SPILL FEATURE: BARNSIDE HARVEST FESTIVAL – A HEARTFELT MUSIC FESTIVAL NESTLED IN THE FARMLANDS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S LOWER MAINLAND

BARNSIDE HARVEST FESTIVAL – A HEARTFELT MUSIC FESTIVAL NESTLED IN THE FARMLANDS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S LOWER MAINLAND

A CONVERSATION WITH KEN MALENSTYN, ONE OF THE BARNSIDE BREWING CO. FOUNDERS

Barnside Brewing Co., a true farm-based craft brewery based in Ladner, BC, sprouted from four close-knit farming families. The farmland they’ve been harvesting has been active since 1899 and the goal of making beer using ingredients directly from the farms themselves became a reality in 2020. As if that wasn’t achievement enough, the 2023 creation of the annual Barnside Harvest Festival quenched the thirst for music lovers in this small town in the Lower Mainland of BC, a short drive outside of Vancouver, with a much-needed injection of large-scale live entertainment. Spill Magazine recently spoke about all things live music with farming, beer, and music aficionado, Ken Malenstyn, one of the farming founders of Barnside Brewing Co. and a true music lover.

“Initially it was an idea about creating a much smaller summer concert series on the farm directly connected to the brewery. But as we looked at logistics, we realized it didn’t work out. Once we switched to thinking about a space in Ladner, I thought of Paterson Park—and within an hour we had developed a much bigger weekend festival concept!”

“We constantly talk about how this isn’t our festival, it’s the community’s festival. I believe that is truly how the community feels about it and is the main reason behind its success. Their immense support, the family friendly atmosphere, the amazingly fun vibe, they’re all a direct result of how people feel about the festival and how they treat the experience very respectfully. Delta [Ladner is a part of the city of Delta] has long been hungry for something like this to bring the community together in celebration, and we’re so happy to be part of that.”

The inaugural annual Barnside Harvest Festival was in 2023 and began the unique focus on community, while recruiting impressive Canadian musical acts such as Dear Rouge and The Sheepdogs. Turnout for the three-day event was large and encouraging. The 2024 festival continued the new annual tradition of excellent, mostly Canadian music, from established acts such as Sloan, Sam Roberts Band, The Glorious Sons and The Trews, to relatively newer local and international bands like the Boston-based funk-pop band Couch. Three days of high-quality musicianship on three stages intermittently also produces a lot of memorable musical highlights each year. The selection of the 2025 line-up will surely make the upcoming festival a memorable one.

“The first highlight was probably Friday night in 2023, standing on stage to introduce The Sheepdogs. It was a bit of a ‘what have we done?!’ moment, looking out on that huge crowd who were so vocal in their support of us. The amazing gratitude following the show was pretty special too. We knew we had put together just the right kind of festival that balanced music, families, markets, and food, and of course some farm fresh local beer! Last year’s highlight was probably Friday night as well—an epic performance by The Glorious Sons in what became a driving rainstorm. I was so worried about weather. I was literally watching the satellite report every five minutes, but once the show was going and the rain started, no one was leaving!  The photos from that night were iconic.”

“We honestly think this is the best and deepest lineup yet. We have Canada’s leading rock band in Arkells headlining the festival, but so much interesting music beyond that. There are more bands this year that have incredible global followings even thought they may not have the airplay on local radio, bands like Walk Off The Earth and The Dead South. These will be performances that you’ll never forget. We’ve got regional talent like Said The Whale and Bedouin Soundclash, nostalgia bands like Streetheart and The Northern Pikes, the phenom that is Shakey Graves, emerging star Ruby Waters, and our first returning artist, back by overwhelming demand, Jesse Roper. Even beyond that we have multiple Juno award winning bands, artists that are heavily featured on local radio, and some eclectic and entertaining performers from across Canada.”

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Large scale music festivals are a challenge in so many ways. There’s a reason why so many are short-lived and unsuccessful for more than a year or two. There are many complex hurdles including logistical, security and financial considerations. Joining the Barnside team is John Donnelly, an event marketing specialist and leading independent producer of entertainment and media properties in North America. Donnelly has been involved in major productions including numerous Grey Cup and Canada Day events, Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, and JunoFest Vancouver celebrations, just to name a few.

“The biggest challenge outside of the business risk is people. Are they well behaved? Fortunately, for many of the reasons noted above, we’ve had tremendous success. We’ve also worked very closely with the City of Delta and the DPD (Delta Police Department) to make sure we have a robust plan that accommodates many different scenarios. But ultimately, it’s the festival-goers who have created a welcome, safe, and friendly event, and for that we are so very thankful.”

“On the business side, finding bands that can work within our budget and keep our ticket prices as low as they are takes some effort. But we are really happy with our model. I honestly don’t know of many festivals across North America that offer what we offer for a full day experience for well less than $100. That does obviously limit us in who we can attract, but so far, we’ve been able to manage both sides of that quite well. That said, festivals are seeing more and more challenges. We’re hopeful we continue to build where others are unfortunately struggling or no longer viable.”

“John (Donnelly) and I have been friends for 25 years now, from our first days working together on the Western Canadian Music Awards. After 10 years of that we worked on many other events together [like Centennial Jam, which featured K-OS, Great Big Sea, Barenaked Ladies and more]. John is one of the most enthusiastic and genuine people I have ever encountered, and I am so thankful that our friendship allowed me to drag him out of retirement as soon as he tried to slide into it!! You can’t keep an old rocker down, I guess.”

The 2025 Barnside Harvest Festival is bound to continue the trend of great music in a family-friendly, festive atmosphere. The uniqueness of this festival doesn’t stop there. The additional smaller stages (Market Stage & Heritage Pavilion) help to shine a light on some of the younger, newer musicians which adds a refreshing low-key but exciting mix into the festival. Up and coming BC acts are aplenty and it can be a challenge to decide who makes the cut. Choosing the bands to play in the festival amongst the plethora of local, Canadian, and international musical options is a huge task to undertake.

“It’s a very interesting process, especially these days where there are new ways to evaluate artists beyond the standard things like airplay. Ultimately, we are looking for a few things. First is performance. We want artists who really bring a fan experience that is memorable. Beyond that, we are looking for a real mix of established artists and emerging talent, trying to blend the two together. Our hope is that on any given day you may only know two or three of the artists you see, but you’re blown away by a couple of the others! We’ve also looked to add real depth to the lineup. So many bands on the Market Stage and even the Heritage Stage really deserve attention. So old and new, multiple genres, great stage presence, Barnside Harvest Festival offers something for everyone.”

“There are so many unbelievable artists in BC. We had over 200 artists’ submissions in addition to the main artists we are working to procure. When I listen to our playlist, I hear bands that I didn’t know before this year that I swear should be international brands. They have the sound, the look, they just need that one opportunity to break through. For me personally this year it’s artists like Honeybear, The Band, Fionn, and Garret T. Willie. So much talent in BC and across Canada.”

2024 Barnside Harvest Festival Photos
(Photo Credit: John Graham)

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