Festival (band)

Festival (stylised in all uppercase) are a Canadian rock band from, formed in 2016. The band currently consists of James Hallissey (vocals), Miles Goff (lead guitar), Will Hallissey (rhythm guitar), Da'Jon Ibrahim (bass) and Marcin Kaczorowski (drums). Their sound has been described as avant-garde metal, math rock, nu metal, metalcore and progressive metalcore.

Formation and first singles (2016-2018)
Festival were formed in 2016 by James Hallissey and Miles Goff, who had previously played in a tribute band named Nookie Boyz. They found bassist Da'Jon Ibrahim and drummer Marcin Kaczorowski through personal ads in a local zine, and soon recruited James' younger brother Will Hallissey as rhythm guitarist.

Festival ultimately received a budget from (the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records), funded by the  and private broadcasters, to support investments required for recording and touring. The band played their first gig on August 13, 2016 at in their hometown of.

On January 13, 2017, the band released their debut single "Killing the Peoples", containing a sample from the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Krabs in Love" played over a faux-grindcore backing track, which became the shortest song to ever chart on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100 chart when it peaked at #50. On July 9, 2017, Festival performed five tracks from their upcoming EP at the in,  during the. The performance, which was taped for rock music station WJVT, garnered attention on the internet and became popular on YouTube, exposing the band to listeners internationally.