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Edmonton Folk Music Fest granddaddy Terry Wickham noted at that event’s lineup announcement press conference the late last month that given dynamic pricing, perhaps only the rich will be able to enjoy big concerts soon. Touch wood against.
Still, our regional festivals are (mostly) a welcome antidote to ticket ens—tification – you really do get a lot of pop for your pesos at the sonic buffets, particularly given all the free ones Edmonton offers.
This isn’t all of them – and R.I.P. to those we’ve lost like Blues Fest, Sonic Boom and Interstellar – but here’s a look at what’s being offered this summer in these parts.
Now Hear This Festival
When June 5-13
Where Mile Zero Dance Space (9931 78 Ave.)
Headliners Pigeon Breeders, Echo Ensemble, Steph Patsula, Tamarack Cunningham, Standing Wave Ensemble
Tix $25/20 show, $75/$60 pass
Weird and wonderful, this “sound-centred” creative arts fest celebrates 40 years of New Music Edmonton over several nights with truly one-of-a-kind, mutant performances.
Freewill Shakespeare Festival
When June 17-July 12
Where Heritage Amphitheatre, William Hawrelak Park
Headliners Free Will Players, Edmonton Pops Orchestra, Shelley’s Dance Company
TixMuch Ado About Nothing : Adults, $40; Students & Seniors, $30; 12 & Under, Free. Something Rotten! : Adults, $50; Students & Seniors, $40; 12 & Under, Free.
The Freewill Shakespeare Festival makes its return to the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak with a pair of shows, the Bard’s own Much Ado About Nothing, and Something Rotten!, a musical comedy that wonders, “What if Shakespeare had competition?”
Summer Solstice Music Festival
When June 17-22
Where Trinity Lutheran, Yardbird, Mimi Bar
Headliners Edmonton Chamber Music Society
Tix $27-$39.70 shows, $94.50 pass
Strings and piano swirl around Dvořák, Schumann and more as Edmonton Chamber Music Society gets the summer started intimately with enduring classics.
Alberta Circus Arts Festival
When June 18-21
Where La Cité Francophonie, U of A Saint Jean Campus, 78 Ave Entertainment District
Headliners North x Northwest Cabaret, Circus of Second Chances, Cirque Kikasse
Tix $11.32-$58.18 show, $110.24 pass
Four days of modern acrobatic, musical and cinematic mayhem including a free, Sunday Happy Beer Street show by Cirque Kikasse
Beaumont Music Festival
When June 19-20
Where BADAS Fairgrounds, Beaumont
Headliners Big Sugar, Toque, Royal Tusk
Tix $147.78.05 fest pass, $94.99/$116.10 single day pass
Rockin’-on, “Canada’s biggest little music festival” features camping, transit from Edmonton see beaumontmusicfestival.ca https://beaumontmusicfestival.ca/ for deets.
North Country Fair
When June 19-21
Where Driftpile, AB
Headliners My Son the Hurricane, The Uncas, Buns, MonkeyJunk
Tix $240 weekend pass incl. camping
The best fest to reset in a wild, open field in a forested valley on the interdimensional ley lines, The Fair defies boundaries and explanation. Just go, with rain gear.
Edmonton Jazz Fest
When June 19-28
Where Bellamy’s, Chateau Lacombe, Horowitz, La Cité, Starlite, Triffo, Yardbird, Winspear
Headliners Himomi’s Sonicwonder, Raul Midón, Isaih Collier, Shebad, EJO Meets ESO
Tix $43.20 – $89.18 by event (see edmontonjazz.com )
Hiromi’s already sold out, but a dozen other flavours from orchestra-backed swing to a Coltrane tribute to Afro-fusion are well worth digging around the program for
The Works Art & Design Festival
When June 20 – July 1
Where Churchill Square, downtown
Headliners Tsunami Brothers, Samantha King, Paul Bellows, Funk the Matriarchy
Tix free
The price is vert right as dozens of bands add sonic flavour to hundreds of popup artworks in the downtown core: a soul-feeding, Taste of Edmonton lite!
Grindstone Comedy Festival
When July 2-12
Where Grindstone Theatre, Howl & Roar Outdoor Stage, Kinshi Rinji, Black Dog
Headliners K. Trevor Wilson, Brittany Lyseng, DJ Demers, Shaun Majumder, Ashywn Singh
Tix shows $29.77 and up
With workshops, karaoke and chill vibes, Grindstone’s indie comedy fest doesn’t punch down and that outdoor stage is such a delight before all the deep-cut, late night fun.
Edmonton International Street Performers Festival
When July 3-12
Where Churchill Square
Headliners Cirquetastic, The Brucie Show, Riki Ferrarri, Circo Rebote
Tix by donation (bring cash!)
On the pure performance side of things, Street Fest is worth noting with all the international in-circle and roving performers, plus all the arts and stuff kids – all free, of course!
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Rockin’ Thunder
When July 11-12
Where Exhibition Lands Racetrack
Headliners Creed, Three Days Grace, Bif Naked, Paul Langlois of The Hip
Tix $286.01 2-day pass, $811.82 Pit Pass, $172.17 Sat. or Sun.
Last year’s Rock night vs. Alt Night binary ruled, but this year has more of a general hard-edge emo vibe, and Mammoth, fronted by Wolfgang Van Halen, will get fists raised!
Taste of Edmonton
When July 16-26
Where Churchill Square
Headliners 54-40, Econoline Crush, Whale and the Wolf, The Real Sickies
Tix no charge
While the international food is the focus, ToE always ropes a few decent CanCon scores, all you have to do is get yourself down to Churchill for the free music!
Neon Skies Festival
When July 17-18
Where Fan Park
Headliners Kesha, Conan Gray, Natasha Bedingfield, Myles Smith, Slayyter
Tix $186.05 day pass, $231.40 2-day pass, $339 VIP
All about the vibes, this Millennial-nostalgic, pop-music fest says it’s “a generational cultural experience, celebrating identity, friendship and the joy of making memories under the stars.”
Great Outdoors Comedy Festival
When July 17-19
Where Kinsmen Park
Headliners Aziz Ansari, Pete Davidson, Hasan Minhaj, Ronny Chieng, Matt Rife
Tix $47.81 and up per show, $288.85 fest pass, $140.59 Sunday pass
This home-grown comedy fest is now a seven-city juggernaut with international stars – especially excited about surly Ronnie Chieng and Adam Ray’s Dr. Phil.
KDays Music Fest
When July 19-28
Where Edmonton Exhibition Grounds
Headliners The Beaches, Mother Mother, Noah Cyrus, Ty Dolla $ign
Tix $48.72 to $83.69 and up (Front & Centre Fan Zone only, concert general admission area free with $15.25 main gate fee)
Entertainment-wise, besides the main stage, the CKUA Stage and Park After Dark have their own rosters, and I’ll never stop praising Superdogs or the farm petting zoo.
Big Valley Jamboree
When July 30 – Aug. 2
Where Camrose Exhibition Grounds
Headliners Old Dominion, Riley Green, Keith Urban, Nate Smith
Tix $350.03 3-day general admission, $577.00 3-day reserved seating, $89.39 Thursday kickoff party
The most gigantic of all regional festivals, BVJ is a rural city unto itself with plenty of sideshows, like Bulls for Breakfast, a decent-sized midway and late-night dance parties.
Edmonton Heritage Festival
When Aug. 1-3
Where Hawrelak Park
Tix free
Finally back at Hawrelak (yay!) this optimistic, international fest of meat-on-a-stick is bolstered by an endless whirl of dancers in colourful costumes moving to traditional music
Edmonton Folk Music Festival
When Aug. 6-9
Where Gallagher Park
Headliners Nathaniel Rateliff, Arrested Development, Cat Power, Thee Sacred Souls
Tix $244 fest pass, $109 Thur./Fri., $115 Sat./Sun.
Solid lineup this year with minimal price hikes, but a few die-hards must choose between Rateliff on the hill Sunday and AC/DC at the stadium.
Cariwest
When Aug. 7-9
Where Churchill Square
Headliners TBA
Tix free
Cariwest’s dazzling Saturday parade down Jasper parade is the main event, with dancing, music and food to go wild for on the much-used Churchill Square.
Edmonton Love & Unity Reggae Festival
When Aug. 15
Where Hawrelak Park
Headliners Turbulence, TBA
Tix $70
Jamaican Rastafarian Turbulence headlines this celebration of all things cultually Carribean, more details to be announced in theupcoming weeks.
Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival
When Aug. 13-23
Where Old Strathcona
Tickets music free, play tickets on sale in August
11 days of creative mayhem, no festival moves ideas around like The Fringe — 210 or so productions across 35 venues, plus plenty of great music on the Mcintyre Park stage.
8th Annual Noise Fest
When Aug. 15
Where The Aviary
Headliners TBA
Tix $20
The ongoing journey into uncharted experimental sounds from Noise Fest, prepare for the delightfully freaky. Bring your blooping astromech!
Edmonton Pride Festival
When Aug. 21-22
Where Ice District Fan Park
Headliners Simone Denny of Love Inc., Rêve
Tix free
Warming up with Denny and giveaway inflatable microphones Friday, the Saturday Pride Parade & Trans March leads to Fan Park where Toronto pop singer Rêve headlines.
Boots and Hearts West
When Aug. 28-29
Where Fan Park
Headliners Shaboozey, Russell Dickerson, Midland, Max McNown
Tix $208.70 fest pass, $133.60 Fri., $154.15 Sat.
Making a play to have a proper country music fest closer than 93 km. down Hwy. 21, this Ontario-born fest is an interesting experiment: if they build it, will they country?
Symphony Under the Sky
When Sept. 2-6
Where Hawrelak Park
Headliners The ESO with Bob Bernhardt conducting
Tix $45 and up
Two fan-pleaser programs, Hollywood at Hawrelak and Beethoven’s Fifth, markthe triumphant return to the ESO at Heritage Amphitheatre.
Infest
When Sept. 4-6
Where Fan Park, The Starlite Room, Freemason’s Hall
Tix $268.18 fest pass, $218.68 w/o Fan Park
Headliners Power Trip, Acid King, Voivod, Sacrifice
The boss witch of all local metal and thrash events, Infest is as loud as it gets, with enough scratchy band logos to make you think you need new glasses.
Purple City Music Festival
When Sept. 11-13
Where various downtown venues
Headliners Desire, Shannon Shaw, Bambara, Sook-Yin Lee, The Deep dark Woods
Tix $203.30 fest pass, $273.50 VIP, individual shows TBA
Peak youth-facing of the fests, metal, pop, punk, indie country, darkwave and un-genre-able fare ties a black bow on the summer, one last kiss in the graveyard. All ages, too!
Kaleido Family Arts Festival
When Sept. 18-20
Where Alberta Avenue
Headliners TBA
Tix free
Community-based with a sweet focus on multicultural programming, Kaleido is one of the top feel-good events of the summer, Sesame Street come to life!
Down By the River
When Sept. 18-20
Where Louise McKinney Park
Headliners Goldie Boutilier, Vincent Neil Emerson, The Rural Alberta Advantage
Tix $176.58 fest pass, $49.82 Fri., $81.50 Sat. or Sun.
Proving itself last year, this year’s indie-folky-rocky riverside-y fest squeaks in just two days before fall with a three-day affair. Sun’s setting by 8, but it ain’t parka time yet!
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