By Justin Waldman
Last night at Budweiser Stage, Burlington’s Walk Off The Earth took the stage for the third consecutive year and packed some energy to a crowd of 7,000. For my first time seeing the Canadian band, kicking off Canadian Music Week (other headlining shows included Deadmau5), I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into, but Sarah Blackwood, Gianni Luminati, Joel Cassidy, among others in the band came out in a video package, with a backstage vignette that played until they came out on stage.
Immediately wanting to get the energy running they promised three ukuleles to the three loudest and craziest fans, this certainly sent the audience into a frenzy for wanting a coveted ukulele. They played a mix of their own songs and covers (which seemed to be a theme of the night, more on that later though) and a wonderful collection of The Beatles classics.
Debuting their newest song Better at Love and near the end of the show, asking the crowd to do a flashlight wave moment to create “another viral TikTok” which had the entire crowd engaged and wanting to participate, sharing a moment with the band. The entire evening felt like a love letter to the city, enjoying the immense family feeling the crowd gave them, and this was all amplified by Gianni bringing up the fact that he remembered playing at The Rivoli (another Canadian Music Week venue) to only seven people in the crowd. Multiplying that audience by a thousand is certainly an impressive feat and the love and joy from the audience spoke volumes.
What made the experience extra special were the two separate performances from Luminati Suns as they got to perform their songs and Walk off the Earth songs which rang similar to a School of Rock vibe. Aside from the great show, the crowdwork, the Luminati Suns surprise performances, the opening of Mico and Taylor Acorn really got the crowd worked up and ready for when Walk Off The Earth finally would dawn the stage at 9 PM. A fantastic start to Canadian Music Week at Budweiser Stage.
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