Sound Travels festival launches with Pride Concert

New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA), a non-profit based in South River, Ontario, is launching its 28th Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art from June 6 to September 7. The festival will feature performances, installations, a workshop, and a summer-long exhibition at the NAISA North Media Arts Centre, located at 313 Highway 124. The event opens with a Pride Concert on June 6 at 6 p.m., sponsored by Almaguin Pride and showcasing 2SLGBTQI+ sound artists Kat Estacio and Barry Truax. Kat Estacio, a Toronto-based artist and member of the art-pop group Pantayo, will draw from their experience with Kulintang, an Indigenous gong ensemble tradition from Mindanao in the Southern Philippines, as well as their perspective on living near large bodies of water. Barry Truax, a pioneer in Acoustic Ecology and Electroacoustic Music, was recently awarded the Order of Canada for his contributions to these fields. His *Elemental Trilogy*—comprising *What the Waters Told Me*, *How the Winds Caressed Me*, and *When the Earth Mourned for Me*—explores elemental sounds through digital soundtracks. This year’s festival theme centers on water, examining its cultural, spiritual, and engineered soundscapes. Darren Copeland, NAISA’s Artistic Director, noted that while humans cannot hear underwater, their fascination with water has driven the development of tools to expand sensory and aesthetic experiences. The events explore how water’s sound is shaped by cultural use, spiritual practices, and human engineering. The Pride Concert is the festival’s opening act, with tickets priced at $15. Additional details, including the full schedule and event listings, are available on NAISA’s website at [naisa.ca](https://naisa.ca/festivals/sound-travels/). The festival aims to celebrate experimental and electroacoustic sound art while fostering community engagement through innovative artistic expressions.