Alianait offers sneak peek into its 2017 lineup

East-coast performer Joel Plaskett plays Joamie School in Iqaluit in 2015. The Nova Scotian singer and songwriter returns to Iqaluit in June for a show to kick off the Alianait arts festival. (FILE PHOTO)

The lineup for the 2017 Alianait arts festival has come together, with organizers offering a sneak peek into what festival goers can look forward to for the Iqaluit festival’s 13th year.

And it’s good news for Joel Plaskett fans—the veteran Nova Scotia musician and songwriter will kick off this year’s festival with a pre-Alianait show in Iqaluit on June 29, Alianait said March 13.

Plaskett is back in Nunavut for the first time since he played two sold-out shows in Iqaluit and Cape Dorset in 2015.

This time, Plaskett will perform with his band, the Emergency. The venue has yet to be announced, but early ticket buyers can purchase a Festival Super Ticket, on sale until March 26, which will give them access to the Plaskett show and the rest of Alianait’s line-up.

That will include one of Greenland’s biggest acts, Naneruaq, an Inuit classic rock group whose members will visit Iqaluit for the first time.

Alianait has also booked Nunavik chanteuse Elisapie Isaac to return to Nunavut’s capital for the first time since 2013, along with Digawolf, the English and Tlicho-language alternative rock group from Yellowknife.

This year’s edition of Alianait runs from June 30 to July 3. Visit alianait.com for more festival news.