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While there are truckloads of fun going on in the city this weekend — see The List below — two wonderful festivals worth the drive are brimming with Edmonton talent.
The province’s world-renowned, five-day cultural octopus is headlined this year by Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins, L.A. rock trio Cherry Glazerr, dreamy Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Molina and post-hardcore punk act Show Me the Body.
Top-tier Edmonton bands in the mix representing our wickedly eclectic music scene include psychedelic pop spellcasters Baby Jey, experimental drone scientist k.burwash, WARES’ total rock star singer-guitarist Cassia Hardy, whispering minimalist funk master Aladean Kheroufi, must-see post-punks Midnight Peg (who recently opened for Pussy Riot), hip-hop threadweaver Mouraine, icy goth duo Mox Jet, “Edmonton’s friendliest screamo group” OBROA-SKAI, heavy drone act Old Mound, retro-modern psych project Pearly Moon, hairy country iconoclast Smokey, grungy power-pop geniuses Stem Champ, surfy pedal pushers Tebby and the Heavy, cold-wave goth miners Uncanny Valley and dream-pop heartache romantics VERTTIGO.
Besides all the guaranteed singing and laughter around the campfires, the lineup’s super strong this year. This includes the soaring pop of Scenic Route to Alaska, brass-infused punkabilly from Raygun Cowboys, the hirsute freak jams of the McGowan Family Band, good-times indie rock with sky-piercing vocals from Colleen Brown in Major Love, the hypnotically good-natured advocacy folk of Scott Cook and Pamela Mae, five-piece funk and R&B from Purple City Disco, Gadjo Collective’s Balkan dance whirling and Calgary’s Shane Ghostkeeper with his country album “Songs for My People,” to name a few.
Art
Books
Comedy
7/14: Bret Kreischer, Whitney Cummings, Steph Tolev (Kinsmen Park)
Exhibits
Festivals
2024
2025
Film
Music
2024
2025
Theatre and dance
2024