SMG_SoBM_Vol 26_Issue_3

A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

MANAGING DIRECTOR Rod Gregg EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lee Ann Atwater

ACCOUNTS & ADMIN MANAGER Amanda Ryan

The Summer Music Festival market remains extremely competitive, with organizers battling each year to secure the best superstar, iconic, and up-and-coming artists to headline and perform at music festivals across North America. We have researched the artists, venues, perks, and reviews both personally from our team and from festivalgoers to find what we think are the best of the best and worthy of your hard-earned money, and the first twelve stops on this year’s Napier Ultimate Outdoor Music Festival Tour as part of our Sounds of Summer Series. The tour kicks off with the Dauphin’s Countryfest in Dauphin, MB, but these events are so much more than great music and memories. Events like the Dauphin’s Countryfest and the Cavendish Beach Music Festival (CBMF) have evolved far beyond a marquee summer concert. Since the CBMF’s launch in 2009, it has become one of Atlantic Canada’s most powerful economic drivers—an event that not only fills fields with music fans but also injects millions of dollars into the economy of Prince Edward Island. Each July, the festival transforms the coastal tourism hub of Cavendish into a high-impact economic engine, influencing sectors from hospitality and retail to transportation, employment, and long-term tourism growth. The Sussex Fundy Fest has quickly become one of Atlantic Canada’s rising summer music events—a celebration of country music, community pride, and East Coast hospitality set against the scenic backdrop of southern New Brunswick. While still relatively young compared to some of the region’s legacy festivals, Fundy Fest has built a reputation for delivering big energy, strong Canadian talent, and an intimate fan experience that keeps audiences and the Napier Ultimate Outdoor Music Festival Tour coming back year after year. There’s a certain kind of shift that doesn’t announce itself all at once. It builds slowly- through routine, through repetition - until the life you’ve built begins to feel like something you’ve outgrown. For Sally Kim and Young Bae, that realization didn’t lead to reinvention in the traditional sense. Instead, it led them somewhere quieter, more personal: a motel in Sussex, New Brunswick, and the opportunity to build something of their own with Covered Bridge Inn & Suites, which is an excellent place to stay when in town for the Sussex Fundy Fest. Rising Canadian country artist Ella Campbell is quickly establishing herself as one of the East Coast’s most promising new voices. With a sound that blends country storytelling, pop accessibility, and subtle rock influences, Campbell is part of a new wave of artists redefining what “country music” means today. In this interview with Spotlight on Business, she shares insights into her early beginnings, evolving sound, and the experiences shaping her growing career that have her hitting the main stage at Sussex Fundy Fest, the inaugural Sunbury Shores Music Festival, and the Tailgate Stage at the upcoming Cavendish Beach Music Festival. My team and I want to thank everyone who made this issue possible. We look forward to sharing more stories about growing industries, successful businesses, brands, events, and the entrepreneurs making it all happen.

SEPT 11 TWENTY ONE PILOTS KALEO • Down With Webster • Hazlett Hans Williams • Leith Ross • Melt MARIS • Baby Nova • Kellie Loder DeeDee Austin • Shane Pendergast with culinary experiences by: SOMBR Natasha Bedingfield • Lawrence • Wild Rivers Jade LeMac • Sofia Camara • Crash Adams SonReal • Edgehill • Flower Face Loviet • Altered By Mom with culinary experiences by: Andy Hay • christine flynn Ryan Doka • lucy morrow SEPT 12 Andrea Buckett • Dan Clapson Stephanie Ogilvie • Cori Osborne SEPT 11+12, 2026 i CAVENDISH, PEI i MUSIC.FOOD.DRINK i SOMMOFEST.COM

COMMUNICATION & RESEARCH MANAGER Tristyn Gaudette EDITORIAL & PROJECT MANAGER

Becca Greene Kate Lindsay

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ben Brooks Darryll Gillard

Elizabeth Spencer Grady Semmens Kris McCarthy Mary Austin Ryan Myson Shannon Ferguson Teresa Siqueira

WEB DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT TEAM Joe Uttaro

LAYOUT & DESIGN MANAGER Ashley Tatlock GRAPHIC DESIGN TEAM LEADS Sydney Payton

SOCIAL MEDIA & FIELD TEAM LEAD Troy Gregg

PUBLISHER Spotlight Magazine Group (SMG)

Lee Ann Atwater Editor

P.O. Box 25028, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada B2N 7B8 E: info@spotlightmagazinegroup.com spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com

2 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE 3

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