Sled Island

We're thrilled to announce that New York experimental hardcore trio Show Me the Body will be joining us as guest curator for Sled Island 2024, running June 19 - 23! The group’s cross-genre musical approach, ceremonial live shows, dedication to creating inclusive spaces, and commitment to fostering a global sense of community made them a very fitting choice for this role, and we’re excited to be working with them for next year’s festival.

Along with guest curator duties, Show Me the Body will perform at the #1 Royal Canadian Legion (116 7th Ave. SE) on Saturday, June 22, 2024. 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. Show Me the Body’s curatorial selections, to be announced in the coming months, will join over 200 additional bands, comedy, film, visual art and conference programming chosen by the festival in multiple venues across Calgary.

Passes go on sale this Friday, December 8 at noon MST at a special early bird rate of 20% off, and will be available at SledIsland.com, and Lukes Drug Mart (112 4th St. NE). Payment plans and all-ages passes will also be available. For more information, visit SledIsland.com/Passes.

Unfamiliar with Show Me the Body? Start with their 2022 LP Trouble The Water, about which Pitchfork said the band “strike gold” with “daring” music in a glowing review. Also, be sure to check out some of their live footage available on YouTube to get a sense of what we're in store for this June! 

Thank you to our sponsors and funders at connectFirst Credit Union, Lukes Drug Mart, Eighty-Eight Brewing, Dandy Brewing Company, Calgary Arts Development, The City of Calgary, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Structured Abstraction, Venture for Canada, and the Government of Canada.

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This holiday season, we are asking for your help to get us to our $25,000 fundraising goal, which will be directly invested in the production of our 2024 festival. The Government of Alberta will match 30% of funds raised (up to a max of $15,000) for eligible campaigns that raise a minimum of $5,000. A tax receipt will be issued in exchange of donations of $10 or more!

To donate, visit SledIsland.com/Donate.

If you have attended Sled Island in the past, you know that it is a one-of-a-kind music festival full of new experiences, friendships and connections. Sled Island is dear to attendees, local artists, small businesses and hundreds of community partners who come together each June to celebrate our independent music and arts scene, while also welcoming exciting talents from far and wide.

Beyond our annual festival, we work hard year-round to nurture the local music scene, advocate for our sector, give opportunities to local musicians and offer you more unique shows, all while operating with a small permanent staff of four people.

Putting on a festival like Sled Island in Calgary is expensive. The current high inflation rate, coupled with the increasing price of flights and a weak Canadian dollar are putting unprecedented stress on our budget. We are committed to our event remaining financially accessible but for that, we need your help. 

Thank you for your generous support!

The always entertaining and unpredictable Sled Island Rock Lotto will make its triumphant return on Saturday, November 18!

Join us at the Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club, where we’ll bring together 25 musicians from various backgrounds and draw names from a hat to form one-off bands for one night only, with just 12 hours to write and perform new material!

This year, the event is focused on creating meaningful connections between musicians just starting their music journey in the city and artists more familiar with the Calgary music scene, with the goal of fostering a more diverse music ecosystem and increasing equitable access to creative opportunities for all.

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Prepare yourself for another legendary CJSW x Sled Island Halloween Party! 👻🎃

That’s right! CJSW, Sled Island, and Last Best Brewing are excited to present Adventure Awaits... a Halloween Party at the #1 Royal Canadian Legion on Saturday, October 28! Join us to celebrate the 2023 CJSW One Radio, Endless Adventure Funding Drive, with three floors of fun ranging from the best local bands playing your favourite epic adventure tunes on the main floor, a video dance party with CJSW VJs upstairs, and a dance dungeon in the basement!

Don’t forget to dress up, because the costume contest will be giving away some awesome prizes from CJSW, Sled Island and Last Best!

Tickets for this event are now SOLD OUT. 

Remember to support Calgary's campus and community radio station by donating to the 2023 CJSW Funding Drive by visiting CJSW.com/Donate.

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Sled Island is hiring a full-time, permanent Fund Development Manager to lead the organization's sponsorship and donation activities.

Who We Are

Sled Island is a charitable organization with the mandate of fostering understanding and appreciation of music & arts underrepresented in mainstream media, and to nurture the local artistic community through performance and educational opportunities. Our main activity is the presentation of the annual Sled Island Music & Arts Festival, a pillar of Calgary’s cultural calendar taking place each June, that brings together thousands of artists, volunteers, partners, and attendees from across the country and beyond. We also present year-round artistic and educational programming through numerous community partnerships, aimed at increasing awareness of Sled Island on an ongoing basis.

Sled Island is a community-centric organization driven by values of curiosity and diversity, on and off the stage, and committed to principles of equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression. We recognize the systemic lack of representation of equity-deserving communities in the current non-profit art space, and strongly encourage members of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities; people with disabilities; people identifying as LGBTQIA2S+; and women to apply.

Would you require any accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact us at hr@sledisland.com so we may meet your needs.

Who You Are and What You Will Do

Working closely with and reporting to the Executive Director, the Fund Development Manager will help craft and oversee the implementation of innovative sponsorship development strategies and creative fundraising events & campaigns, as well as create systems and processes to build Sled Island’s fundraising capacity. This is a unique opportunity to leverage Sled Island’s charitable status to create a lasting impact, both within the organization and in the community.

To fill this role, we’re looking for someone passionate about advancing our mission and who can articulate, and advocate for, the importance and impact of music & arts. Our ideal candidate is a people person who’s not afraid to pick up the phone and attend networking events, and who can seamlessly navigate between the corporate and arts/non-profit world. A self-starter who likes to think outside the box and is motivated by reaching targets, in addition to meeting the qualification requirements listed further down.

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