Concerts Photos
Elevate Music Project 2026 Semi-Finals
Elevate Music Project made its return to Vancouver with a stacked semi-finals night at the Biltmore Cabaret. Six acts, six very different sounds, and a room full of people ready to back local music on a cold January night.
The lineup moved briskly, starting with Carmine. The Victoria-based, female-fronted alt-rock band sounded tight and confident, leaning into sharp hooks and emotional swings. Their songs hit that sweet spot between grit and melody, and the crowd locked in fast. Knowing this band formed almost immediately after a breakup makes their chemistry even more impressive.
Tasavoor followed and flipped the vibe completely. The three-piece blended western textures, funk rhythms, blues grit, and eastern melodies into long, winding songs that felt loose in the best way. They shared that they refuse to play songs the same way twice, and gave their set an unpredictable edge.
The Canyon Riders brought the night back to roots-driven rock. Their sound leaned hard into blues and country rock, powered by a driving rhythm section and duelling guitars that nodded to Southern rock traditions. The band played like they’d been road-tested, and the crowd responded to that honest, no-frills energy.
Snowchild Edge was one of the night’s most magnetic performers. Blending alt-hip hop, R&B, and Afro-fusion, he owned the room with ease. Mid-set, he jumped into the crowd to hype people up, breaking any remaining barrier between stage and floor. His songs carried weight, touching on identity and connection. It was definitely a set that made you stop talking and just watch.
Then came Dani Black, who made it very clear why her name carries so much buzz. Her songwriting stood out immediately, sharp and emotional, delivered with a voice that cut straight through the room. She sang like someone who’s been through it and came back stronger. There was a calm confidence to her presence that felt effortless, the kind you expect from a pop artist with serious range. The audience listened closely, and the applause said it all. We can’t wait to see what she does next!
Closing the night was Summer’s Brother, who leaned fully into art-rock theatrics. With fuzzy guitars, synths, and bold visuals, their set felt like a late-night art show wrapped in indie pop and psych-rock. They weren’t afraid to get weird, and that commitment paid off. The band’s chemistry was tight, and their genre-blurring approach gave the night a fittingly unpredictable ending.
Elevate Music Project has always been about giving Vancouver artists real opportunities, and this semi-finals night proved why the format works. If this is the level heading into the finals, the competition is wide open, and Vancouver music fans are the real winners.
The Finals will be held at the Vogue Theatre on January 22, 2026. Get your tickets here.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
CARMINE
TASAVOOR
CANYON RIDERS
SNOWCHILD EDGE
DANI BLACK
SUMMER’S BROTHER
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Photos
Chance The Rapper Brings ‘Coloring Book Ten Anniversary Tour’ to Vancouver
Chance The Rapper brought Coloring Book back to life in Vancouver, taking over the Freedom Mobile Arch at the PNE for a night that felt like both a celebration and a trip back in time. The Chicago born rapper is currently marking ten years of Coloring Book, the 2016 mixtape that became a defining project in his career and helped push independent music further into the mainstream. There was something special about watching Chance perform music that has been with his fans for a decade. You could see how much these songs still mean to people just by looking around the crowd. There were hands in the air, people singing along, and moments where it felt like Chance barely needed to say anything because the audience already knew exactly what was coming.
Photographing the show gave me a completely different way of experiencing that energy. Through my lens, I found myself paying attention to the smaller details , his expressions between verses, the way he moved around the stage, the lighting changing around him, and the reactions coming from the crowd. Chance is naturally expressive when he performs, and as a photographer, that gave me so many different moments to look for rather than simply trying to capture the biggest moment of each song.
What I also loved was that the performance wasn’t only about nostalgia. Chance has always mixed hip-hop with elements of gospel, soul, and jazz, and hearing that musical identity in a live setting gave the night a lot of warmth and personality. Even with a project celebrating its tenth anniversary at the centre of the show, the music didn’t feel stuck in the past.
Getting the opportunity to photograph Chance The Rapper was one of those experiences where I occasionally had to remind myself to look beyond the viewfinder and actually take in what was happening in front of me. Capturing an artist celebrating such an important chapter of his career, surrounded by a Vancouver crowd that clearly still has a lot of love for these songs, made this a memorable night to shoot. Some concerts are about getting the perfect photo; this one was just as much about capturing the feeling behind it.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
CHANCE THE RAPPER
All Photo Credit: Raphael Arthur
Concerts Photos
Arlo Parks Brings Her ‘Desire Tour’ to the Pearl in Vancouver
Arlo Parks brought her Desire Tour to Vancouver’s The Pearl on September 22, turning the intimate venue into something much bigger than its walls suggested. In support of her third album, Ambiguous Desire, Parks delivered a set that traded some of her earlier introspection for movement, warmth and a genuine sense of connection.
She opened with “Heaven,” immediately filling the room with energy. Parks moved across the small stage with an ease that matched her soft vocals, while low lighting and haze created the kind of atmosphere that has become part of her live identity. By the time the chorus arrived, the crowd was fully in it.
That sense of connection became the defining feature of the night. Parks was joined by just two musicians, yet the stripped-down setup never felt too small. During “Get Go,” the audience took over the vocals.
The shift in energy reflects Ambiguous Desire, Parks’ third album and the follow-up to 2023’s My Soft Machine. Her Mercury Prize-winning debut, Collapsed in Sunbeams, captured isolation, young love and the uncertainty of growing up. The new record keeps that emotional honesty but gives those feelings somewhere to move.
“2SIDED” brought the set to a fitting close, capturing the album’s push and pull between giving love and wondering if it is being returned.
Arlo Parks had given Vancouver a dance party, but more than that, she created a room where people could simply feel close to one another.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
ARLO PARKS
BAIRD
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer