erhaps I'm not the best geographer; I thought that the only thing north of Whistler was a pre-Columbus-style end of the world. Evidently, I was wrong; my apologies to Pemberton.

Typically, summer (aka Festival Season) can be a slow time for Canadian concert-goers. It's like England during the crusades. Most acts fly off to far a field festivals, of which Canada has few (Virgin is fine, but it's not until September (and you typically don't camp out)). Now, thanks to a burgeoning town just north of Whistler, the summertime concert calendar has a shining bright spot: the Pemberton Festival.

This year's inaugural event runs from July 25th to July 27th and welcomes a disparate though surprisingly strong line-up of talent. Headliners have a big-stage pedigree and include Glasto conqueror Jay-Z (sorry, Noel), perennial lighter surveyors, Coldplay, CanCon favourites, the Tragically Hip, backpack mopers, Death Cab for Cutie, and red-lit shadowy guitar heroes, Interpol. Also, look for the Flaming Lips' onstage circus and Tom Petty's smokey whinny.

"Get a pair of Wellies and a non-smelly tent and head north"

Potentially upstaging the marquee line-up, lower-bill acts boast palpable blog-kid cool cred. This year's Brooklyn break-outs, MGMT and Vampire Weekend, continue to ascend up the schedule. Semi-local and entirely apropos, joint-rock sludgers, Black Mountain will blow your ears off. Guy-girl duos get an apposite double shot care of Fiery Furnaces' marching thud and Mates of State's playful pop. Other highlights include the Nova Scotia contingent of Wintersleep and Buck 65, beard faves, My Morning Jacket, and Korg lovers, Metric.

While guitars, drum kits, and keyboards get a healthy mountain representation, Pemberton is also heavy on laptop and speaker fare for water-craving twitchers. MSTRKRFT, the Crystal Method, Cut Chemist, and many others will have high-altitude sweat flowing forth copiously.

A multi-stage extravaganza, Pemberton scheduling will conjure a number of conundrums; dork up with a pen and an up-to-date schedule, get a pair of Wellies and a non-smelly tent and head north (again, do not worry about falling off of the world). -S.T.