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Entertainers

Entertainers

GOV 2025 Lineup

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Each year, PIYC and BCAAFC work together to select a mix of talented entertainers and inspiring keynote speakers. 

GOV 2025 features an inspiring mix of musicians from well-known artists like Mattmac and DJ Kookum to Zero Whannock, an up-and-coming artist you might remember from the Talent Show at GOV 2024! 

Check out the full GOV 2025 lineup below! 

Energy Mover

Madelaine McCallum

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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

Vance Banzo

Vance Banzo is a Saulteaux/Cree writer, actor and comedian, born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Vance is a co-creator of the award-winning sketch comedy Series, TALLBOYZ. The second season of the series received three 2022 CSA awards, winning in all categories. In addition to writing and starring in the series, he was also a contributing director in the third season. As a comedian he has performed on many stages across the country, including Just For Laughs Toronto and the Gchi Dewin Indigenous Storytelling Festival.

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.

Hayley Wallis

The rich textured tone of singer songwriter Hayley Wallis’ voice has an unmistakable confidence that is immediately recognizable. Hayley delivers a powerful emotional performance that evokes a response as dynamic as her vocal range. She is part of the Kitasoo/Xais’xais Nation, originally from Klemtu, a small isolated island located in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. Hayley is well on her way to breaking into the scene with her debut single coffee cup, a relatable soulful pop anthem about mental health and reaching out for help.

Mattmac

Oji-cree and blind music producer and recording artist Mattmac has harnessed his melodic pop-trap beats and inspiring story, quickly establishing himself as ‘one to watch’ on the national scene with more than 30 million + streams across platforms, and critical acclaim across all major media outlets such as CBC, CTV, Virgin Radio, and more. With two award winning albums under his belt, he has amassed a long list of accolades early on in his career: CBC Searchlight 2023 Winner, International Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards 2023 Album Of the Year, Canada’s Walk Of Fame RBC’s Emerging Musician Award Winner 2022,  Rap/Electronic Album Of The Year at the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards 2022, Broadcast Dialogue Emerging Artist Radio Award 2021 + more. On top of these awards, Mattmac has hit #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown for two singles “Paradise” & “Rez” and has hit top 50 on the mediabase charts in 2020.

James Vickers

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James Vickers has blood lines to the Tsimshian, Haida, and Tinglet nations as well as the U.K. James started playing guitar in March of 2020. When he first started playing, he was very inspired by Angus Young of ACDC. After playing and learning for a year, he discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Canada’s own, Colin James. Since making his stage debut one week before his 12th birthday at the Queens Sunday Blues Jam in Nanaimo, the James Vickers Band has played the Nanaimo Blues Festival, 39 Days of July Festival, and opened for the legendary Jim Byrnes and Crystal Shawanda.  James has also done solo performances opening for Michael Sharratt and the Alibis and Wide Mouth Mason. James was in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, January 2024 where he represented the Fraser Valley Blues Society. The future looks bright for this fourteen-years young musician.

Zero Whonnock

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You might recognize Zero as our first performer from the GOV 2024 Talent Show. Now Zero is back to wow GOV-goers as one of our official performers! 

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DJ Kookum

Cheyanna Kootenhayoo (a.k.a. Kookum) is a DJ and multi-media maker from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation and Cold Lake First Nations, their maternal Denesuline traditional territory. Based out of Vancouver B.C., Kookum has been making a name for their self across the country and is no stranger in the community.
Kookum is an open format DJ inspired by EDM and Hip Hop music. This diverse-mix-diva is a force on the decks and always keeps the party hype, fresh, and unpredictable.
 Kookum tours nationally and internationally with the Snotty Nose Rez Kids. Holds down weekly DJ residencies. Facilitates videography and DJ workshops, operates sound and lighting for community dance parties, and works with youth as a DJ mentor. You can also catch DJ Kookum performing virtually for online festivals, curating online events, hosting online workshops, making beats in the studio, and selling merchandise on their online store. Kookum has been a video editor for just over 10 years editing television, documentaries and promotional videos. Kookum is also the music supervisor for the children’s television series called ‘Coyote Science’ and host’s the Immersive Knowledge Transfer Podcast produced by the Indigenous Matriarchs 4 Media Lab.  
 

The Coastal Drifters

Rez Rock band from Kitselas, B.C. Guaranteed to get the party started with their high-energy performance and catchy original tunes.

Vocals, Guitar: Oscar Carlick
Bass, Vocals: Waddy Robinson
Drums: Brandon Seymour
Lead Guitar: Alvin Seymour

Sheri Marie Ptolemy

Sheri is a singer-songwriter, actress, and filmmaker. Sheri has always shown an interest in music; her mother would catch her singing to her dog and to the birds at the window when she was five years old. At the age of 11, she started voice lessons and began to teach herself piano and guitar and immediately started composing her own songs which she performed at her local church. 

After convincing her parents to bring her to Nashville to play the legendary Bluebird Cafe, she decided she needed to go home and perfect her craft. She was homeschooled for a year and half so she could practice music full-time. She recorded her first EP of all original songs when she was 18.

All my Relations

They are a dance group located in the interior of B.C. based in the Kamloops and Vernon area.