Calgary Music Festivals and Concerts

[Allan83]

One more Sled band:

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Bellbottoms
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[Allan83]

More Sled:

Argentinean folk band Les Mentettes - Suzanne
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Los Angelis folk band Old Man Markley - For Better For Worse
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[Allan83]

The Night Marchers - Closed For Inventory
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[artvandelay]

I bought my ticket today and I'm pretty jacked to see this festival, it should be brilliant!

Originally Posted by Cruzer

Chasing Summer should be a neat festival! Mostly stoked for Above&Beyond, I haven't liked any other producers more than I like A&B right now, absolute pure top notch quality dance music! A festival like this with their name on it has been a long time coming and I'm glad it's finally happening!
This would be the 4th year in a row seeing Tiesto and I'm not sure if it's just me, he seems to be VERY back and forth with the quality of his sets. Last December's was OKAY at best, too many mashups that didn't work well together... Too much vocals, not much progression at all, just straight bang bang bang. But I guess that's what we're supposed to expect from an A-List headliner right?
Hoping Wolfy G can light it up, he's a hugely talented guy but feels like he's been following mainstream a little much and getting his signature sound slightly out of tune. Here's hoping he taps back into the 2007-2009 Wolfy that I know and love

Of all the other headliners, Mat Zo should be sweet, hoping he dips back into his older trance/progressive sounds as well. Same goes for Tritonal though they've really hit that mainstream type of sound too, not saying they'll be bad, but too much of that sound can really kill a vibe quickly. Hope they throw some old Air Up There uplifting remixes into their set. Seven Lions should be good but this is just my opinion, he's kinda sounding like a one-hit-wonder. Too much of the same old same old with the remix competition he won and not experimenting further into his sound, a lot of his tracks/remixes sound too much of the same.
I like MS54 but I have a feeling a lot of their set will just be vocal mashups which again, can be good, only if they're done right. I expect these guys to do it right.... Hopefully.
Of all the other headliners - meh.
Krewella - the girls are good looking, but trying to be something they're not though (Dubstep/electro with soft uplifting vocals)
Andrew Rayel - Good young guy, should be one of the next up and comers in trance - really hard to say what kind of reaction he would get here though.
Morgan Page - isn't he here like every second month? He's got good productions but too much of something can also be a bad thing
Tommy Trash - Decent, not overly stoked though - no comment.
Can't really say much else about Topher Jones/CandyLand

Nice summary! A&B is the main draw for me, but I haven't managed to see Tiesto yet and I think that it's a must for every EDM fan. Hopefully he puts on a good set. Agreed about Krewella, I'm not a fan of their hard dubstep stuff but they have a few decent tracks with an uptempo progressive house feel that suits their vocal style better (IMO). I'm hoping that they move towards more of an electro house style in the future.

Hopefully Badlands does well too. If they release any single day tickets for it I might go to see Kaskade or Gareth Emery, but I don't wanna kill an entire weekend of Stampede up at COP.

[Innersoul1]

Originally Posted by artvandelay

I bought my ticket today and I'm pretty jacked to see this festival, it should be brilliant!



Nice summary! A&B is the main draw for me, but I haven't managed to see Tiesto yet and I think that it's a must for every EDM fan. Hopefully he puts on a good set. Agreed about Krewella, I'm not a fan of their hard dubstep stuff but they have a few decent tracks with an uptempo progressive house feel that suits their vocal style better (IMO). I'm hoping that they move towards more of an electro house style in the future.

Hopefully Badlands does well too. If they release any single day tickets for it I might go to see Kaskade or Gareth Emery, but I don't wanna kill an entire weekend of Stampede up at COP.

This is it buddy. I hadn't thought of it that way but this makes SO MUCH SENSE!

[Riise]

Originally Posted by artvandelay

I haven't managed to see Tiesto yet and I think that it's a must for every EDM fan.

It always seems like when I'm in Calgary, Tiesto is in London and vice versa. Hell, when I was last in Amsterdam his club was closed that weekend. Really looking forward to seeing him.

[Innersoul1]

I have seen Tiesto every time he has been in Calgary LOL

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Cruzer

Mostly stoked for Above&Beyond, I haven't liked any other producers more than I like A&B right now, absolute pure top notch quality dance music! A festival like this with their name on it has been a long time coming and I'm glad it's finally happening!

Above and Beyond are the most hit and miss outfit in EDM. I saw them in Calgary in 2010 and they were amazing. Saw them again in Calgary in 2011 and then later that year at Electric Zoo and I was looking for stuff to throw at the stage.

Their laptop messages to the crowd were cute at the start, but when the quality of their sets/mixes/programming starts to suffer, it's time to dial things back on stage. They have an amazing radio show/podcast, but wish it was still called TATW.

I still listen to the 2004 Essential Mix that was posted earlier and long for those days. Hard to believe that was almost 10 years ago!!!

God help us if we get stuck with Paavo and Tony. Jono is the best dj by far.

Tiesto will kill it. He has the best live show in dance music today. Deadmau5 used to, but Tiesto's is just off the hook.

Really hoping Tommy Trash stays sober enough to play a decent set in Calgary for a change. He really stunk the joint out in December.

Haven't seen Wolfgang Gartner live yet and am hoping for big things from him.

Andrew Rayel has put out some good tunes lately, will be interesting to see what he plays.

Also looking really forward to hearing David Stone live.

Wish I'd win the lottery so I could put on a techno stage. Chris Leibing, Loco Dice, Marco Carola, Jorris Voorn etc....

[sync]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Wish I'd win the lottery so I could put on a techno stage. Chris Leibing, Loco Dice, Marco Carola, Jorris Voorn etc....

yes please.

[Cruzer]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Wish I'd win the lottery so I could put on a techno stage. Chris Leibing, Loco Dice, Marco Carola, Jorris Voorn etc....

This. +Richie Hawtin +Umek +Adam Beyer

[Innersoul1]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Above and Beyond are the most hit and miss outfit in EDM. I saw them in Calgary in 2010 and they were amazing. Saw them again in Calgary in 2011 and then later that year at Electric Zoo and I was looking for stuff to throw at the stage.

I still listen to the 2004 Essential Mix that was posted earlier and long for those days. Hard to believe that was almost 10 years ago!!!

Tiesto will kill it. He has the best live show in dance music today. Deadmau5 used to, but Tiesto's is just off the hook.

Haven't seen Wolfgang Gartner live yet and am hoping for big things from him.

Wish I'd win the lottery so I could put on a techno stage. Chris Leibing, Loco Dice, Marco Carola, Jorris Voorn etc....

I would agree with your statement about A&B. Its a huge conundrum in the industry right now. So many DJ's who have amazing podcast/radio shows but their sets just blow or are extremely marginal. I really hope that we get the best of A&B.

Tiesto will kill it for sure. The guy is a robot and given that this is part of a larger tour his set should be done and dusted. I am expecting him to kill it for sure.

I was listening to Tritonal's radio show last night. If his track selection translates into his live set we might have something to talk about.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Innersoul1

I would agree with your statement about A&B. Its a huge conundrum in the industry right now. So many DJ's who have amazing podcast/radio shows but their sets just blow or are extremely marginal. I really hope that we get the best of A&B.

Agree 100%. Armin is the exact opposite. Always had, and still does an amazing radio show, he pretty much started the whole weekly show thing.

I've seen him at least 10 times all over North America in some tiny clubs spinning vinyl to the biggest festivals. The progress he has made with his live stuff is simply amazing. Where he previously couldn't mix two cans of white paint, he has developed into a very accomplished dj. The visual part of his show still lags behind Tiesto and Guetta (not a Guetta fan, but his live show is quite special), but it's getting there.

That said, I HAVE to see PVD this year. His Ultra set from this year is freaking amazing. Just need to figure out when and where to do it.

[Innersoul1]

Originally Posted by Cruzer

This. +Richie Hawtin +Umek +Adam Beyer

When Richie Hawtin isn't higher than a kite he is pretty cool

[Innersoul1]

Anyone going to Mumford & Sons tomorrow? Michael Kiwanuka is opening should be awesome!!!

[Spring2008]

Bought my tix for Chasing Summer! Woooo!

This looks pretty interesting too:

Music industry coming to Calgary in October for BreakOut West

Western Canada is no longer the place musicians leave to make it big; it can, instead, be a launching pad.

That’s one of the underlying messages behind BreakOut West, which will bring the music industry to Calgary Oct. 3-6 for a festival, music conference and awards gala where the best from the West will celebrated and on display for the rest of the world to see.

Organizers unveiled their plans for the local event Tuesday afternoon with a media gathering at the beltline’s Hotel Arts, which featured remarks from such dignitaries as Deputy Mayor Brian Pincott and longtime local music promoter Greg Curtis, who’s the chair of the host committee for this year’s event, as well as a performance from Calgary musician Samantha Savage Smith.

Some of the highlights of the four-day October gathering include: a public kickoff concert; a family-oriented concert event with children’s performers; three days of concerts in local clubs; an industry awards brunch, where Alberta builders such as Calgary composer and teacher Al Muirhead and Stony Plain Records label head Holger Petersen will be feted; and the Western Canadian Music Awards Gala, which will be held Oct. 6 at Flames Central.

Now, in its fourth year, BreakOut West is the premiere event run by the Western Canadian Music Alliance, which is the umbrella organization of the music industry associations from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

Each year they gather in a different centre and set up shop, bringing in 500-plus delegates from around the world, including buyers, music supervisors, agents and managers, with the goal to give musicians from this part of the country all of the opportunities their eastern counterparts seem to be afforded due to simple geography.

“It all feeds into the idea of creating sustainable careers for our artists in the West,” says Rick Fenton, the executive director of the alliance.

That’s certainly on display during the conference part of the event, which features panel discussions and talks from industry professionals, as well as the festival aspect of BreakOut, which will feature 60 multi-genre acts from the West — 40 to 50 per cent of those chosen will be from Alberta — who will be given two opportunities to showcase in one of the dozen participating venues that will be located within walking distance of the two “ground zeros,” Hotel Arts and the community of Inglewood.

“Every artist plays twice so there’s no excuse for someone in the industry not to see them,” Fenton says, also explaining that every member of each band playing will also be given a full delegate pass to take advantage of the conference and the networking that comes with it.

Making sure there’s no excuse for music-lovers in the host city to not take advantage of all of the talent performing in one place, a limited number of wristbands for the festival will be made available to the public for $20. Full details as well as the schedule will be made available at the end of August.

Of course the capper on the entire event will be the Western Canadian Music Awards themselves, which have grown and gained a great deal of credibility since the BreakOut West rebranding and through concerted efforts of the alliance, which is a not-for-profit organization funded by a mix of government and government agencies, as well as private sponsorship. Fenton thinks their efforts have been worth it, with the awards no longer seen as the poor cousin to, say, the East Coast Music Awards, and something that successful musicians from this part of the country no longer view as an insignificant achievement or honour and are happy to attend, with recent names including The Sheepdogs, Tegan and Sara and Dan Mangan.

“Mel Berry who runs the Junos comes to our awards going, ‘Great, I’ll come here and I’ll see who I’ll see on the Junos next year,’ ” Fenton says, noting the nominees for this year will be released the week of June 17.

As for the benefits to the host city, itself, Fenton says the economic windfall — by way of hotels, restaurants, cabs, clubs, etc. — is “significant” but says what BreakOut West can do for the host city and its music community is immeasurable and lasting.

“Certainly we bring vibrancy to the city,” he says. “And what I like to think we do is leave the knowledge that the downtown core of a city can continue that level of live music. We’re seeing a small resurgence of live music in a lot of cities across this country and I hope it’s a trend that continues to grow because it’s something that becomes a habit.

“If you start seeing live bands and you start going to live music and you start supporting bands in your community, as well as seeing the big acts that come through, it just becomes a part of your life, and then the clubs and the canned music just doesn’t seem interesting any more.”

BreakOut West festival and music conference

Will run in Calgary Oct. 3-6 at various locations around Calgary. The Western Canadian Music Awards will be held Oct. 6 at Flames Central.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainme...ut+West/8445587/story.html#ixzz2Ugf88nVw

[Calgarian]

Anyone going to X-fest? looks to be a pretty weak lineup this year.

Coke stage at the Stampede also looks really weak. Shawn Desman? Down with Webster? who even listens to this crap?

[DoubleK]

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I really hope this gets played at Chasing Summer

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Anyone going to X-fest? looks to be a pretty weak lineup this year.

Coke stage at the Stampede also looks really weak. Shawn Desman? Down with Webster? who even listens to this crap?

I agree. There are a few bands playing those events that I’d like to see. The Weakerthans, Corb Lund, maybe even Mother Mother, but there are a LOT of crappy industry created bands playing as well. Very disappointing lineups overall.

[Cruzer]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

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I really hope this gets played at Chasing Summer

This is a true summer tune! Been looking to throw this into my next mix whenever I happen to get on it! The legendary Eric Prydz definitely found a gem in Jeremy Olander, the guy puts out amazing progressive tunes from what I've heard through him so far!

[sync]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Anyone going to X-fest? looks to be a pretty weak lineup this year.

Coke stage at the Stampede also looks really weak. Shawn Desman? Down with Webster? who even listens to this crap?

i work with a girl who is JACKED for shawn desman and down with webster.

so there's one.

she is from manitoba though.