{"id":254,"date":"2026-09-01T09:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T13:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/?p=254"},"modified":"2026-09-01T09:14:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T13:14:31","slug":"vancouvers-wassabi-collective-return-to-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/?p=254","title":{"rendered":"VANCOUVER’S WASSABI COLLECTIVE RETURN TO TORONTO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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NuFunk Concerts<\/strong> presents
Friday September 4th, 2026<\/strong>
WASSABI COLLECTIVE (Vancouver)<\/strong>
DJ Rollin’ Cash<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

plus special guest musicians from The Chameleon Project, Contact & Reggaddiction<\/strong>
BSMT 254\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0254 Lansdowne Ave, Toronto<\/a>
Tickets<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0<\/strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\/<\/strong>\u00a0Video<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\u00a0Friday, September 4, 2026<\/strong>,\u00a0NuFunk Concerts<\/strong>\u00a0presents the long-awaited Toronto return of\u00a0The Wassabi Collective<\/strong>, one of Canada’s most beloved and eccentric live acts, for a rare night of explosive funk, reggae, world beats, psychedelic grooves and feel-good musical mayhem at\u00a0BSMT 254<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formed on Canada’s West Coast in 2000, Wassabi Collective became known for their genre-defying sound, high-energy performances and unmistakable sense of adventure. For more than a decade, the band crisscrossed Canada in a converted school bus, building a devoted cult following while appearing at major festivals and venues across the country and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their journey included legendary festival appearances at Shambhala, Evolve and OM<\/strong>, performances across North America, a feature on PBS’s Roadtrip Nation<\/em>, and a standout appearance at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics<\/strong>. In 2012, after more than a decade on the road, the band stepped away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, after more than ten years,\u00a0Wassabi Collective<\/a> are back!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by sultry vocalist and percussionist Melissa Meretsky<\/strong> and frontman and guitarist Brent \u201cGisto\u201d Hongisto<\/strong>, the reunited collective brings the same infectious energy that made them festival favourites in the first place\u2014music designed to get audiences moving while creating a communal, celebratory atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their sound draws freely from funk, reggae, world music, electronic grooves, psychedelia and dance music<\/strong>, creating the kind of genre-defying experience that is difficult to categorize and impossible to sit still through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Exclaim!<\/em> once described it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWassabi\u2019s joyous sound takes you on a cosmic carpet ride from satisfaction to pure bliss… THE ULTIMATE FEEL GOOD ELIXIR<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Toronto performance will feature two sets<\/strong>, with DJ Rollin’ Cash<\/strong> opening the night. With BSMT 254’s intimate capacity, this will be a considerably different experience from the large festival stages where Wassabi built their reputation\u2014and an opportunity for longtime fans and a new generation of listeners to experience the band up close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow they\u2019re back\u2014and spicier than ever.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NuFunk Concerts presentsFriday September 4th, 2026WASSABI COLLECTIVE (Vancouver)DJ Rollin’ Cash plus special guest musicians from The Chameleon Project, Contact & ReggaddictionBSMT 254\u00a0\u2013\u00a0254 Lansdowne Ave, TorontoTickets\u00a0\/\u00a0Facebook\u00a0\/\u00a0Video On\u00a0Friday, September 4, 2026,\u00a0NuFunk Concerts\u00a0presents the long-awaited Toronto return of\u00a0The Wassabi Collective, one of Canada’s most beloved and eccentric live acts, for a rare night of explosive funk, reggae, world beats, […]<\/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-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","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=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions\/256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nufunk.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}