about cicada
cicada music & arts festival is first and foremost a music festival dedicated to celebrating canada's best musical talent.
Great Canadian Music
Musicians and artists of local and national acclaim grace the stages at Cicada. Whether you prefer folk, indie, roots or singer-songwriter there is something for every ear. Our committee views the lineup as an opportunity to put both familiar and new artists in front of listeners regardless of their commercial success, giving a taste of the lively and diverse musical landscapes that exist in Canada.
Creating an event for everyone, built on everything local. That includes locally sourced food and drink, artists, and makers.
Previous Cicada Music & Arts Festival performers include: Sam Roberts Band, Broken Social Scene, Half Moon Run, July Talk, DJ Shub, The Strumbellas, Sloan, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Wintersleep, Dan Mangan, Begonia, Donovan Woods, Shad, Tim Baker, Fred Penner & more.
Local Food, Drink & Art
The Niagara Region is known for its hospitality, and each year we carefully select our food & beverage vendors to satisfy the most discerning palettes! True to the local nature of our event, Cicada Music & Arts Festival also features a makers market consisting of some of Niagara’s most creative small businesses.
Giving Back
At the heart of the festival is a spirit of giving, and the opportunity to give back to our home here in Niagara. We are proud to be partnering with Kristen French Child Advocacy Centre Niagara, an organization that provides a safe, supportive space for children and youth who have experienced abuse, while helping families access the care and resources they need.
This partnership is especially meaningful to us because of KFCACN’s music programming, which uses music as a tool for healing, expression, and connection. As a festival built around the power of music to bring people together, we’re honoured to support an organization whose work reflects the same belief in music, healing, and community.
Since 2022, Cicada has donated $13,000 to Pathstone Mental Health Foundation, and we are incredibly grateful for the important work they continue to do. As the festival continues to grow, we’re proud to build on that legacy of giving through this new partnership with Kristen French Child Advocacy Centre Niagara.
Meet Thom Lepp
Meet Thom Lepp, our dear friend, father and the inspiration for Cicada Music & Arts.
Thom's sons can see it clearly, an image that will forever be engraved in the minds of the four brothers. The rickety wood patio furniture sitting atop the stage, now a permanent fixture in the backyard of their Port Dalhousie home.
Thom sits cross legged, dog at his feet, notebook and pen in hand. His orange pekoe tea, lots of milk, just the way he likes it, sits next to the red stained wine glasses and cigar remnants from the night before. As he sits sipping his tea, he makes phone call after phone call, inviting the many friends and family he hopes to see at this year’s party.
This is where Thom laid the foundation for Cicada Fest, ultimately inspiring what has come to be known as Cicada Music & Arts.
Thom was a dreamer.
The Origin of Cicada Music Festival
After 13 wonderful years, the party had outgrown his yard, and Cicada Fest was born. Its origins not to be forgotten, the festival's name would be inspired by the insects who's buzzing could be heard throughout the night in the backyard that birthed the festival. To Thom and his children, this was the sound of summer.
The three-day festival would span five years, the first of five taking place in 2007, at the Serbian Picnic Grounds in Niagara Falls. The following year (2008), a move to Club LaSalle returned the festival home to St. Catharines, where it would remain in 2009. However, one last move in 2010 allowed Cicada Fest to find its forever home on Henley Island in Port Dalhousie, the current home of Cicada Music & Arts. Thom held one last Cicada Fest on the island in the summer of 2011.
A prostate cancer diagnosis derailed any chance of the festival returning in 2012, and in 2013, the backyard would once again play host to Lepp's event, which would continue annually until the summer of 2016.
In the Summer of 2017, Thom passed away.
Supporting Fine Causes
Soon after, sons Malcolm, Evan and family friend Ben Goerzen began to plan the festival’s return in honour of Thom, his love for live music and the Niagara Region. Long gone were the days of Cicada Fest, but from its ashes arose the beauty that is Cicada Music & Arts.
Having established themselves as regular Movember participants in the community from 2015–2017, the boys decided the festival would also double as a platform to raise awareness for men’s health. To date, Team Molcolm, headed by Thom’s second youngest son Malcolm, has raised roughly $30,000 in support of Movember.
In 2022, Cicada transitioned its community partnership to focus on a local cause, proudly supporting Pathstone Mental Health Foundation and donating $13,000 to help further their work in the Niagara Region.
Today, we are proud to be working with Kristen French Child Advocacy Centre Niagara as our community partner. Their work supporting children, youth and families through advocacy, care and healing deeply aligns with Cicada’s belief in the power of community — and with the way music can bring people together, create connection and support meaningful change.
Honouring Thom
Cicada Music & Arts is so much more than a music festival. It is an experience and an opportunity for the community to celebrate live music, arts and culture, craft beer, fine wine, and the culinary industry we so proudly recognize in the Niagara Region. The festival’s aim is to create an all-inclusive, accessible and welcoming environment, much like the one you may have experienced in the years prior.
What started as a backyard party hosted by Thom, has blossomed into the festival we present to you today. Much like it’s namesake, Cicada Fest never ceased to exist, laying dormant as it grew behind closed doors, only to emerge years later in honour of its creator, Thom Lepp.