Mattawa Voyageur Days has released its full 2025 schedule, with country, rock, and covers for all.
Over the past week and half, organizers have been slowly dropping the schedule, one band at a time, but now the full musical roster has been announced. Headlining Friday night is Default, and The Reklaws are set to close Saturday’s country night.
The festival takes place over the weekend of July 25th to 27th next summer, and yes, Sunday shows are returning as well.
Mattawa’s Mayor, Raymond Bélanger, said “We’re looking forward to it, and the staff are doing an amazing job putting it together.”
Indeed, the bands have been fully booked, and the show is getting ready to go just four months after the last event. The popular festival, held by the river at Explorer’s Point, is entering its 26th year.
Friday night is for the rockers, with Default closing the show. The band formed in Vancouver in 1999, and with support from Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, put out their first album two years later. That record contained the hit “Wasting My Time,” which was on a near constant rotation on radios throughout the summer of 2002.
That album, Fallout, went platinum in Canada – Kroeger produced it – and the band won a Juno that year for Best New Group. The band split in 2013, and lead singer Dallas Smith went country and began a successful solo career. However, the spirit of rock led the band back together, and in 2018 they reunited and hit the road with Seether and Stone Temple Pilots.
Since reuniting, Default hasn’t released new material, save for Re-Cuts, which is a new recording of some of the band’s most popular songs. They’ve been touring and are set to rock Mattawa’s stage next summer.
Opening Friday’s show is Sudbury’s own Pop Mach!ne, hard rockers with an 80s metal soul, worth the price of admission alone to witness Cassandra Walli shred her guitar to within an inch of its life. Edmonton’s own Royal Tusk follows, ready to rock the heavy grooves laid down on 2003’s single releases, “All My Life,” and “Head Up.”
After Royal Tusk, Fefe Dobson takes the stage armed with an album’s worth of new material from 2023’s Emotion Sickness. This is her fourth full-length album, and odds are high she’ll perform her past hits like “Ghost,” and “Stuttering.”
See: Voyageur Days is rolling out its 2025 lineup
Saturday is devoted to the country soul at Voyageur Days, with The Reklaws closing the night. A Canadian band, The Reklaws are Jenna and Stuart Walker, a brother and sister duo who found success right from the time they released their first single, “Long Live the Night.”
The band has gone platinum in Canada, have 8 Juno nominations, 13 gold singles, and over 300 million streams of their songs. They’re coming to Mattawa with some new songs from their EP “Outliving,” as well as their roster of hits.
Also on Saturday is Jay Eagleson, whose song “Got Your Name on It,” has over 97 million views on his YouTube channel. He made large waves in the country scene since releasing his self-titled debut just four years ago, and his latest, Do It Anyway, has become a hit with fans.
Before Eagleson takes the stage, prepare for Tim & The Glory Boys, another Canadian band who won two Junos last year for Album of the Year and Music Video of the Year. They’ll be playing much of the album, “When You Know You Know” at Explorer’s Point.
The Tyson Ranger Band will also take the stage to open Saturday’s country jamboree.
Sunday night music returns with a day of tribute bands. First up at 5 p.m. is Aeroforce, a tribute to the bad boys from Boston, Aerosmith. Appetite for Democracy, a tribute to Guns ‘n’ Roses follows, and a tribute to Bon Jovi called Keep the Faith is set to close the show.
After the rock, prepare for the fireworks, which will end the festival with a bang on Sunday night.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Mattawa Voyageur Days website.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
