À LA MODE
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 3pm @ Willow Island
Suffused with the playful twee-pop sensibilities of songwriter-producer Domo Lemoine, À La Mode creates spacious oddities that twist and turn like the tail of a kite fluttering in a windy prairie sky. Since 2013, À La Mode has been releasing whimsical songs with plainspoken lyrics and ear catching instrumentation featuring synths and electric guitar. Their newest EP Diversions - approaching philosophical ruminations with light hearted wit - will be out in September, with another full length soon on its tail.
THE BEAUTIFUL BAND
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 5pm @ Willow Island
Christopher Sleightholm has been exploring psychedelic music with his band Snake River since 2012. Under his own name he steers toward the folk/country side of things, while definitely keeping some kaleidoscopic sounds. In 2022 Christopher released his third album called The River Flew Right Past. The Beautiful Band features: Marshall Burns (Rah Rah), Andy Beisel & Ian Cameron (Wolf Willow).
BIG EVIL RAT
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 12am @ The German Club
A mashup of Edmonton supergroups that blast a psych-punk twist into good old, floor shaking rock n’ roll. "It's almost inevitable that Big Evil Rat is a product of Edmonton. The band … does guitar-centric rock somehow better than a lot of other bands can do it. Alberta is also a rat-free province, so it makes perfect sense for a rock band from Edmonton to layer on the sinister adjectives in front of "rat". The sweet, sweet garage-rock guitars … provide blazing forward momentum, punk rock energy and a healthy dose of sinister sounds." -Grayowl Point
GIL & WIL
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 2pm @ Willow Island
Gil & Wil are a brand spankin’ new duo based out of Saskatoon, SK, made up of members Holly Gilroy (she/her) & Aiden McRorie Wilson (she/her). Bringing spice and a modern take to western swing, bluegrass, and old-time music, the two seamlessly blend their voices, making use of tight harmonies while passing melody lines between each other. They sure have a hoot and hope you do too!
HIT THE STREETS
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 10pm @ The German Club
Back again! Garage street punk wailing from the ashes of a once scorched amp come a band of ragged heroes here to rock your world and split your ears. Raw lyrics and powerful beat. No racists, no homophobes, no transphobes, no creeps. Everyone is ready. It’s time to Hit The Streets.
KA LOK
Friday Sept. 1 - 11pm @ The Cure
Ka lok is the solo project of Saskatchewan based artist, Dalton Lam. Dalton has spent years making music, touring and recording with musicians in his community of Regina, including with Bears in Hazenmore, Megan Nash, Nick Faye, Peace Flag Ensemble, and Wolf Willow. Ka Lok was birthed during the pandemic lockdown of 2020 as a way to alleviate boredom and loneliness. Ka lok released his first single, Opium Boy, in September, 2022. It was the first song out of the giant mess of project files on his computer where he started to find his own voice.
“Blending powerful drums, soaring lead vocal lines and a driving arrangement of brass, violins and synthesizers, with 'Opium Boy', ka lok drops an angsty and charged sound that serves to demonstrate his talents as a songwriter and performer. Full of punching rhythm, ka lok’s debut single offers a compelling sound of cinematic alternative pop on this worthy debut effort that builds excitement around his new solo artist adventure.” - Plastic Mag
“Blending powerful drums, soaring lead vocal lines and a driving arrangement of brass, violins and synthesizers, with 'Opium Boy', ka lok drops an angsty and charged sound that serves to demonstrate his talents as a songwriter and performer. Full of punching rhythm, ka lok’s debut single offers a compelling sound of cinematic alternative pop on this worthy debut effort that builds excitement around his new solo artist adventure.” - Plastic Mag
KAWACATOOSE BOYZ
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 6pm @ Willow Island
With roots in Kawacatoose First Nation, intergenerational drum and pow-wow group, Kawacatoose Boyz, features four generations of dancers and three generations of singers.
LUCY'S SEDUCTION
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 4pm @ Willow Island
Formed in Saskatoon, SK in July 2022 doing some Girlschool covers at local watering hole Black Cat Tavern, Lucy's Seduction are some solid rock'n’roll toilet action come to life and ready to spray their brown riffage all over unsuspecting audiences. Imagine L7, Hole, and Motörhead spitting glass and crashing through storefront windows, chased by sirens. Lucy's are here for the good times, and all creeps and bummers can take a hike. Loud, almost offensively so, they don't really give a toss what you think. Get in or get out. Up to you. Available for skate parties and exorcisms.
THE MARMALADS
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 3pm @ Willow Island
Local semi-pro muskids form landlocked surf music collective. This is The Marmalads - with decades of experience between them and dozens of bands in their wake, Andy Beisel, Dana Rempel, Ethan Anderson, and Ian Cameron are excited to play their select instrumental hits from their favourite records.
MOTHER SUN
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 5pm @ Willow Island
Mother Sun create warmth with their music. Formed at the end of 2017, the four-piece from the sprawling interior desert of Kamloops BC Canada make thoughtful and melodic pop accented by warm waves of psychedelia, jazz sensibilities, and surreal dreamlike imagery grounded by a concise groove-oriented musicality.
RAE SPOON
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 7pm @ Willow Island
Rae Spoon is a musician, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and author. They have released twelve solo albums (Coax Records) spanning folk, country, indie rock, and electronic genres and published three books (Arsenal Pulp Press). Rae has been nominated for two Polaris Prizes, a Lambda Literary Award, and a Western Canadian Music Award. They have toured internationally (Canada, Europe, the USA, Australia, China). Their most recent album, Not Dead Yet (2023), was written about their lived experience of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and complications.
RUNWAY
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 6pm @ Willow Island
The group comprises 5/6 of the band formerly known as Shooting Guns. Active for about a year now in the current configuration, the group is a six piece "rawk-estra" consisting of Brenna Barclay, Keith Doepker and Chris Laramee on guitars, Jay Loos on bass guitar, Toby Bond on synth/ oscillations and Charles Lemire on the drums. Instrumental head music influenced by film scores, Hawkwind, hip hop and bad Lord Of The Rings references, RUNWAY is a collective effort that is a heck of a lot of fun for all involved and a loud cathartic roar one can lose themselves in. A self-titled LP is coming out in late September/ early October on Cardinal Fuzz (UK and Europe), Echodelik (USA) and WeHereNow Recordings (Canada).
SMOKEY
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 7pm @ Willow Island
Nikelas 'Smokey' Johnson is a musician and multidisciplinary artist from the northern forests of Alberta. Drawing from western folk traditions and hte avant-garde, he creates a kin of gothic country music. Using a mix of dusty acoustic and electric instruments, wobbly sunths and lofi field recordings, Smokey croons through a cinematic dream world of regret and desire. A doomed scout, he wanders the woods holding aloft humor and horror like flashlights in each hand.
"A claustrophobic yet cinematic expression of prairie life, of potential threats, of existential discontent.” -Edmonton Journal
"A claustrophobic yet cinematic expression of prairie life, of potential threats, of existential discontent.” -Edmonton Journal
STACY LLOYD BROWN
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 1pm @ Willow Island
Stacy Lloyd Brown is a Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born and raised under the northern lights in Grande Prairie Alberta, currently based in Edmonton. With one foot rooted in the memory of AM country radio and the other foot flying off into a science fiction fever dream, Stacy’s music stumbles along an imaginary line between tradition and the wild unknown.
SUKE
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 11pm @ The German Club
SUKE, is an alternative hip-hop/rnb artist and producer based in Regina, SK.
THE WHATS
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 2pm @ Willow Island
The Whats are an indie-rock outfit from Regina, Sk. They make tunes with a feminist perspective and politically-inspired lyricism for road trippers, thrift shoppers, and disturbers of the peace.
WOLF WILLOW
Saturday, Sept. 2 - 8pm @ Willow Island
Regina's own Wolf Willow plays original country and western inspired by honky tonk, Western swing and countrypolitan retro sounds.