About the Event
Music BC Presents: SoMa Fest
🗓️ Saturday, March 21st
📍Anza Club (3 W 8th Avenue Street)
This ticket is valid for Anza Club only. To explore all festival shows, venues, and events - or to purchase a wristband that provides access to all shows (subject to venue capacity) - please visit the main festival page HERE.
**Doors and set times will be announced soon**
Featuring:
Desirée Dawson
Desirée Dawson is a breath of fresh air in the music industry, with her powerful yet soothing voice, engaging lyricism and inspiring live performances. Whether an intimate venue playing solo, in harmony with her band playing to thousands or anywhere in between, her versatility allows her to bring her gifts to stages of any size. She is a two-time SXSW music video winner and JUNO Award nominee for Best Adult Contemporary Album of the year. She has garnered millions of views and streams for her releases such as, “I Am Blessed". Desirée is driven by a passion for collective liberation believing that finding ways to love, embrace and care for ourselves goes hand-in-hand with learning how to love, care, and build with others. Dawson’s soulful folk sound builds narrative worlds that allow the feelings of care and compassion to lovingly stay with you and to be a gift to pass on.
Duke & Goldie
Duke & Goldie are a Vancouver-based duo blending warm folk storytelling with an upbeat, mystical country twang. Eric “The Duke” Duquette and Jena “Goldie” Gogo - formerly of roots rock band Blue Sky Miners - draw on sun-kissed Laurel Canyon influences to create a sound that’s both timeless and fresh. Their sophomore EP, Romance and Ramblin’ (Nov 7, 2025), produced by Erik P.H. Nielsen (City and Colour, Blue Moon Marquee), explores identity, belonging, and self-discovery, inspired by icons like Loretta Lynn, Gram Parsons, and Lucinda Williams. The project spans free-spirited singalongs, gritty anthems, dreamlike ballads, and sweeping desert reveries. Their 2023 debut earned rave reviews - Canadian Beats called it “a masterpiece” - and received airplay on CBC, college radio, and the BBC. On stage, Duke & Goldie deliver cascading harmonies, acoustic-driven arrangements, and magnetic chemistry that make every performance feel intimate and transportive.
Élise LeBlanc
A poet at heart, Canadian singer-songwriter Élise LeBlanc (She/They) is inspired by the romance of wild things. Heavily influenced by classic country, Appalachia, and western swing- her songs explore queer desire, betrayal, hope, and nature lore. Her gentle twang and rich, expressive vibratto nods to classic crooners Patsy Cline and Peggy Lee. Her 2024 record "The Fiddle & The Fire" - produced by Leeroy Stagger (Canadian Folk Music Award-Winner whose roster includes: Corb Lund, Joel Plaskett, Mariel Buckley), was listed in the top 10 "Best Country Records on Bandcamp" review in 11/2023, and featured in a CBC Radio-Canada interview on "Culture et Confiture". Élise has toured extensively across North America from Vancouver Island to Nashville, and has been a mainstage performer at prominent BC festivals including Cowichan Bluegrass Festival, Filberg Festival, and Tofino Jazz Festival. In summer 2025, Élise successfully completed their first UK tour, including Maverick Festival.
Talel McBriar
Talel McBriar is a BC based singer-songwriter whose sound merges traditional folk and alternative indie rock. Guided by haunting melodies and honest vocals, Talel's songs articulate her observations of the world around and within her. Rooted in her upbringing in rural British Columbia, Talel’s lyrics carry the quiet beauty and introspection of both time spent alone and within a small community. She first began performing and recording with her friend Ella Korth as the duo Ella and Talel. In 2018 their song October won the duo a Kootenay Music Award for Best Original Roots Song, which marked the beginning of Talel’s rise in the Canadian music scene. Since then, she has toured extensively across Canada, warmed stages for artists such as Madeleine Roger, Noah Derksen, and Sam Lynch, and appeared at festivals such as Khatsahlano Street Party, Campbell Bay Music Festival, and Tiny Lights Festival. Her upcoming debut album, Light the Hallway, is set to be released in 2026.
Haley Blais & Sam Lynch
Haley Blais & Sam Lynch are performing together as a new duo (name to be announced). A supergroup born from late-night harmonies, voice memos, and friendship, their debut project Angel So Bad blends Sam’s poetic introspection with Haley’s sharp lyrical intimacy into dust-swept folk-country songs that capture longing, growth, and connection.
About SoMa:
A new name, a new chapter. SoMa Fest arrives March 20 & 21, 2026 - bringing two days of new music, learning, and connection to Vancouver. Presented by Music BC, SoMa Fest is a dynamic celebration of emerging and breakout talent. Building on the legacy of the 'Let's Hear It' series, the festival champions music discovery, inviting audiences to explore multiple venues and uncover the next wave of B.C. artists across genres and stages of development.
Venue Accessibility: Please note that Anza Club is not wheelchair accessible. For any accessibility-related questions or to discuss accommodations that would support your participation, please contact us at info@musicbc.org.
SoMa Fest is made possible through the ongoing support of Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia, FACTOR and the Government of Canada.
Music BC acknowledges that this event will be celebrated on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ /sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
