Northern Lights Festival Boréal announces a star-studded 2025 lineup

Northern Lights Festival Boréal announced its lineup and headliners for this July's event on Thursday.

The Northern Lights Festival Boréal (NLFB) unveiled its 2025 lineup Thursday, featuring headliners Lights, Destroyer, and Shad alongside over 35 acts across seven stages from July 4 – 6 in Greater Sudbury, Ont.

Northern Lights Festival Boréal An undate promotional photograph of alt-pop artist Lights. (Image courtesy of Northern Lights Festival Boréal)

The festival, which began as a small folk event in 1972, will see alt-pop icon Lights headline the Saturday with her genre-blending hits. Destroyer, the indie-rock project of Dan Bejar, formerly of The New Pornographers, will close the main stage on Sunday, showcasing tracks from his latest album, Dan’s Boogie.

Northern Lights Festival Boréal - Dan Bejar An undate promotional photograph of Dan Bejar of Destroyer. (Image courtesy of Northern Lights Festival Boréal)

Hip-hop artist Shad, Juno-nominated singer Jamie Fine, and The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman are among the highlights of the three-day festival. International acts include Australia’s Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Spain’s La Sra. Tomasa, and Senegalese musician Cheikh Ibra Fam.

NLFB also spotlights emerging talent, such as Mi’kmaq fiddler Morgan Toney and Punjabi-Canadian rapper Fateh. Unique “workshop” performances will feature collaborative jams with artists such as David Francey and Waahli.

Beyond music, the festival offers artisan markets, food trucks, and family activities.

A full schedule, ticket information and artist profiles can be found at nlfb.ca.

Northern Lights Festival Boréal A promotional poster for the 2025 Northern Lights Festival Boréal. (Supplied)