We're thrilled to announce that LA-based experimental hip-hop trio clipping. will be joining us as guest curator for next year’s festival, running June 17 - 21, 2026. The group’s distinctive approach to the genre showcases a wide range of musical influences and a highly inventive style, often pushing the boundaries of what can be done both vocally and instrumentally, making them a very exciting choice as guest curator for Sled Island 2026!

Along with guest curator duties, clipping. will perform at the #1 Royal Canadian Legion (116 7 Ave SE) on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Sled Island passes grant access to this show (subject to capacity).

Each year, Sled Island’s guest curator puts their stamp on the festival through special programming choices and their presence at the event. clipping.’s curatorial selections will be announced in the coming months, along with 200 additional bands, comedy, visual art and conference programming chosen by the festival in multiple venues across Calgary.

Festival passes and individual show tickets for clipping. are ON SALE NOW. Passes are available for a limited time at an early bird rate of 20% off. Payment plans are also available for purchases of $50 or more. 

Unfamiliar with clipping.? Check out their recent Tiny Desk Concert — a truly trailblazing performance that exemplifies the group's experimental style — or give their 2025 album Dead Channel Sky a listen to get a feel of what to expect this June!

Thank you to our sponsors and funders at Servus Credit Union, Eighty-Eight Brewing, Dandy Brewing Company, The Beltline BLOX, Structured Abstraction, Calgary Arts Development, The City of Calgary, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Government of Canada, Calgary Hotel Association and SOCAN Foundation.
 

About clipping.

In the hands of clipping., rap is a launchpad for total sonic experimentation. Their chopped-and-spliced approach pairs unrelentingly brutal beats with unrestrained lyricism delivered at a mile-a-minute.

Comprised of William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes and Daveed Diggs, clipping. immediately enthralled listeners with their self-produced 2013 debut, midcity. Only five months later, the trio signed to Sub Pop and dropped their debut studio album, CLPPNG, in 2014. Since then, they have released two EP’s, a scorching live album, several remix collections, and four more studio LP’s. 

All three members of clipping. bring impressive pedigrees to the table. Snipes composes film scores and was a member of the electronic music duo Captain Ahab, while Hutson has released experimental noise music under the names Rale, Anthracite, and Tattered Syntax. One of their most intriguing collaborations was crafting the score for the 2013 documentary Room 237.

Diggs, meanwhile, is a Tony and Grammy-winning actor, whose motormouthed rapping brought both Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson to life in the musical Hamilton. His rhymes piece together fragmented images with esoteric references — and are never written in the first person. 

From contributing a track to The Rick and Morty Soundtrack to collaborating with Rivers Solomon on an award-winning science fiction novel, the breadth of clipping.’s work is vast. Their latest record, 2025’s Dead Channel Sky, moves the needle from straight horror-core to electro-drenched cyberpunk rave-ups, with guest appearances from Aesop Rock and Calgary’s own Cartel Madras. 

As Diggs himself likes to declare, “It’s clipping., bitch.” Show up, get down, and experience what rap can really be.