The Wake the Giant Music Festival in Thunder Bay, Ontario, issued an apology after headliner Flo Rida used alcohol props during a performance at what was supposed to be a sober event. The incident caused distress among attendees, especially those in recovery or supporting Indigenous youth. Organizers acknowledged that they failed to communicate their alcohol-free policy clearly with the artist's team and vowed to learn from this mistake for future events.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Thunder Bay, Ontario, the Wake the Giant Music Festival faced backlash after rapper Flo Rida used alcohol props during a performance at a sober event on Saturday. The annual festival, launched in 2019, aims to provide a safe and inclusive environment for hundreds of Indigenous youth from remote northern communities who attend school in the city. Following the incident, the festival organizers released an apology statement on social media acknowledging that the alcohol props were not approved by them and clearly communicating their expectation that this was a sober event where such items are not permitted. The festival’s team expressed shared hurt and disappointment over the performance's impact, noting it will take lessons from this experience to ensure future artist choices align with their core values of inclusivity and safety.
Written for “Sober Festival Controversy” on 2026-09-15,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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No political leaning scored for article 9532 · logged 2026-09-14
Wake the Giant Music Festival apologizes after rapper Flo Rida uses alcohol props at Thunder Bay sober event
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Rida → apologize → event
American rapper's performance was 'really heavy and very triggering for a lot of people,' resident says
The Wake the Giant Music Festival is facing backlash after Grammy-nominated headliner Flo Rida used alcohol props on stage at the sober event in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Saturday.
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Rida → say → Saturday
The annual festival, which was launched in 2019, raises awareness to create a safe, inclusive environment for hundreds of Indigenous youth from remote northern communities who attend school in the city.
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who → launch → city
CBC Thunder Bay reached out to the Wake the Giant Musical Festival for comment, and was referred to a statement it released on social media on Sunday.
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it → reach → Sunday
The statement said the festival's team apologizes and acknowledges the harm done by the American rapper's performance.
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team → say → performance
“The props used were not approved by organizers and we clearly communicated to the artist’s team that this was a sober event and that alcohol is not permitted on our stage,” the statement said.
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statement → use → stage
The team also said it shared in the “hurt and disappointment” that many people felt, and wanted to assure the public that this performance does not align with the values of Wake the Giant or the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council, an Indigenous-run education authority.
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performance → say → Giant
“We take responsibility for booking the artist and we will take the lessons learned from this experience to ensure our core values will be at the forefront in choosing artists in the future,” the statement said.
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statement → take → future
Other performers at the festival included the American group the Wallflowers, featuring Jakob Dylan, Bob Dylan's son, and Tia Wood, a Cree and Salish pop singer-songwriter from Canada.
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performers → include → Canada
A ‘very shocking’ performance
Esther Maud, a city resident who was in the VIP section during the performance, attended to show her support for the event, and for her son and his youth drum group, Charging Thunder, which opened the event.
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which → attend → event
Maud said it might have helped if she had relistened to his music to reflect on what it means and whether she should support it.
uncertain
she → say → it
“I just went in thinking and being excited that I get to see someone in person that I kind of grew up listening to.
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I → go → that
So it didn’t even dawn on me what he represents, and what he sings and puts into his music at all."
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he → dawn → music
Maud said she's going into six years of sobriety from alcohol.
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she → say → alcohol
She said her mind was blown the moment she saw the first alcohol bottle on the stage during the show, in a space she has grown to love because it’s an alcohol- and drug-free event, and more bottles kept coming.
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bottles → say → space
She could only think about people who are in early recovery or not as strong, and children thinking about what’s going on and if it was normal behaviour, Maud said.
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Maud → think → recovery
Shortly after Flo Rida performed his third song, Maud left with her family and a friend.
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Maud → perform → family
If she were an organizer of the event, she said, “I probably would have put out the message to maybe the security and asked them to come and help us — tell them that we need to remove the bottles off the stage or ... get somebody to maybe do a little pause, and then quickly regroup and let him know that this is not the place for that."
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this → say → that
Maud said she appreciated the music festival's efforts in the wake of Flo Rida's controversial performance, and understood they had communicated to him what the event is about.
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event → say → what
But she said the apology could have been better, as the performance was “really heavy and very triggering for a lot of people.”
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performance → say → people
Maud said she isn't angry at the festival itself and hopes what happened serves as a learning experience.
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happened → say → experience
“I’m disappointed.
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I → ’m → ?
I’m upset that this happened, but at the same time, I don’t want this one event and this performer to ruin everything else that they work so hard to do."
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they → ’m → everything
Organizers still have a chance to continue this work, she said, noting that she still wants to support them no matter what, as she sees their vision and knows how important it is.
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it → have → vision
“There are so many purposes and reasons to why this festival still needs to go and keep the momentum for the youth."
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festival → be → youth
The Aporia
