Arc Cloathing Co. Presents

News

A NEW LOOK
KOI is back in 2012 with a fresh new website! Lots of changes coming to the new site so check back regularily. Registration for this years KOI Music Festival will be opening the first week of May. KOI will now feature 3 days of entertainment with a free outdoor concert on Friday September 14th to kick things off. Saturday September 15th will pack roughly 150 artists/bands into one wild day with Sunday September 16th wrapping the festival up with free movie screenings. All this will take place in Downtown Kitchener.Get stoked, KOI 3D is ramping up!!!

KOI 3D!!!
When it's this nice in March it's hard not to think about summer fun and festivals... that being said KOI just got 3 times as fun!!! KOI Music Festival 2012 will now feature 3 days of entertainment. Yes, you read that correctly 3 DAYS OF FUN! Friday night will kickoff in downtown Kitchener with a FREE outdoor concert. Saturday will feature 150 bands with a mix of indoor and outdoor stages and Sunday will wrap up with FREE movie screenings for those who have a festival wrist band. Director of KOI Music Festival Cory Crossman says "Having KOI span an entire weekend has always been a goal for us. In our third year we are now able to present KOI 3D! We're all really excited with the transformation of the festival". Keep checking back as more details will be announced shortly. Festival dates are September 14 - 16th, 2012. Also a new website will be launching in the coming months.

KOI 2011 IN REVIEW...

Koi Music Festival 2011 from Erik O'Neill on Vimeo.

HISTORY

KOI Music Festival is the brain child of Curt and Cory Crossman. The brothers from Kitchener, ON, Canada have been organizing concerts for the better part of a decade under the name ARC Cloathing Co. ARC Cloathing is their unique brand of street wear clothing that draws from their influences growing up in the DIY punk scene of southern, Ontario. Both Curt and Cory played in bands over the years with most of their performances taking place at community centres, legions and halls. After running their first concert at the ripe age of 15 (Cory) and 17 (Curt) the brothers helped revitalize the underground music scene in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Since that first concert they have put on hundreds of all ages and 19+ shows in the Kitchener area bringing through many large national and international touring acts. They have always seen promoting shows as more than just a business but an opportunity to engage a community and form a scene of artists and musicians. KOI is the logical next step in both community building and promoting music for the two. KOI is a festival that puts a strong emphasis on local independent acts, and is set up in a way that showcases these acts to a broader base. Combine this large local presence with major touring acts and you have the recipe for a very sustainable and successful event.

The purpose of the festival is to put the Kitchener area on the national music map, the city has loads of undiscovered and under-appreciated talent, so KOI is a way for the Crossman brothers to showcase their city while offering exposure for the local bands that have helped them create this vibrant music scene.

2010 had 135 bands at 9 indoor venues and 2 outdoor stages as well as a large outdoor vendor park. 2011 grew in attendance and scope with the introduction of a larger outdoor mainstage area complete with beer garden. 2012 is continuing with the tradition of growth and is expanding to a 3 day event with a free concert on the friday, the traditional festival on the Saturday with 150 bands and movie screenings on the Sunday. A solid foundation has helped establish KOI as one of Ontario’s premiere independent music festivals.