British Columbia electronic music and art festival Bass Coast has released tickets for its 2022 show, after a two-year pause, and has also donated over $20,000 to flood relief efforts in the community of Merritt.

Bass Coast Festival has announced it will donate $21,100 to the Merritt Rotary Disaster Relief Fund and six local Indigenous bands to aid relief efforts after the devastating floods of November 2021. The funds were raised through two charitable initiatives including a GoFundMe campaign that surpassed its initial fundraising goal of $15,000 to total $21,100, and a music compilation initiative which raised $1000 to be donated to the Nicola Valley Food Bank.

Above: Britt Rose photo. Top: Banana Cam photo.

“The Bass Coast community came together to raise funds to support the host town of the festival. The generosity of the community was astonishing,” said Bass Coast founders Andrea Graham and Liz Thomson in a statement. “We are very pleased to be releasing tickets this week for the upcoming festival in July. We postponed our original ticket launch in November out of concern for the Merritt community during the unexpected and disastrous floods.” Tickets for the 2022 event, which will take place July 8-11, went on sale February 10 via Bass Coast Festival’s box office.

Bass Coast Festival called the picturesque community of Merritt home since 2013. After being postponed twice, in 2020 and 2021, the 2022 edition of the artist-owned and produced event will feature 150 performers from all parts of the globe across four immersive stage environments, over 50 interactive art installations and a range of workshops. “The past two years have had plenty of ups and downs.” says Graham. “Each challenge has presented new opportunities to think creatively and collaboratively. We’re thrilled to be returning in 2022 and connecting further with the Merritt community.”

DJ Heather at the show in 2019 as photographed by Joey Root.

The year before having to shut down for two years because of the global pandemic, Bass Coast was awarded “Best Boutique Festival” by DJ Mag, an England-based monthly magazine dedicated to dance music. It wrote “With a focus on art, well-being and, of course, bass-heavy beats, Canadian getaway Bass Coast claims this year’s Best Boutique Festival crown.” For more on that story, visit our article here.