprise concerts, which will be popping up at various downtown locations throughout the weekend.

"We've nailed some really cool location in downtown that people have never stepped foot in," Pelletier said.

App taking on a bigger role this year

Festival-goers can find the times and locations of the surprise concerts using the Up Here app, which is also taking on a bigger role this year.

"We're putting a lot more focus on it this year, because we don't have a physical paper program," Pelletier said. "And just by nature of the festival, the act is a lot more interactive and lets us do a bunch of really cool things."

One of the app's newest features is a murals map, that shows you how far you are from a mural and includes a description of the piece. Pelletier said people can use the map year-round to go on a self-guided tour of the artwork downtown.

More art for downtown Sudbury

Two new murals will be popping up in the coming week as well. Mique Michelle, a muralist from Field, Ont., has already started work on a new mural along St. Anne Street. Artist Emmanuel Jarus will begin working on a mural inspired by Sudbury's mining legacy.

Several local artists will also be participating in Power Up, a project to decorate power boxes around downtown Sudbury.

"We've partnered up with Greater Sudbury Utilities and the social planning council to paint these big green electrical boxes," Pelletier said. "Throughout the festival there's going to be 12 to 24 of them that are going to start getting painted, and by the end of the summer they're all going to be painted."

Up Here officially starts Friday night, and runs through the weekend. Tickets to all of the concerts and events can be purchased on the festival website.