Meet the Musicians: Petunia & The Vipers
MEET THE MUSICIANS: The Caetani Summer Music Festival is just a month away. On July 19th, the homegrown one-day event returns to the historic Caetani grounds on Pleasant Valley Road near downtown Vernon.
Headlining the 2025 Caetani Summer Music Festival is the legendary and genre-bending band, Petunia and the Vipers!
Petunia and the Vipers play original music combining elements of classic 1920’s, 30’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s country, country blues, western swing, alternative country rock, Mexicana, French cabaret, Romanian, ragtime, jazz, punk and folk music’s. A new music that springboards off of music of the past and jumps into the present day… Something in between 1920’s and steampunk.
Petunia has spent most of the last 23 years crisscrossing sections of Europe, North and South America, playing his old hobo haunts, hitchhiking junctions, street corners, dive bars, churches and run down theatres. He’s more than just an entertainer, he’s a modern musical enigma. Imagine that David Lynch and Nick Cave had a hillbilly baby, that yodelled… or Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction. This is just one way of describing the man known simply as Petunia.
He’s an adventure seeker, a poker player, and a mysterious stranger. He’s been referred to as “The Savior of Country Music”, and a man who exists in a different era, bringing the past forth as something new to be celebrated and not forgotten. A restless wanderer, a musical historian, and a quirky yet amazing talent, Petunia joins the greats from north of the 49th for his classic style and raucous performances. He is simply a Canadian treasure.
Petunia and the Vipers feature Stephen Nikleva on electric guitar. He’s a 40+ year veteran of the touring circuit and former member of Ray Condo and the Ricochets fame, as well as the Sarah McGlaughlin band. He has been described by Exene of the punk rock band “X” as “One of the 10 best guitar players alive today.”
Stephen is joined by Jimmy Roy on the lapsteel guitar (an early version of the pedalsteel guitar), who is perhaps one of the last great lapsteel guitar virtuosos still alive and touring. Another 40+ year touring veteran, Jimmy has played with Wanda Jackson, Ray Condo and the Ricochets, Big Sandy and his Fly Rite Boys, and a host of other Canadian roots bands.
Together these two vets form the musical foundation of the band dealing out fiery solos and lush arrangements.
We are stoked to have Petunia and the Vipers in our lineup of talent at the Caetani Summer Music Festival!
Don’t wait to buy your tickets — the Early Bird ticket sale ends June 19 — available on Showpass.
Regular tickets go on sale June 20. All-day and Evening-only passes are available. Kids 12 & under are FREE.
For more information, see https://www.showpass.com/caetani-summer-music-festival/ or call us at (250)-275-1525.
Learn more about Petunia and the Vipers HERE
