Stephane Dubord

When it comes to legendary Canadian rock bands that broke through in the ’80s, very few can match the longevity of Vancouver’s 54-40. Since their debut release in 1982, the ensuing 44 years have seen them release 16 albums, including a string of platinum releases in the ’90s at their peak, and while there was a slight slowdown in releases after 2011, they’ve picked up the pace with this year’s PORTO coming just two years after West Coast Band.

After the first week endured Mother Nature’s own jazz improvisations, Week 2 of the Jazz Festival launched Wednesday kicking off five days featuring an eclectic mix of artists that have spanned many genres in their careers, and have imprinted jazz with their own influences.

Being a band for a quarter century is tough. Even more so one that maintains a core group of members for that entire time. But somehow, Paul Murphy, Loel Campbell, and Tim d’Eon have managed to maintain that impressive continuity in Juno-winning band Wintersleep. Formed in Halifax in 2001, the trio added Jon Samuel in 2006 and Mike Bigelow in 2007, making them the ‘newbies’ in the band.