Western Canada's largest independent music and arts festival just got a whole lot bigger! The lineup for Sled Island 2012, happening June 20th - 23rd across multiple venues in Calgary, Alberta, now includes Canadian alt-country veterans The Sadies, garage-gospel punk legends Reigning Sound, ambient experimentalist Tim Hecker, The Hold Steady's Craig Finn and indie folk rockers The Antlers. Also joining the Sled Island 2012 lineup are The Strange Boys, How To Dress Well, Willis Earl Beal, NoMeansNo, Bonjay, Hayes Carll, And So I Watch You From Afar, Cadence Weapon, Duchess Says, Terry Malts and many more!
Sled Island's comedy lineup has expanded from two nights to four due to popular demand for the 2012 festival. This year's comedy lineup features veteran stand up comedian Todd Barry, Tim Heidecker from Tim & Eric's Awesome Show, Neil Hamburger making his brave return, jaywalking New Yorker Hannibal Burress, L.A. actress and comedian Natasha Leggero, and Vice Magazine co-founder Gavin McInnes. Learn more about these comedians by watching endless YouTube videos and visiting their artist profile pages.
A limited amount of advance tickets for select shows including Archers of Loaf at MacEwan Ballroom, Thurston Moore at the Grand Threatre, go on sale this Saturday, April 7th at 10am MST. Festival passes are on sale at $199 for the Discovery Pass, $349 for the Discovery Plus Pass and only $50 for the All Ages Pass for those under 18 years old via the Shop. Olympic Plaza Tickets are on sale for Feist (2012 Juno Artist of the Year!), Timber Timbre, plus guest on Friday June 22nd and The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, plus guests on Saturday, June 23rd at $45 per day via Ticketmaster here and here.
Get Your Sled On: Accommodations
Holy wow! Sled Island is working with 7 key hotel partners to provide artists, musicians, media and fans with amazing deals on accommodations while visiting Calgary during the fesitval. Click on the Accommodations page to get a full run down of hotel partners and rates during Sled Island for the ultimate festival experience. Act quick as these rooms won't last!
It's also the last week to purchase middle-bird prices on festival passes! The Discovery Pass is on sale for $179 and the Discovery Plus Pass is on sale for $299 till Saturday, March 31st. Starting April 1st festival passes go on sale for $199 for the Discovery Pass and $349 for the Discovery Plus Pass. Find out more about what each pass gets you at the Sled Island Shop.
Stay tuned! We're announcing more headliners and the expanded compedy lineup next week on Monday, April 2nd.
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN
We're thrilled to announce our fourth and final Leak Of The Week for this month! YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN are a psychedelic noh-wave opera group fusing noise, metal, pop and folk music into a multidisciplinary hyper-orientalist cesspool of 'eastern' culture in giant monochrome paper sets. Blending Noh, Peking Opera, Buddhist Ritual Punk, Taiko Shows, Tokusatsu, Performance Art, Rock Opera & their own mangaesque cardboard 'NEVERFLAT' style of 2.5D set design, their bizarre form of music//altheater have awaked and shawed audiences in Montreal for several years.
Get a glimpse of their dark and theatrical live performance in this teaser below!
Film Submissions are Open!
Attention all filmmakers! We are now accepting submissions for Sled Island Film 2012. Sled Island Film is entering it's fourth year as the official film program of the festival. Over the past four years Sled Island Film has been proud to present World, Canadian, and Alberta Premieres of music-related films including, Color Me Obsessed: A Documentary About the Replacements, Firewall of Sound, Everything Louder Than Everything Else, No Fun City, Strange Powers: Stephen Merritt and the Magnetic Fields, Skateland, American Grindhouse, The Parking Lot Movie and a ton of shorts.
Sled Island Film is seeking a broad range of unique and interesting, full feature and short films to present during the 2012 festival. Interested applicants should apply HERE before the deadline on April 6, 2012.
To find out more information visit the Film Submissions page on the website.
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
Our third Leak of the Week is Calgary underground heroes Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.The band existed originally between 1984 and 1994, and released three albums and twelve singles, appeared on numerous compilations (including the formative "It Came From Canada" series), toured extensively throughout North America and England, were one of the first Canadian bands to record a Peel Session for BBC D.J. John Peel, beat David Foster and Liona Boyd out of one of the two Junos they were nominated for, backed B-52's vocalist Fred Schneider on his "Just Fred" album, and scored a couple of feature films and the television series Kids in the Hall. I'm sure there's more but you can ask when you see them.
Leak of the Week: Trust
Dark, intricate and catchy. This week's leak is Trust from Toronto, a relatively new electronic act picking up steam in clubs across North America and Europe. Trust is Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski (Austra). The mysterious duo released its first singles, "Candy Walls" and "Bulbform" in 2011 before signing with Arts & Crafts for the 2012 release of their debut full length, TRST. In the last year they've performed with DFA1979, Crystal Castles, Balam Acab, Glass Candy, and Hercules and Love Affair.
Check out their intoxicating club banger "Bulbform" below.
Upcoming Events: Anti Freeze
Sled Island and The Gateway are proud to present Anti Freeze on Friday, March 30th. Anti Freeze is a warm up event at The Gateway on SAIT's campus featuring a wide range of western rockers and popsmiths including: Murder By Death, Big John Bates, Rococode, In Media Res, Black Mastiff, Chron Goblin, Sons of Bears and more to come.
Tickets are available for $12 through Ticketmaster and $15 at the door. The event is free for SAIT students with SAIT ID. 18+ ID required. RSVP for the Facebook event here: www.facebook.com/events/314666658583105/
Leak of the Week: Russian Circles
Our first artist 'Leak of the Week' is Russian Circles, a three-peice instrumental post-rock/ post-metal band hailing from Chicago, IL. The band plays epic, sprawling music which runs the gamut of heavy discordant metal to soft delicate passages. Well known for their energetic live show, Russian Circles have toured with the likes of Boris, Isis, Red Sparowes, and have made appearances at SXSW from 2006 - 2008 and Bonnaroo in 2009. They were also the opening act for Tool on their first tour of the UK in 2007. And, in case you were wondering, their name is taken from a drill exercise used in hockey.
Check out their amazing performance from Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest in 2011.
Olympic Plaza Tickets On Sale Now!
For anyone that was there last year you'll remember theincredible warm vibes, amazing performances, delicious food and sunshine we all shared at Olympic Plaza. Our 2012 events follow in that same tradition as a fully-licensed all-ages concert held in the center of downtown Calgary and enter a whole new realm with this year's world class entertainment!
Performing on Friday, June 22nd at Olympic Plaza is Canadian chanteuse Feist making her triumphant return home, along with Timber Timbre plus more to be announced. Saturday, June 23rd features New York's anthemic rockers The Hold Steady as headliners of this all-day outdoor concert, along with indie rock icon Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks plus many more to be announced! Tickets are on sale at $45 for each event via www.ticketmaster.ca.
Reminder that Olympic Plaza events are open to all festival wristband holders. Festival wristbands are on sale now for mid-bird prices of $179 for the Festival Discovery Pass and $299 for the Festival Discovery Plus Pass until march 31.
Order your Olympic Plaza tickets via ticketmaster.ca or festival passes via shop.sledisland.com today!
Sled Island Announces Initial Headliners!
Sled Island is thrilled to announce the initial headliners performing at this year's festival across multiple venues in Calgary, AB, Canada from June 20 - 23, 2012. Local girl turned International pop star Feist leads the pack of initial headliners, along with New York's anthemic rockers The Hold Steady, indie rock pioneers Archers of Loaf and purveyor of party rock Andrew W.K.. We are also pleased to to present indie rock icon Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, post-internet pop star Grimes, Toronto's eerie folk artist Timber Timbre, and art rock legend Thurston Moore. These eight initial headliners will be among more than 200 musical acts performing at Sled Island 2012.
Entering it's sixth year, Sled Island will once again return to Olympic Plaza, the fully licensed and all-ages main outdoor stage on Friday June 22 and Saturday June 23. Friday night at Olympic Plaza will feature performances by Feist and Timber Timbre, with others to be announced. Saturday at Olympic Plaza is an all-day event featuring several of the festival's biggest headliner acts including The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, plus more to be announced. Tickets to both Olympic Plaza outdoor events go on sale at $45 for each day on Saturday March 3 @ 10am MST via www.ticketmaster.ca
Sled Island also pleased to participate in Calgary 2012, the celebration of Calgary as the Cultural Capital of Canada. 2012 marks a pivotal year in Calgary's cultural history including the centennial anniversaries of some of the city's cultural cornerstones: Calgary Stampede, City of Calgary Recreation, Calgary Public Library and Theatre Junction Grand and Pumphouse Theatres. As a celebration of the city's vibrant and youthful culture, the festival plans to shine a spotlight on the flourishing music and arts communities that exists in Calgary.
Festival passes are on sale now for middle-bird prices at $179 for the Festival Discovery Pass and $299 for the Festival Discovery Plus Pass until Saturday, March 31st. Visit shop.sledisland.com to pick up your festival pass today!
