With reggae and hip-hop being the big flavours at Victoria Ska & Reggae Fest this year, we thought we'd shine the light on and give the stage to our west coast community's shining stars of each genre. BC-implant and Trinidad & Tobago native CALEB HART will be taking our festival for the time in a few years, after his west coast mini-run with UK legend Macka B this spring. Once he was in the area, it didn't take Caleb Hart long to establish himself as one the west coast's favourite vocalists and performers – not just reggae, but of all genres. His songs are both powerful and sweet, delivered with an unmatched passion. His voice is a musical weapon, floating through the air one minute with a lovers' reggae sound and then drilling down into your ears the next with gruff, rapid fire dancehall styles. The love Hart has for reggae radiates off the stage every time he's on it. We are beyond excited to welcome his and his crew back to Victoria Ska & Reggae Fest.

And we're equally as excited to welcome back two of our favourite MC s – MO MOSHIRI & NOSTIC – back for a very special collaborative performance that will celebrate hip-hop culture and put the art of MCing on full display. Through his work with Sweatshop Union and his stellar solo work, Mo Moshiri has long been a fixture on the west coast hip-hop scene, paying respect to the culture every time he picks up the mic. His rhymes are reflective, celebratory and overflowing with feeling. If you've been around the Victoria music scene for any time you've probably come across the immensely talented and ephemeral Nostic. The Canadian/Peruvian MC and creator has one of the smoothest flows on the mic this city has seen in a long time, shifting between languages and rhythms seemingly effortlessly. He combines his raps with beatboxing and singing, blending them up in a way no one else in the area is doing it.