Featuring RICHTANNER, Lights, Alessia Cara, and Gwen Stefani
All Photo Credit: Tara Thompson
Night three of Churchill Park Music Festival began with DJ RICHTANNER bringing the club scene to the park. Based in Eastern Canada, DJ RICHTANNER has spent over a decade as a DJ, focusing on blending global rhythms for fans to hear their current favourites in a whole new light. His music has gained support from some of the top DJs, including Diplo, Skrillex, and Major Lazer. He has had millions of streams, with mixes played in places such as Coachella.
DJ RICHTANNER certainly got the party started. Many of his fans ran to the park in hopes of being the first ones at the stage. He is known to work with House, Hip-Hop, and global beats to aid in showcasing his sound, combined with some of the most current played songs. This is exactly what he did during his set as he played many well-known songs with his unique twist. He certainly set the scene for the night.
Next up was another fan favourite, Lights. I know a few people went just to see Lights perform. Lights is known for her electropop and contemporary synth-pop tunes and has often described her own music as an ‘electronic landscape of moody sunset times’.
Lights has had an impressive musical career, starting with independently recording her first single on an eight-track recorder to playing guitar and singing in a metal band during her high school years. She began her musical career writing for Sony/ATV Music Publishing and composing music for the CTV television series Instant Star. In 2008, she toured areas of Canada and the United States while her song ‘Drive My Soul’ rose to number 18 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. During this time, she released her self-titled EP and released a second single, ‘February Air’, which had been used in an Old Navy commercial. Lights released her first full-length album, The Listening, in 2009 (which was certified gold in Canada). Lights included some of her older tracks during her set, including ‘Running With the Boys’ and ‘Siberia’, which had the audience singing along.
With an impressive resume of collaborations, awards, and album releases, Lights released her 6th album, A6, earlier this year. The album’s first single, ‘Damage’, was released late last year. Her second single, ‘Alive Again’ was the first track to chart on the Modern Rocks Chart in Canada. Lights treated her fans to these songs, along with others such as ‘White Paper Palm Trees’, ‘Surface Tension’, and ‘Clingy’ from her latest album.
Seeing Lights perform live is always a wonderful time. Her charisma shines while she is on stage as she captivates the audience. Her interactions with the audience make it feel like you are performing along with her. This could definitely be seen during her rendition of ‘Love Me’, as the fans were an essential part of the performance, singing along at all the right spots. This is sure to be a performance fans will be talking about for weeks to come.
Alessia Cara graced the stage next. This Canadian singer and songwriter got her start when she started posting cover songs on YouTube at the age of 13. After being discovered, she went on to release her debut single, ‘Here’, in 2015. This track peaked at number 19 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The release of her debut album, Know-It-All, solidified her place in Canadian music history as it peaked at number 8 on the Canadian Album Chart and number 9 on the Billboard 200. This album also saw the release of her well-known track, ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’. Both tracks were performed during her set, leaving the fans excited to hear one of their favourite tunes.
There was no way of stopping Cara from climbing to the top. To date, she has received nominations for four Grammy Awards, winning the Best New Artist in 2018. This also gave her the title of being the first Canadian artist to ever win the award. She has also won multiple JUNO awards (Album of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year).
Cara went on to release singles such as ’Wild Things’, ‘Growing Pains’, and ‘Stay’, which anyone who listens to songs on the radio would know by heart. These songs excited the crowd, as they sang along to every word. There is always something special about hearing songs like this performed live for the first time.
Her most recent album, Love & Hyperbole, was released in early 2025. Singles from the album included “Dead Man’ and ‘Fire’. Fans enjoyed hearing some of her newer music performed live for the first time. Cara shares a piece of her with every song, sharing the stories that aided in creating the lyrics. The emotion and energy she puts into every song leaves the audience begging for an encore.
The headliner for the night was none other than Gwen Stefani. This American singer-songwriter and fashion designer rose to fame as the lead vocalist of No Doubt in the 90s. Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards, including Grammy Awards, Brit Awards, and American Music Awards, just to name a few. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
The night began with the hit track from her second studio album, ‘The Sweet Escape’, which went to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in 2007. Her third solo album ended up being her first solo album to reach number 1 on the charts.
Stefani played some hit singles from her early No Doubt days for the fans in the park. Cheers arose as she performed tracks like ‘Just a Girl’, ‘Spiderweb’, ‘Don’t Speak’, ‘Hey Baby’, and ‘It’s My Life’. The fan sang along to every word, many reliving that part of their life.
It was after taking a hiatus from No Doubt in 2004 that Stefani embarked on a solo pop career. The release of her debut album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., included singles such as ‘What You Waiting For?’, ‘Rich Girl’, and ‘Cool’. Each track started with cheers from the audience, as she performed some of her first solo hits for us all to enjoy.
The night ended with another well-known hit from her debut album, ‘Hollaback Girl’. This single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the first US download to sell one million copies. Fans go B.A.N.A.N.A.S for this track. We even saw a few hard-core fans wearing banana costumes during the night.
Seeing Gwen Stefani live allowed many fans to relive a part of their life when things were a little more carefree. Her live performances include videos from years gone by. The choreographed dances left the fans in awe, never knowing what was going to happen next. It allowed many to take a night off from the ‘real world’ and escape with some fantastic music and good friends. This is a part of what the Churchill Park Music Festival is all about.