3PEAT
3PEAT's Steve, Rapheyel and Dill the Giant form a triangle offence of rap styles and influences. Their high-energy set features old school sample-driven beats with an inspired and updated sound. Their effortless flow and captivating live show have proved they can swing in the major leagues. Putting their focus on developing a great live show has seen them play in hardcore shows, open for rap acts and perform with live bands. You would be hard pressed to find a situation in which 3PEAT does not reign king. Link |
An Ant And An Atom (Lethbridge, AB)
Beginning with infinite possibility, each moment traces further limitations until we become merely who we are. This inevitability propelled An Ant And An Atom, solo project of Sean Warkentine, from Southern Manitoba to Lethbridge, Alberta. An Ant And An Atom crafts slow melodies layered with visceral textures into explosive blasts of noise. Link |
Animal Lover
Raw and abrasive Animal Lover channels an immense vitriol and energy with which they seem to attack their instruments. The squealing guitar's harsh cut and ringing harmonics are fleshed out by the band's expert dynamic. These jazz-drenched punks are one of America's finest offerings to the world of feedback and noise. Link |
Bartley Knives
Bartley Knives is Daniel Guezen, a singer-songwriter not associated with the Winnipeg Free Press or the CBC. Guezen plays whimsical and pointed songs about Winnipeg with a cheerfully slanted view - telling the stories we've all experienced but can't put into words. Bartley Knives is backed by acoustic guitar that will burn into your brain like purple city. Link |
Basic Nature
The dream of the ’90s is alive in Winnipeg. Neo-shoegaze duo Basic Nature, featuring Lizzy Burt and Claire Bones, is all sorts of dreamy: lush with washed-out guitars and groove-inducing beats carried along by a voice so drenched it echoes straight from your dreams. Link |
Beth
Vaudeville beatnik goth rockers, put on a live performance that is one part theatrical three parts song. Imagine your car broke down in the middle of nowhere on an impossibly hot summer night, there's lights in the distance by a burgundy big top. You walk in, it's full of costumed revellers in the middle of wild macabre festivities. It's a perverse Gatsby party, in the middle of it all a band is playing, this band is Beth. Between sips of red wine frontman Stefan Braun flails like a mountebank on a soap box his words sink in, and suddenly you know what it's like to be kissed on the mouth and stabbed in the back Link |
Blond(e) Goth
Goth isn't about what you wear, or how you look; it's about how you feel. Be yourself, and if that happens to be a blonde goth who wears corsets, then that's just perfect. Don’t let Hulk Hogan let you down because on this soaring ship of psych-country riffs this city will rise to heaven. Link |
CARMAN•HOVEY
CARMAN•HOVEY are, like, pretty fun. And sound like a pop band playing pop songs from AM radio times - without the requisite xenophobia and oppression of AM radio times. Well, less xenophobia and oppression; let's be honest with ourselves here. Link |
The Catamounts
Reverb-saturated, fast-paced vintage instrumental wild action! The Catamounts stalk surf-rock inspiration from across time and around the world. With boundless hunger they devour ‘60's classics from America, East Asia, the Mediterranean and their hometown, Winnipeg. These resonant timbres snarl and echo across the frozen prairies. Link |
Champagne Years
Champagne Years provide the playlist for your sad, late-night dance parties. With a sound that’s both introspective and expansive, awash with atmospheric guitars, shimmering pop hooks and bittersweet lyrics, these long-time friends and collaborators consider Champagne Years the destination of a ten-year-long journey through the musical wilderness. Link |
Craterface
Craterface is an assorted four-pack of prairie indigo children. The residual rot from the carcass of synth punk band The Bad Nerves, Craterface (kray-tehr-fayce) is a wholesome slice of Canadiana that's not afraid to rock. Link |
Figure Walking
New music project for Rob Gardiner (Conduct, Pip Skid) and Greg Macpherson (two time Polaris Prize nominee), Figure Walking makes sinuous, dance rock music, and is committed to art, reconciliation, anti-neoliberalism, and justice. Link |
The Garrys (Saskatoon, SK)
The Garrys are a trio of sisters from Saskatoon who play chilled out, prairie garage doom-wop. Their harmonies are dreamy and precise, and their instrumentation stays true to the likes of Dick Dale and early Beatles. If Ed Sullivan went on a date with the Spice Girls, they would eat ice cream sandwiches and dance to the Garrys. Like father, like daughter(s). Link |
Haitia
Haitia features Dana Waldie, kissed by the Manitoban prairie skies and graced by its colourful fields. She brings back old-fashioned melodies/harmonies and honest lyrics, with a touch of the winter melancholic lullabies. A flashback to the soundtrack of your first festival kiss, twisted into a folk frenzy. Inspired by old tales, life's challenges and peacemaking, Haitia hopes to leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. Link |
Hannah Epperson (New York, NY)
Armed with her violin, loop pedal and voice, sonic weaver Hannah Epperson arranges musical landscapes without indulgence or over-saturation. Simplistic, but never lacking, these earworms pulse back and forth from the base of your spine to the center of your mind. As a stirring solo performer and talented collaborative artist, Epperson weaves a collection of songs that ensnare you in a soft and fantastical web that will have you wishing you never had to leave. Link |
Hut Hut
The guys in Boats didn't want to do Boats anymore so they lined up and Hut Hut is what you got. Minimalist keyboards winding around the distinct vocal stylings of Matt Klachefsky as he muses cheerfully about the lovely bleakness of reality. These toe-tapping pop songs will have you bopping around the dance floor as you slowly forget about your meagre existence. Link |
Iansucks
These sad boys and girls sing to the awkwardness of your mid-twenties while sporting the true beauty of a frown. Float through the clouds, as these light lo-fi pop gems fill your shoes with helium because Iansucks sucks about as much as free birthday cake in a hot air balloon. Link |
Ivory Waves
These four young city cats have teamed up to lay down some slick indie R&B that makes your body want to move. A bubble gum groove in a bowl of Jello, your youthful soul will be satisfied with just the right amount of sensual tension to keep you gasping for air. Link |
Joanne Pollock
Producer, Venetian Snares collaborator and half of the band Poemss, Joanne Pollock breathes heavy whispers across articulate and captivating break beats. Her songs are instant ear worms that bore through your mind’s eye and keep a kick in your step. Link |
Julie Doiron & The Wrong Guys (Moncton, NB)
Doiron is a singer-songwriter based in Sackville, New Brunswick. She first gained attention in the world-renowned band Eric’s Trip before going solo for a successful and busy trajectory of her own. Over the years she’s collaborated with many people and contributed to records by such as Daniel Romero and Gord Downie. She’s been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, East Coast Music Awards and has won a Juno. She is currently embarking on a new and energetic phase of her solo career with some of her most upbeat and inspiring songs to date. Her new catalogue reflects both her continued growth as an artist and renewed optimism as a songwriter. Link Kelly Ruth
Kelly Ruth’s improvised music involves collecting sounds using transducers on her weaving loom and running them through guitar pedals. She creates a soundtrack which evokes the sounds of the labour of humans echoeing the inventions of transportation and the militaristic organization of workers in large-scale mechanized industrial practises. Link |
Lev Snowe
Lev Snowe writes, records and produces his own unique brand of dreamy psych-pop at home in his cozy studio, and the comfy vibes seep into his music. The laid back jangle and washed-out synths of his new EP, Drifting Off, are the perfect soundtrack to long summer days spent wandering in the city or relaxing by the lake. Link |
Living Hour
Dissolve in a dreamscape of Living Hour’s summer-fueled haze. This five-piece places a halo around your head and pushes you into the wild open imagination of real live bliss. Inspired by never-ending skies, psychedelic guitar waves and old school love songs, these songs will wash away your substance and turn you into the ethereal creature that you’ve always dreamed you were. Link |
Mahogany Frog
Mahogany Frog creates sheets of sound that embrace music as an art form. The four multi-instrumentalists of Mahogany Frog spawn music that will wake you, shake you and break you. These contemporary prog songs will put you in the driver’s seat of an intergalactic cosmic spacecraft. Link |
Marlaena Moore (Edmonton, AB)
Marlaena Moore delicately walks the line between bubble-gum goofy and hard as nails personality. She writes serious, heartbreaking songs, bringing you to the point of despair while still bopping with a smile on your face. With the essence of anguish and loss these songs will wrap you in a blanket and make you feel safe like your favourite camp counsellor on a rainy night. Link |
Micah Visser
Micah Visser is both restless and meticulous - and determined to perfect his brand of indie rock. Heavily inspired by solo artists and infused with modern pop and folk influences, he keeps lyrics at the forefront of his music while ensuring melody is never buried. Link |
Mise en Scene
Comprising road-worn six-strings and broken drumsticks, Mise en Scene exudes an undeniable energy. The music is clamorous and captivating, with hints of everything from ‘60s pop and alt-country to early punk and garage rock. This duo commands attention and can instantly ensnare an idle pair of ears, dragging you to the sticky dance floors of your favourite dive bars. Link |
Mulligrub
Mulligrub writes melody-driven songs with twee-punk tendencies. Bittersweet but mostly bitter, they can be found singing songs about the last day of summer or friends you’ll never see again. Mulligrub is angry on the outside and tender on the inside, like a burnt marshmallow. Link |
The O.B.
Osani “The O.B.” Balkaran started rapping when he was 12 years old. Now, at the age of 17, Osani is a one-of-a kind solo artist with an awkward and distinct sound that is all his own. The O.B. is a sought-after rapper and producer in the local all-ages rap scene known for his unique alternative trap production, odd lyrical delivery and unusual content. |
Odanah
Odanah takes an un-ironic approach to rock music. Vulnerable lyrics face the fear of instability in adulthood, while wailing twin guitars drift in and out of sync crafting 70’s-leaning art-rock counterpoint. Combining psych, experimental and garage rock, Odanah exudes emotion, takes risks and captivates listeners with truly artful rock music. Link |
Permanent Mistake
Permanent Mistake is a noisy post-punk trio originating from a frosty Winnipeg basement. Kyle’s wall of guitar is mounted on a foundation of Nyala’s angular beats and Ryan’s fuzzed out bass attack, driven by a progressive DIY ethos and the undying need to fail better. Link |
Pip Skid
Aside from the rap he has been making for over 20 years, Pip Skid is interested in eating roti, drawing monsters and spending time with his cat. Humans and most everything else are generally of no interest to him whatsoever. Link |
Ponteix (Saskatoon, SK)
Hailing From Saskatoon, Ponteix winds anxious rhythms, tidal wave endings and intoxicating vocal timbres into well-crafted compositions. Pulling directly from the state where they were created, Ponteix has begun to take on the grand nature of the living skies under which they write. Link |
Slow Down Molasses (Saskatoon, SK)
Saskatoon’s Slow Down Molasses is a five-piece indie-rock collective taking cues from the wide-open spaces of their home. They craft expansive, texture-heavy pop songs that break into storm squalls of drone, delay and feedback. Link |
Slow Spirit
Valiant ambassadors of a sophisticated future, their melodious, pop-paced songs are injected with a thoughtfulness found in classical and jazz. Subtle and dark poetry is set to a pulsing backdrop of breakbeat post-rock to reverberous chillout prairie-scapes. Link |
Tansy
Formerly known as astre, Tansy celebrates all things noisy and beautiful, weaving haunting melodies through minimalist structures. Armed with loops, delays, and lots of reverb, her sound will echo through the ears and hearts of all who listen - and leave its ghost behind. Link |
Tunic
Tattooing their personality onto the music scene, Tunic wrestles and refines their angst into something haunting. In a genre not known for subtleties, they are a locomotive straight through your skull. Breaking down the polished sound of aggressive rock, Tunic is raw, confrontational and loud. Link |
Urban Vacation
Take your love-lorn high school memories, wrap them up in a blanket of chorus and whisper them sweet nothings. Holed up in your parents basement with a 4-track, too many feelings and all the time in the world, these are the therapeutic results of a true urban vacation. Link |
Viva Non
Viva Non is a collaborative electronic project by James Hofer. It's a fusion of a modern approach to electronic music and new wave/new romantic sensibilities. A not-so-newcomer to the synthesizer scene in Winnipeg, Viva Non has cemented itself as one of its dark wave champions. Link |
Wares (Edmonton, AB)
Wares is a musical wormhole engineered by Edmonton musician Cassia J. Hardy. Debuting in the summer of 2013, Cassia quickly established a reputation for her captivating live show, performing her unique mix of heart-in-throat balladry and grimy, hair-raising punk to audiences at home and abroad. Link |
WHIP
WHIP is an aggressive, bratty punk band from Winnipeg influenced by early Rough Trade, Kleenex and late ‘70s California teen punks Redd Kross. Link |