The anthems of reggae, rock, hiphop and indie-funk pound out their daily summons at the Outdoor Concert stage at the base of Whistler Mountain every day from April 11 Ð 20, 2008 from 3pm.

And the summons will be heard around the world, with early details about the line-up promising huge crowd-magnets.

Just announced, Michael Franti and Spearhead will offer their special brand of Òthinking manÕs hiphopÓ in Whistler, their only West Coast gig south of Anchorage, on Sunday April 20.

FrantiÕs newest album Yell Fire!, offers his most uplifting set of songs to date, inspired by a trip to war-ravaged Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Explains Franti, "The thing that I found when I was in war zones was that nobody wants to hear songs about war. They want to hear songs about connection to people, and songs about love and life, songs that make them dance."

Says Festival Director Sue Eckersely, ÒFranti has the perfect energy to wind up the Festival Ð itÕs guaranteed to go out on a high note.Ó

Rolling Stone cover-boy and organic roots-rocker, the John Butler Trio, offer the perfect parenthesis to Spearhead, with their Sunday April 13 gig.

Described as AustraliaÕs answer to the Dave Matthews Band, John Butler TrioÕs fifth album, Grand National (2007) upped the ante after their Sunrise Over Sea (2003) went five times platinum, making Butler the posterboy of indie success. They also joined Bono and Eddie Vedder to play the Make Poverty History concerts in 2006.

Not all the FestivalÕs 2008 line-up will be made up of rocktivists, although the event has traditionally shown a soft spot for music acts with a life-affirming, peaceful revolutionary message like KÕnaan, Toots and the Maytals, Stephen Marley and Jr Gong, Blackalicious, Xavier Rudd, Bassnectar and Bif Naked.

Sometimes, the program calls for pure rocking out. Which CanadaÕs own, The Trews, is sure to deliver. The boys from Antigonish, Nova Scotia declared their third album,
(No Time for Later) which launches nationally today, to be the heaviest, but most artistically coherent album yet: Òa total roots rock albumÓ according to frontman Colin MacDonald. Reviews have hailed the Òshrewd marriage of new and classic rockÓ, that appeals to every generation of rock aficionado.

The TELUS World Ski & Snowboard FestivalÕs Outdoor Concert Series calls music-lovers to drop the earbuds and pack away their pods for 10 days and nights, and join the collective groove at the biggest free outdoor music festival in North America. Live music for ten sound-struck days, flooding the ampitheatre of Whistler Blackcomb, BC, Canada. No tickets required.