Despite the challenges of a post-pandemic reality, the Ottawa music scene has been slowly recovering, finding a renewed sense of purpose within its community. This has, in turn, helped various events, such as the Cranium Festival, to steadily becoming mainstays of the Capital’s music ecosystem.

Started by the Cranium Arts Project non-profit organization in 2019, this multi-day event showcases new and established talent from Canada’s hip-hop and R&B ecosystem, all within the downtown area of the Capital. It also offers local artists, as well as small businesses, various networking opportunities to help share their work and grow their careers.

This year featured a stacked lineup of veterans and up-and-coming artists, performing with the span of 3 days. Each day was held at a different venue: The Berlin Nightclub, SAW Club, and Ogilvy Square. Furthermore, the festival featured, on Day 2 and Day 3 respectively, a cypher event organized by Cap City Cyphers, as well as an allstyles dance battle hosted by House of Paint.

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