KelownaNow's Experience at Rock The Lake

Once again we have returned from Rock The Lake after a weekend of trying our best to convey the festival experience with our camera lenses.

Four cameras, one live stream, lots of lemonade (not the hard stuff) and some good ol’ rock and roll fuelled our fire this weekend.

Between Cami and I, we shot over 4,000 photos and eight hours of video. Then came the hard part, taking all of that footage and creating a piece that shows you the best of the best from the Rock The Lake year two.

Last year, the KelownaNow team was overwhelmed with the positive feedback we got for our coverage, so now the pressure's really on to outdo ourselves. After reading this, we would love to hear your feedback on our coverage and the festival itself.

With all that said, 1..2..3..4.. Hit it!

Bill Henderson of Chilliwack said something during our interview that really stuck with me: “Music is therapy”, and he is right.

Regardless of what personal struggles people were facing, as soon as those stage lights glowed and the first notes of a song floated throughout the grounds all worries seemed to fade away.

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Everyone here is so friendly and we all love the same music.

- Steve and Shelley Cameron

One of the best parts of any music festival is the commradarie, but there is something special about the energy that radiates from Rock The Lake.

Everyone cared about each other just as much as they did the music. You would see someone trading spots with another so they could get a clearer view, or two strangers belting out the lyrics to “Stay In The Light” side by side. We even had one lady bring us sunscreen.

By the end of it we were a family. You would run into someone you’ve rocked out with throughout the weekend and just hug each other without even knowing their name.

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We know you've been down about the smoke, but we're still here because hey this is rock and roll and we don't give a s**t!

- Holly Woods, Toronto

As Holly Woods so eloquently pointed out, we really didn’t care about the smoke at all. Sure our eyes burned a little bit and our voices may have gone hoarse quicker than expected, but we were rockin’ out and that’s all that mattered.

The most impressive part to me was the fact that even though our air quality was beating out Hong Kong for worst in the world, these bands of bad asses still got on stage and gave us their everything.

From legends like Myles Goodwyn of April Wine and Rik Emmett to the newest rocker Kat Lawrence, once they hit the stage nothing would stand in their way of giving us the rock and roll medicine they knew was much needed.

Smoke wasn’t the only weather condition that made for a memorable weekend, but the brief downpour of rain made for what seemed to be a scene straight out of a movie.

Right as Kim Mitchell began his final encore the rain began to flow, and rather than trying to stay dry, we welcomed it with open arms and sernaded it as it fell.

Shouting the words to “Go For A Soda” arms around eachother and lighters raised, thousands of people made the most of their weekend in that moment.

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I’ve been listening to Rock and Roll all of my life and being at this festival with these bands, really gets all the memories flowing back to you.

- Hawkeye

The bands who made up Rock The Lake 2017 are much more than their chart topping hits, or stellar guitar solos (though let’s be honest there were so many incredible ones). They are the creators of the soundtracks behind some of our most cherished memories.

Whether you were transported back to high school prom with Toronto, midnight drives with April Wine, or the first time you listened to Platinum Blonde with your dad, these bands and this festival allowed you to travel through time and space to relive those memories.

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I’ve been up at the front all weekend, It just good, old-school, classic rock and I love being a part of it!

- Gary Edminson

While the bands gave us sweet music, we gave them all our energy. Non-stop cheers that rumbled like deep thunder, and singing along to every word we could without taking a break, It was the fans that really made Rock The Lake what it was.

Dedicated to the genre, you would see some people in the same spot they stood three hours before with their devil horns raised and jumping with the same fireball energy they had on day one.

Though every musician and singer gave their all with their instruments, two bands stand out to me when it comes to matching the excitement and energy of their smitten fans, Helix and Honeymoon Suite.

Utilizing every inch of the stage, and even standing on the speakers and barricades, these two acts made it seem like the cries of the crowd was their life source and they were in dire need.

A place to call home for a weekend, somewhere to let loose and rock out carefree and the root of new friendships, Rock The Lake 2017 gave us more than just a weekend of classic rock in epic proportions, it gave us a sense of family.

In the words of Wayne and Garth, Party On!

In case you missed it, we did daily recaps throughout the entire weekend as well as conduct interviews with a few of the acts.

Day one recap

Day two recap

Day three recap