Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad adds cutting-edge indie rock, electronic music acts

The dulcet tones of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Dallas Green of City and Colour and the thumping mashup rhythms of top club DJs Kid Koala and Mike Relm are coming to Vancouver as part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

The indie rock and electronic music performers are part of the third and final edition of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad festival, which kicks off January 22, 2010 in Metro Vancouver. The new projects added today include: Canadian indie acts Feist, Hey Rosetta! Rural Alberta Advantage, and Malajube, as well as electrofunk duo Chromeo.

The Hard Rubber Orchestra will also unleash its multimedia dance Drum & Light Festival, with 14-piece groove orchestra, dancers and eye-popping visuals, featured in the performing lineup of CODE Live, part of the Cultural Olympiad's digital edition. CODE Live is an 18-day, landmark event with visual art exhibitions, music and performances fuelled by digital technology and audience involvement. It begins February 4 and runs through February 21.

"This incredibly talented and diverse group of Canadian and international artists represents some of the best and most dynamic music being produced in the world," said David Guscott, executive vice president of celebrations and partnerships for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). "We're also pleased to introduce the electronic music component of our CODE Live Performance series during the Games. Our programming continues and we expect to announce even more top talent in the coming weeks."

The shows announced today join more than 130 Cultural Olympiad music, theatre, visual arts, dance, and digital programming projects previously announced for 2010, including highlights such as Hal Willner's Neil Young Project, Stars, Delusions by Laurie Anderson, Moon Water by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, hardcore troubadour Steve Earle, and Tundra Songs by the Kronos Quartet featuring Tanya Tagaq.

"One of the great pleasures in assembling a cultural festival of this magnitude is creating opportunities for audiences to encounter a spectrum of creative experiences that simply wouldn't be possible at any other time," added Burke Taylor, VANOC's vice president of culture and celebrations. "In 2010, we hope our Cultural Olympiad's range of choice will help broaden the audiences' appetites and appreciation of the arts and popular culture. That would be a win-win for audiences and the creative sector."