ABOUT
Entertainers
Entertainers
GOV 2026 Lineup
Each year, PIYC and BCAAFC work together to select a mix of talented entertainers and inspiring keynote speakers.
For GOV 2026, we’re excited to welcome back familiar faces like DJ Kookum, Aunty Maddy, and Handsome Tiger alongside talented folks who will be joining the GOV stage for the first time!
Check out the full lineup below!
Energy Mover
Madelaine McCallum
Madelaine McCallum is a gifted dancer, motivational speaker, facilitator, and MC — a true, multi-faceted creative. She is from Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan and brings passion with a gentle yet powerful presence to the stage whether she is there to share one of her inspiring Speaks or she has been asked to dance, or MC.
Though she is often known immediately for her Métis dance (she’s been jigging since she could walk!), she loves all forms including Pow Wow, contemporary, hip hop, and movement from the soul. She has created traditional and fitness-based dance workshops including Pow Wow Impact, Jig Fit, Pow Wow Zumba, and traditional Pow Wow and Jigging workshops.
Entertainers
DJ Kookum
Handsome Tiger
Handsome Tiger, an Anishinaabe Métis and North African music producer/DJ hailing from Turtle Island and currently based in Vancouver, B.C., blends traditional sounds from his heritage with other Indigenous and contemporary electronic bass music. A familiar face in the West Coast music community, Handsome Tiger has performed at numerous shows and amassed a collection of releases. With a passion for bass music, he actively supports and contributes to Vancouver’s underground scene and has gained popularity in the North American festival circuit, appearing at events such as Bass Coast, Shambhala, Envision, Lightning in a Bottle, Mutek, Texas Eclipse, and more. His DJ sets fuse various flavors of sound system culture and global bass sounds, igniting dance floors wherever he performs.
DJ O-Show
Orene Askew, aka DJ O Show, brings energy and expertise to every event she DJ’s and hosts. She brings professionalism and passion and remains true to her love for hip hop and R&B, incorporating beats to ensure you never want to leave the dance floor! With an outgoing personality and friendly demeanor, O Show is one of the easiest DJs to work with.
From Vancouver to Toronto, Las Vegas to Texas, DJ O Show keeps the dance floor packed, working with clients to put together unique packages and customized playlists for weddings, birthdays, holiday parties, corporate events, restaurant and club openings, charity fundraisers, youth conferences, and pride events in her city!
Coming from a diverse background, O Show is driven by her passion. She is Afro-Indigenous and a proud member of the Squamish Nation. Feeling as though she stood out in a unique way, she embraced both her cultural backgrounds and incorporates the teachings she has learned into everything she does
Simbiyez Wilson
Simbiyez Wilson (with Aidan Galleti-Viscount & Travis Hebert) Fronted by Simbiyez Wilson, whose name means “child of the stars,” this dynamic trio delivers a rock experience that’s both soulful and electrifying. Joined by Aidan Galleti-Viscount and Travis Hebert, the band channels emotion and energy into original songs from the new album “Feel It.” Each performance is a journey through raw sound and cosmic storytelling—taking the crowd beyond the ordinary, into something they can
truly feel
Patrick Aleck
Patrick Aleck Jr. xwaluputhut is a Traditional Knowledge Keeper, storyteller, drummer and singer. He is also a motivational speaker, facilitator, mentor, and disability advocate. In 2020, Patrick received the Emerging Cultural Leader Award from the City of Nanaimo in recognition for his extensive community engagement. While living with cerebral palsy is an important part of his story and healing journey, it does not define him.
PINDN
PINDN is a Kwakwa̲ka̲’wakw and Nuu-Cha-Nulth M.C born on lək̓ʷəŋən Territory (A.K.A Victoria B.C) who in 3 and a half years of recovery from alcoholism, has found immense healing in expressing themselves through lyricism in the genre of Hip Hop which they view to be an innovative, creative-native continuation of their nation’s tradition of storytelling, told through artistic practices since time immemorial.
They aim to honour the roots of their culture and old school Hip Hop while sharing their stories through rhyme which make statements about healing through the intergenerational, traumatic effects of colonization, honouring their west coast lineage while also embracing the wild spirit of tricksterism and having a few laughs and a good time while doing so.
Aidan Thorne
Aidan Thorne is a Cowichan, multi-disciplinary artist from Victoria BC. He plays and sings his own songs on a “Podcaster,” a beautiful Coast Salish guitar he carved and painted himself, with the guidance of master carver, Xwalkacktun. If you appreciate artists who delve deeply while remaining playful, the gifts Aidan has to offer will likely speak to you.
Savy
Indie rock with a 2000s pop punk influence, Savy brings the whimsy, charm, grit and humour to the stage. Gratefully based on Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory, Savy is composed of Lisa Deptuck on lead guitar & vocals, Alyssa Marks on bass, Jo Gowan on guitar & vocals, and Bradley Hamilton on drums.