{"id":235,"date":"2025-08-13T22:36:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T02:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/?p=235"},"modified":"2025-08-13T22:37:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T02:37:28","slug":"wassabi-collective-25-year-anniversay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/?p=235","title":{"rendered":"Wassabi Collective 25 Year Anniversay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bpmcdn.com\/f\/files\/yukon\/import\/2017-06\/ARTSwasabi.jpg;w=650\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bpmcdn.com\/f\/files\/yukon\/import\/2017-06\/ARTSwasabi.jpg;w=650\" alt=\"ARTSwasabi.jpg;w=650\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wassabi Collective, the high-energy tribal funk group that became a cult favourite across Canada\u2019s festival circuit, is officially back and bringing the heat to Ontario this summer. In celebration of their 25th anniversary, the band is hitting the road for a five-show tour that spans Owen Sound to Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-9-16 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wassabi Collective Reunite this Sat August 16th at Rivoli in Toronto\" width=\"489\" height=\"869\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FvjBf0nDP0s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>25th ANNIVERSARY:<\/strong><br><br>\ud83d\udccd\u00a0<strong>Saturday, August 16<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<em>The Rivoli, Toronto (with Shapes &amp; DJ JChameleon)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wassabicollective.eventbrite.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tickets<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/978810110895681\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">facebook<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wassabi Collective first turned heads in 2000 with their infectious blend of progressive world beats, conscious lyrics, and celebratory stage presence. After 12 years of relentless touring\u2014including a standout performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics and features on PBS\u2019&nbsp;<em>Roadtrip Nation<\/em>\u2014the band took a well-deserved hiatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, reunited and reignited, Wassabi Collective made their triumphant comeback this spring with a high-voltage set at the&nbsp;<em>World Ski &amp; Snowboard Festival<\/em>&nbsp;in Whistler. Their return continues to build momentum with a July appearance at Nova Scotia\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Relics Festival<\/em>&nbsp;and now, this just-announced Ontario tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Led by powerhouse vocalist\/percussionist&nbsp;<strong>Melissa Meretsky<\/strong>&nbsp;and frontman\/guitarist&nbsp;<strong>Brent \u201cGisto\u201d Hongisto<\/strong>, the band continues to deliver a genre-bending mix of groove-heavy rhythms, soul, and pure joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cWassabi\u2019s joyous sound takes you on a cosmic carpet ride from satisfaction to pure bliss\u2026 THE ULTIMATE FEEL GOOD ELIXIR.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;<strong>Exclaim! Magazine<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you caught them in their legendary school-bus tours of the 2000s or you\u2019re hearing them for the first time, this is a rare chance to experience one of Canada\u2019s most beloved underground live acts in their full, funky glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Don&#8217;t miss your chance to catch Wassabi Collective\u2019s long-awaited return\u2014fresh, fiery, and spicier than ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the antics here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wassabicollective\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wassabicollective<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wassabicollective\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wassabicollective<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wassabi Collective, the high-energy tribal funk group that became a cult favourite across Canada\u2019s festival circuit, is officially back and bringing the heat to Ontario this summer. In celebration of their 25th anniversary, the band is hitting the road for a five-show tour that spans Owen Sound to Toronto. 25th ANNIVERSARY: \ud83d\udccd\u00a0Saturday, August 16\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Rivoli, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}