This year’s musical lineup for Peach Festival is a who’s who of classic rock, with Glass Tiger and Honeymoon Suite back featuring large in the list of headliners.
The 2020 festival takes place Aug. 5 to 9, and Peachfest president Don Kendall said the headliners are sure to draw attention.
“We have a strong lineup of favourites who we know have packed Okanagan Lake Park full of their fans at previous Peach Festivals and other artists who will be making their first appearance and are sure to draw big crowds,” said Kendall.
Opening night, Aug. 5
On the opening night of Peachfest, Honeymoon Suite returns, with Doug & the Slugs opening. Also, dropping in for opening day fun will be Canada’s military parachute demonstration team, the SkyHawks.
With hits such as New Girl Now racing to the top 50 in the U.S., Honeymoon Suite continues to rock with songs like Burning In Love, Feel It Again, Bad Attitude, Still Loving You and What Does it Take. Their songs were featured on film soundtracks (One Crazy Summer, The Wraith and Lethal Weapon) and on the television show Miami Vice.
The Canadian rockers are planning to release a new album this year and their first single in 27 years, Tell Me What You Want, was released in November.
The band will be joined by five original members of Doug & the Slugs, who regrouped in 2009 with a new singer, Ted Okos, following the death of lead singer Doug Bennett in 2004.
The band decided to continue to play on remembrance of Bennett, honouring his legacy and bringing fans a live performance of the songs they still love after all these years.
Country night, Aug. 6
Singer-songwriter Shawn Austin’s debut single, Paradise Found, landed him as one of the top 10 most played Canadian country artists on radio. He will headline Tim Hortons country night on Aug. 6
Simply Queen, Aug. 7
Simply Queen, taking the stage on Aug. 7, promises to “blow your mind” with a live tribute featuring all the iconic songs that made Queen one the most legendary rock bands of all time, faithfully recreating the grand scope of Queen’s live shows, both musically and visually.
They will headline the RE/MAX Penticton Tribute Night on Aug. 7 on the Peters Bros. stage with opener Fab Fourever, Canada’s premiere tribute to The Beatles. The latter has a local connection with Penticton-raised Jody Tennant as Paul, who taught himself to play guitar left-handed for the role, helping transport crowds back to the 1960s.
Glass Tiger, Aug. 8
The story of one of Canada’s most enduring and iconic bands, Glass Tiger, will roar on to the Peach Festival stage Aug. 8 (sponsored by Peters Bros.). The band’s debut album, The Thin Red Line, quickly became an unstoppable force, rocketing up the charts to become the fastest selling debut in Canadian history.
That album included the iconic Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone), a song etched into popular music history. The band is a five-time Juno Award winner, were Grammy nominated and have shared stages and recording performances with some of the world’s leading acts including Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Journey, Julian Lennon and Cheap Trick.
Thanks to the sponsorship of the Penticton Lakeside Resort, one of the top piano players in the world — who had the crowd in Okanagan Lake Park dancing the night away last year—returns to close out the festival. Ben Waters is the world-renowned boogie-woogie piano player who has worked with The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.
“Everyone was absolutely blown away by Waters last year at PeachFest after he opened for Barney Bentall. The crowd was rocking and he was having such a great time that he wasn’t a few steps off the stage when he told me he wanted to come back next year,” said Kendall, adding that Waters recently completed a tour with Ron Woods from the Rolling Stones.
“This will be his only show in Canada this year.”
The festival will make more announcements in the lead-up to the event as it continues to work on the full schedule. Stay up-to-date by following them on social media.
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