Controlled chaos and explosive reactions: Up Here reveals first wave of artists for year 11
We’re throwing a little bit of everything into the centrifuge—from the godmother of Canadian hip-hop to an avante garde harpist—and seeing what spins out
Up Here 11 artwork by Side Eye Press
Don your lab coat and safety goggles, Up Here just announced the first wave of artists for the 11th edition of our urban art and emerging music festival, running August 15 to 17, 2025 in Sudbury, Ontario—and we’ve got more experiments and adventures than ever before.
Think Sudbury’s boring? It’s probably not the same old city you picture. For over a decade, Up Here has revealed the weird and wonderful parts of Nickel City and everyone who lives here through our unpatented blend of murals, installations, and musical performances by both established and emerging musicians from near and far.
What’s getting thrown into the test tube to see what bubbles up this year?
Let’s start with the highly anticipated return of French-Canadian electronic dance enfant terrible Marie Davidson. Hip-hop fans will be thrilled to hear they’re getting the Jamaican-born, Toronto-raised godmother of Canadian rap: Michie Mee herself. Then another genre swing will bring the legendarily irreverent fuzzed out garage rock royalty The Gruesomes.
There’s some soft, sweet stuff, too, from the buzzy confessional indie-pop of Charlie Houston to the Egyptian experimental electronics and vocals of Nadah El Shazly, or experience something uncategorizable with the definition-defying death rock and roll of Dermabrasion.
There’ll be fierce, feminist hip-hop from Above Top Secret, the hypnotic audio-visual experience Aubes by mixed-media wizards Alexis Langevin-Tétrault and Guillaume Côté, dreamy experimental pop by N NAO, and industrial-tinged electronic from Indigenous producer ASKO.
Somali-Canadian rapper Waryaa brings architectural precision while Fauxcils brings dark ceramic coldwave. Ever heard of an avant-garde harpist? You will after seeing Sarah Pagé. Then there’s the bilingual alt-pop duo Mèr, and finally, an exciting new artist-in-residency collaboration between Edmontonian Mustafa Rafiq and Sudbury-based artists Connor Lafortune and Emilio Portal.
We’ve got a veritable petri dish of visuals coming, too.
Throwing down the murals is Kezna Dalz, known for her playful yet poignant style, who’ll bring bold colours and raw emotion to her wall. Curtia Wright, a multidisciplinary artist will blend Afrofuturism, movement, and myth into striking, soulful murals. Brazilian-born and Ottawa-based Dinho Bento will fuse street art and surrealism with social commentary. And Cree artist Brody Burns will combine Indigenous ways of knowing with concepts in psychology, representing Spirit and Science through abstract forms and colour. Last and most local, Raven Debassige is painter and muralist rooted in Anishinaabe traditions bringing work that radiates spiritual symbolism and natural themes.
Our Power Up Project in partnership with Greater Sudbury Utilities is back, too, and more electrifying than ever with six local emerging artists including Emily Audette, Sam Barry, Cat Hexes, Emily Maville, Carlos Potes, and Brittany Rose who will transform hydro boxes around town with powerful works of art that reflect, question, and energize our communities.
A second wave of over 20 artists, including some intriguing installations, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tweaking the recipe
Up Here has always been a laboratory festival—mixing new ideas, assembling the pieces differently, and incorporating everything we learn into future editions. This year, we’re putting a decade of research and development to work and connecting venues across downtown through a web of activated alleyways, hidden gems, and unexpected in-betweens. Instead of one big mainstage, we’re taking our shows to more local venues and surprise spots across downtown, maximizing all the incredible new spaces we have access to.
Grab your full weekend pass before they run out so you can hop freely between multiple venues, discover music along the way, and get a sweet 11% off discount on sick sick merch! Passes can be purchased at uphere.com/passes. If you miss out on the pass, tickets for individual days and individual shows will be available in early July when the full lineup and schedule is announced.
Up Here has been able to thrive with the support of countless allies. A special thanks to the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, Ontario Arts Council, City of Greater Sudbury, Sudbury Tourism, artsvest, Downtown Sudbury, Barrydowne Paint, Equipment World, Greater Sudbury Utilities, Gateway City Brewery, Collective Arts Brewing, CBC Sudbury, ICI Radio-Canada Ontario, Northeastern Ontario Tourism, Hot 93.5 FM, Rewind 103.9 FM, Desjardins, NORCAT, Dr. Clean, Beacon Lite, Leuschen Transportation, Collège Boréal, RBC Royal Bank, Glencore, Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario, Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario, Exclaim!, Studio123, Duplicators, Sudbury Theatre Centre, YES Theatre, YMCA of Northeastern Ontario, Quality Inn, Agilis Networks, Appless, Johnny’s Transportation, and many more. To partner up with Up Here, visit uphere.com/partnerup.
