Sled Island

Another fantastic edition of Sled Island 2012 has come and gone! The sixth annual music and arts festival was the most successful to date and featured 246 bands, 11 comedians, 11 film screenings, 22 art installations and 9 special events taking place in 38 venues over 6 days in Calgary, Alberta. The first annual East Village Block Party was a huge success drawing massive crowds from all walks of life to enjoy music, sunshine and food trucks on a Thursday afternoon. 

This was another year marked by unreal performances in unique spaces. Highlights from Sled Island 2012 include Feist mesmerizing the rain-soaked crowd at Olympic Plaza, Hot Snakes' sweaty and relentless show at Dicken's, Thurston Moore's perfectly destructive set at Theatre Junction GRAND, Willis Earl Beal's stunnner at Ironwood, Tim Hecker blowing minds at Hillhurst United Church and Andrew W.K. joining The Evaporators for an epic afternoon set at the Ship and Anchor. Spirits kept strong even in the rain as festival goers came out in full for the festival's highest turnout to date. It's safe to say this was our best year yet!

Sled Island continues to grow every year! It's become a celebration of international talent combined with a variety of emerging acts to be discovered and incredible local artists performing across a variety on venues concentrated in downtown Calgary and the surrounding areas. The festival would not be possible without the generous support from our over 80 partners, 400+ volunteers, 100+ accredited media, the board of directors, festival staff and many others that dedicate their time and passion to make Sled Island into what it has become today. As the festival grows, more people continue to embrace the magic of Sled Island and new friendships are made! It's important to remember that spirit of Sled Island doesn't have to end with the festival. There's tons of great stuff to do in Calgary year-round. Going out with pals, eating amazing food and hosting visitors can all be done. The energy that exists during Sled Island exists within us. Calgary is a great city if we want it to be. It takes a lot of small steps to keep it up! We encourage everyone to ride their bikes, host parties and enjoy life to the fullest.

The planning for Sled Island 2013 is already underway! Our festival dates have been set for June 19 - 22, 2013. Keep posted for early bird passes on sale, the initial lineup announcement and more details coming soon. Based on the success of Sled Island 2012, you can only expect that Sled Island 2013 will be bigger and better than ever with more incredible performances in unique spaces, plus comedy, film, art and an expanded special events section! Stay tuned.

It was an amazing last day to Sled Island despite the soggy weather in Calgary. Festival curator Danny Vacon rocked out with The Dudes to a joyous crowd at Olympic Plaza in the afternoon. Die hard fans of The Hold Steady kept it positive in the rain for an epic 75-minute set to cap the day at Olympic Plaza. Elsewhere Andrew W.K.'s party at the No. 1 Legion erupted into a frenzy, Daedelus with Archemedues was spectacular, Archers of Loaf laid down a stellar set and Ladyhawk provided the perfect party rock anthems to cap this year's epic festival. Special thanks to everyone who came out and partied with us over the last four days. We love you, all! Watch Saturday's recap video here.

Sled Island might be over, but that doesn't mean the party has to stop! It's the Panache Wrap Up BBQ Party at Republik from 3 - 10pm today. Come down for the fantastic bands including Duchess Says, dig into the free BBQ lunch and embrace the awesome week that we shared running around to multiple venues, catching incredible performances, discovering new bands, meeting pals, new and old, and realizing that Calgary is a wonderful place to be. Show up with your wristband and get in to the show for free. Walkup tickets are $15. It's an 18+ event. Join us for one last hoorah to cap an amazing festival year thanks to all the wonderful people that came out and made it happen again!

Stay tuned for more festival recap photos and videos, our annual survey and more coming soon.

Last night was jam-packed with memorable performances at Sled Island! The rain didn't soak the spirits of the Sled faithful who came out in full for Friday night of the festival. Olympic Plaza turned into a music lover's oasis in the middle of downtown Calgary. Feist performed a mesmerizing 90-minute set that captured the hearts and minds of the audience. Streets were buzzing with festival goers bouncing between venues through out the night. Thurston Moore delivered a flawlessly destructive set at Theatre Junction GRAND, Reigning Sound played the tightest 60 minutes set of the fest at the No. 1 Legion and Boris melted minds for their final show at The Distillery. Duchess Says fired things up at Bamboo and The Strange Boys had a packed crowd swooning at Broken City. Both Duchess Says and The Strange Boys are playing again tonight, don't miss you chance to see them! Watch Friday's recap video here.

Sled Island is gearing up for another day of amazing music, awesome vibes, food trucks and more! Bring your kids, bring your pals, bring em' all to Olympic Plaza. Gates open at 2pm. Come out early to catch Montreal's Parlovr followed by Toronto dance hall act Bonjay and avant-rap duo Shabazz Palaces. Our beloved The Dudes will be rocking the stage at 6:30pm. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks will be laying it down for the indie rock-loving faithful and The Hold Steady will be keepin' it positive with a rockin' 75-minute set to cap the night at Olympic Plaza! Walkup tickets are available for $50 subject to venue capacity. Olympic Plaza is a fully licensed venue, welcome to all-ages!

Andrew W.K's Hand Picked Mega Party House is happening at the No. 1 Legion tonight! It's the last night for comedy at the Auburn, show up early to ensure a spot! The Ballantynes will be rocking it at The Blues Can and Doldrums and Prince Rama will be throwing a psyched-out dance party at Broken City. Don't miss The Strange Boys at Dicken's, Duchess Says ripping it up at Distillery for the CJSW showcase! Daedelus & Archimedes are combining forces for an all-out electro and visual dance party. Potential gem of the fest, Bennik/West/Ex will be elevating the crowd with their musical excellence at Ironwood. Get rowdy with Ladyhawk at Palomino and stick around for the Secret Guest at Ship and Anchor tonight. Indie rock icons Archers of Loaf are at Republik and YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN are at Theatre Junction GRAND. Hop around, bike safely and enjoy the last night of Sled Island to the absolute fullest!

Sled Island is a festival full of discovery! Here's a list of the bands to catch if you're looking to find something new in a particular style of music, wether it be Local Dream Pop or Freedom Disco!

Local Dream Pop: Lab Coast (9pm) at Ironwood 
Curator Swoon Tunes: Dojo Workhorse (1:45pm) at Broken City
Garage Synth Punk: Teledrome (11pm) at the Distillery
Reverb-drenched Space Pop: Gothic Tropic (11pm) at Broken City
Perfect Pop: Quaker Parents (3pm) at Local 510
Freedom Disco: Renny Wilson (2pm) at Tubby Dog
Psych Pop Rock: Each Other (10pm) at Tubby Dog 
Chiptune Electro: Greyscreen (9:30pm) at Undermountain

Walk Up Tickets will be made available at the doors for all Sled Island events subject to venue capacity. Have fun, it's the last night of Sled Island 2012, live it up and create some memories to last until next year! We love you all!

Huge thanks to everyone that came out to East Village Block Party, it was a mega success! We couldn't have asked for better weather, the vibes were amazing and it was great seeing so many people dancing under the sun! Boris performed "Feedbacker" in it's entirity for the first time in Canada, Tim Hecker built a lush sonicscape at Hillhurst United Church, and Willis Earl Beal was incredible at Ironwood! Shabazz Palaces performed to a packed house at Broken City and the mosh pit at The Distillery was crazy for The Urinals! Comedy at the Auburn was slammed again, show up early to get in! Watch Wednesday's recap video here.

The Sled Island weekend is upon us! Get out early for Weird Instruments, Weird Sounds. Hosted by Nate Young and Jim Magas for noon at National Music Centre, Calgary's own synthesizer museum. Haven't had a chance to attend lot of art events this week? Come by the Fluevog Peanut Gallery for the closing partying for Young, Rich and Tasteless with performances by Victories and Love Cuts this afternoon. We've also got a ton of afternoon bar shows going on today! Broken City, Local 510, The Palmoino, Ship and Anchor, Tubby Dog all have afternoon programming. Best part of all? It's almost all free!

Join us for an unforgettable outdoor concert experience this evening at Olympic Plaza. Calgary's own Feist will be performing in the heart of downtown with the Calgary Tower and City Hall as her backdrop. Also performing tonight is Toronto's eerie folk artist Timber Timbre and Walk Owl. YYC Food Trucks will be at Olympic Plaza to provide audiences with locally-made sustenance throughout the event! Olympic Plaza is a fully licensed event, welcome to all-ages. Gates open at 6pm. Olympic Plaza tickets are on sale for $45 at Ticketmaster and Olympic Plaza. Walk Up tickets are available for $50 subject to venue capacity.

We've got a ton of big shows going on tonight outside of the Olympic Plaza concert! NoMeansNo headline an epic bill with Reigning Sound at the No. 1 Legion, Montreal punks Duchess Says are at Bamboo, Japanese heavy act Boris are leaving no prisoners for their final performance at The Distillery, swoon away at The Strange Boys show at Broken City, get surfy with Hooded Fang for the Pop Montreal showcase at Dicken's, folk songstress Devon Sproule headlines the Ironwood, Craig Finn holds his own weight at The Palomino, Larry & His Flask rip things up at the Ship and Anchor, Thurston Moore performs with a full band at Theatre Junction GRAND, and Todd Barry, Tim Heidecker, Natasha Leggero, Neil Hamburger are co-headling a stacked comedy bill Aubrun Saloon. Remember that if you have your heart set on a particular act, make sure to show up early to get in!

Sled Island is a festival full of discovery! Here's a list of the bands to catch if you're looking to find something new in a particluar style of music, wether it be Zombie Garage Rock or Summertime Jams!

Local Garage Punk: The Folsoms (10:30pm) at Legion
Dreamy Folk Pop: Jessica Jalbert (11pm) at The Blues Can
Zombie Garage Rock: The Gooeys (noon) at Broken City
Western Party Rock: Cowpuncher (11:30pm) at Palomino (Upstairs)
Andrew W.K. Approved: Bad Brilliance (10pm) at Tubby Dog
Party Rock: HighKicks (9pm) at Twisted Element
Summerime Jams: Travis Bretzer (4pm) at Palomino (Upstairs)
Post-hardcore: Greys (9:30pm) at Undermountain

Pass pickup is available at the Simmons Building (618 Confluence Way SE) in the East Village from 12pm - 8pm. Olympic Plaza tickets are available at Ticketmaster and Olympic Plaza. Walk Up tickets will be made available at the doors for all Sled Island events subject to venue capacity. Have fun, and enjoy your weekend with friends, new and old, at Sled Island! 

Wow! Sled Island's amazing first night is now under wraps! People came out in droves to multiple events at venues, large to small, all over the city. Comedy at the Auburn Saloon was packed from the get-go, the weather held up for the CSIF: Outdoor Classic Film Screening at the Old Y Courtyard, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet delivered their hits and more at the No. 1 Legion and the epic secret guest at Dicken's turned out to be heavy rockers Boris from Japan! 

Come one, come all to the East Village Block Party (4-10pm), the free outdoor event happening on the RiverWalk in the East Village. The event will feature live performances by Flosstradamus and more on a stage curated by the HiFi Club, a street-style skateboard competition hosted by Vans Shoe Company and The Source, a special edition of Calgary's favourite community arts market hosted by the Market Collective and YYC Food Trucks on site to provide festival goers with locally-made sustenance throughout the event!

Tonight features an absorbent amount of incredible Sled Island shows including Boris who will perform "Feedbacker" in it's entirity at Commonwealth, Tim Hecker's sonically dense set at Hillhurst United Church, Shabazz Palaces reaching new heights at Broken City, The Sadies rocking at the No. 1 Legion. Hot Snakes are performing a wristband-only event at Dicken's, show up early to get in. Don't miss this rare chance to see L.A. punk legends The Urinals at the Distillery, Chicago-based crooner Willis Earl Beal at Ironwood, the secret guest at HiFi Club, the incredible Reigning Sound at Republik, sweet singing Jolie Holland at Theatre Junction GRAND, Cherie Lily werkin' it at Twisted Element plus so much more!

Americana Folk Rock: Fiver at the Legion 
Spazz Rock: Role March at Bamboo 
Lo-fi Surf Rock: Cousins at Ironwood 
Power Punk Jams: The Evaporators at National Music Centre
More All-Ages Fun: The You Are Minez! at The New Black
Perfect Pop: Sheer Agony at the Palomino 
Experimental Noise: Androgynous Mind at Ship and Anchor

Pass pickup and purchase is now available at the Simmons Building (618 Confluence Way SE) in the East Village till June 22nd from 12pm - 8pm daily. Festival Passes are also available online and at Sloth Records. Olympic Plaza Tickets are available at Ticketmaster and Sloth Records. Walk Up Tickets will be made available at the doors for all Sled Island shows (except Dicken's on Thursday, June 21) subject to venue capacity.

Green Island is an important aspect of the festival! Since it's inception, Sled Island has been continually working to lessen our impact on the environment and surrounding community. This year we've introduced bike racks through out the city and a bike rental program (email bikes@sledisland.com to reserve yours!) at our main festival hub, the Simmons Building in the East Village. Riding your bike around during Sled Island is not only a great environmental choice it's also the quickest way to get to the next show! Memorize The City of Calgary’s pathways and bikeways map that can be found here.

Thanks to Cenovus Energy our main outdoor stage at Olympic Plaza is plastic water bottle free for Sled Island 2012! Be sure to bring your reusable water bottle and fill up at the nearest watering hole at Olympic Plaza. In an effort to minimize waste we'll have recycling & compost stations set up around Olympic Plaza to help sort any waste that is created. Feel free to spark a conversation with one of our outstanding Green Island volunteers about what they're doing and how you can help the cause!

Be sure to check out all the shows at the AREA in Inglewood, which is our official Green Island venue . There will be bike powered shows taking place with the help of Arusha and Cyclepalooza. All you need to do is hop on a bike to keep the music going. Special thanks to all out green sponsors that help make our efforts possible and to everyone doing their own part to create a better and cleaner environment for us all. Find out more about what's going and what can be done on Green Island's page here. 

Last night's kick off party was packed and an amazing time had by all thanks to The Dudes, DJ Jonathan Toubin and pals! Special thanks to everyone that came out to get the Sled Island party started on a Tuesday! Over at Sloth Records, C1RCA x Sled Island Poster Show was a huge hit! Watch the recap video from last night to get a sense of the excitement already going on!

Sled Island 2012 is officially underway! We've got so much exciting stuff to look forward to in the next couple days! Start your night with a life-affirming talk by festival curator Andrew W.K. on Partying (6pm) at Goodlife Community Bike Shop. Another special event happening early this evening is Christopher J. J. Reimer (6pm), a collection of photos and ambient recordings from a dearly missed musical stalwart at MOCA. Sled Island Film is wrapping up tonight with an early screening of Bloodied But Unbowed: Uncut (7:10pm) with punk legend Art Bergmann followed by a punk rock show at the Hifi Club. And, tonight mark's the start of Comedy at Sled Island with the apple-juice loving Hannibal Burress, Nick Flanagan, and local comedians supplying the laughs to start the night!

It's still hard to believe, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are performing tonight at #1 Legion for the first time in 16 years! Don't miss this rare chance to see the influential instrumental band reform with Dallas Good from The Sadies on bass. Speaking of legends, Lou Barlow is taking the stage at Commonwealth for a special acoustic performance. Over at the Ironwood is Joe Perince along with Samantha Savage Smith. Don't miss the haunting Timber Timbre perform at the stunning Theatre Junction GRAND. On the heavier side we've got you covered with And So I Watch You From Afar, Russian Circles and special guest at Dicken's. Show up early to ensure a spot to see The Antlers perform at Republik tonight. Keep things scrappy and fun with so-cal punks Death By Stereo at The New Black. Don't forget the CSIF: Outdoor Classic Film Screening at the Old Y Courtyard. Bring a pillow and blanket! Or if you're in the mood for an electro goth dance party cap your night with Trust at Broken City going until 2am.

Discoveries of the night! Here's a list of the bands and shows to catch if you're looking to discover something new in a particluar style of music, wether it be americana folk rock or all-ages fun! 

Garage Synth Rock: Open Channels at Bamboo
Americana Folk Rock: Ramblin' Ambassadors at The Blues Can
Local Hip Hop: Dragon Fli Empire at NMC
Perfect Pop: Watermelon at Palomino
Groove Metal: Falcon at Ship and Anchor
All-ages Fun: The Collective at Saint Stephens

Pass pickup and purchase is now available at the Simmons Building (618 Confluence Way SE) in the East Village till June 22nd from 12pm - 8pm daily. Festival Passes are also available online and at Sloth Records. Olympic Plaza Tickets are available at Ticketmaster and Sloth Records. Walk Up Tickets will be made available at the doors for all Sled Island shows (except Dicken's on Thursday, June 21) subject to venue capacity. 

Art at Sled Island begins tonight and we couldn't be more excited about it! In collaboration with the Alberta College of Art + Design, Sled Island offers a plethora of amazing venue-specific original art works, daily exhibit openings at independent galleries around the city, spectacular stage installations and more!

Starting tonight is the C1RCA x Sled Island Poster Show (6-9pm) at Sloth Records which is your chance to own a limited edition, three-colour, hand silk-screened poster by local designers and illustrators, Rick Silva and Justin Waddell curated the speed show Exterior Scrolls - a full internet cafe takeover - running right across the street in Cyberspace Cafe. Everyone at Sled Island is humbled to present Christopher J. J. Reimer, a collection of photographs and ambient recordings by a dearly missed musical stalwart presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary on Wednesday, June 20th. Proceeds from this exhibition will benefit a memorial fund in Chris’ name.

One of our favourite aspects of Art at Sled Island is the venue-specific work on display throughout the festival! CLOUD, a hyper-2D stage installation will be presented for audiences in the Republik through out the week. Venue installations include Lost in the Super Market at the Simmons Building in the East Village, Television STATIC in Theatre Junction GRAND, Daddy's Gurrl 2.0 at Twisted Element on Thursday only, Lying at the No. 1 Legion and Young, Rich and Tasteless at the Fluevog Gallery.

Join us for the Pineal Hand - Jack Bride Artist Talk (7pm) on Thursday at Untitled Art Society. Don't miss the Young, Rich and Tasteless closing party on Friday at the Fluevog Party with live performances by Victories and Love Cuts. Sled Island Festival Discovery and Discovery Plus passes gain access to all Art at Sled Island exhibitions and events. Exhibitions at 809, Cyberspace Cafe, Fluevog Peanut Gallery, Haight Gallery, MOCA Calgary, Skew Gallery, and Untitled Arts Society are free.

Tonight mark's the eve of the Sled Island Music and Art Festival and it's due time to get the party started! Start your night off at the C1RCA x Sled Island Poster Show (6 - 9pm) at Sloth Records. This is your chance to own a limited edition, three-colour, hand silk-screened poster by local designers and illustrators. Poster lovers should make their way over to The HiFi Club for Just Like Being There (7:20pm), an amazing documentary of the larger gig poster community. Stick around for a screening of She Said Boom: The Story of Fifth Column (9:30pm) followed by a Q&A with Don Pyle of Shadowy Men of a Shadowy Planet, whose bands in performing tomorrow night for the first time in 16 years with Dallas Good from The Sadies on bass at the No 1. Legion. Wowza.

Kicking off tonight at 7:30pm is Nudie Jeans Presents: The Best Effing Night of The Best Effing Week of The Best Year of the Best Life of Your Life Kick-Off Show featuring Calgary's beloved sons The Dudes, DJ Jonathan Toubin spinning straight 45's, Vancouver's poppy rockers Bend Sinister, the always quirky Shotgun Jimmie, and Calgary perennial hip hop prodigy Ricca Razor Sharp at the Commonwealth Bar & Stage. Festival Discovery and Discovery Plus pass holders will have access to the kick-off show and all shows at Sled Island subject to their venue capacity. Walkup tickets will be available for $25 at the door subject to capacity. Show up early to make sure you get into this phenomenal kick-off party with festival curator Danny Vacon plus all the incredible Sled Island fans that can't wait to get the non-stop party started for Sled Island 2012! 

Pass pickup and purchase is now available at the Simmons Building (618 Confluence Way SE) in the East Village till June 22nd from 12pm - 8pm daily. Festival Passes are also available on the website and at Sloth Records. Olympic Plaza Tickets are available at Ticketmaster and Sloth Records. Limited Single Show Tickets are on sale at Prime Box Office and Sloth Records. Walk Up Tickets will be made available at the doors for all Sled Island shows (except Dicken's on Thursday, June 21) subject to venue capacity. Click here to get an overview on ways to attend Sled Island and remeber to show up early for any shows that you've got you heart set on! There's always plenty to discover at Sled Island!  

Sled Island starts tonight with several film screenings appealing to music lovers and the creatively curious! Sled Island Film is an off-the-beaten-path boutique of auteur and independent cinema spread over next three days in three venues around the city!

Sled Island's use of unconventional venues extends into film this year with screenings going on at The HiFi Club, Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association and a special outdoor screening at the Old Y Courtyard on Wednesday! Tonight's programming features a couple must-see music docs, What Did You Expect? The Archers of Loaf Live at Cat's Cradle (7:10pm), and Uprising: Hip Hop and The LA Riots (9:10pm) screening at the HiFi Club. Over at the Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association we're screening Lost and Sound (7:20pm), a moving creative documentary, made by a partially deaf filmmaker followed by Shorts - Showcase (9:10pm) featuring Calgary's Tubby Doc and more!

Show poster lovers should make the effort to check out tomorrow night's C1RCA x Sled Island Poster Show at Sloth Records and then head to see the fantastic poster show doc, Just Like Being There (7:20pm) at the HiFi Club. Following that is She Said Boom: The Story of Fifth Column (9:30pm) with a special Q&A with Don Pyle of Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet. Over at the Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association is a double screening of The Great Northwestern (7:10pm, 9:10pm). Make sure to come down as we'll be giving out postcards for you to send love to you friends from Sled Island!

Join Director Sussane Tabata and punk legend Art Bergman at the screening Bloodied But Unbowed: Uncut (7:10pm) at the Hifi Club on Wednesday. Also that night is the Shorts - Competition (7:10pm), celebrating the best in narrative, craft, and innovation short films at Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association. And, lastly but certaintly not least CSIF: Outdoor Classic Film Screening (10:30pm) featuring a mystery feature-length propaganda exploitation film in the backyard of the Old Y Courtyard, this is certain to be a memorable evening of cinema under the stars!

Sled Island Festival Discovery Pass and Festival Discovery Plus Pass give access to all Sled Island Film events. Events at The Hifi Club are 18+ (valid ID required), individual tickets are available in advance or at the door for $10.00 adult, $7.00 student/senior (valid ID required). Events at the Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association and CSIF are free and/or by donation, please check listings.

Learn more about Sled Island film by visiting the lineup page and listening to the film-specific podcast here.

We've launched a Mobile Version of our website! All you have to do is visit m.sledisland.com on any smart phone device and you'll be cruising on our easy to use mobile website. Get framiliar with the festival by exploring all the artists, venues, passes and more on the go! iPhone users can bookmark the mobile website onto your homescreens for quick access during the festival. Special thanks goes to Structured Abstraction for designing an intuitive and beautifully-made mobile website that compliments the bound-to-be-award-winning website they also designed.

Another great organization Calgary 2012 have created their own mobile website called SceneYYC that might also be useful! SceneYYC is a mobile website that allows users to check in at places around the city and earn points for doing so, a perfect tool for busy venue hoppers during Sled Island! The person that earns the most points during Sled Island will win a Chad VanGaalen designed tote bag full of Sled Island goodies! Visit www.sceneyyc.com to learn more. 

And, If you're more of the old-fashioned type that likes paper in your hands Program Guides are on the streets now! Pick one up to browse through the 80+ pages of content, artist features, schedule and more! For those looking for something super handy, the schedule in the mddle is actually a removable one and features a map on the back page, a simple yet effective resource to navagate your adventures during the festival. Happy Sledding, everyone! 

Believe it or not, Sled Island features over 30 all-ages concerts including both days at Olympic Plaza, afternoon sets at the bars (Broken City, The Palomino, etc), all four nights at Theatre Junction GRAND, National Music Centre workshops, free events at Tubby Dog, East Village Block Party, plus more! Browse through the festival schedule to find out what's going for the All-Ages crowd at Sled Island! Created specifically for our "under 18" buddies, an All-Ages Pass offers full access to every single all-ages show during Sled Island subject to venue capacity. Whats the best part? All-Ages passes are only $50 bucks! Available at the Simmons Building, shop.sledisland.com and Sloth Records in Calgary.

One of our partners, Barclay Street has generously donated 100 All-Ages Passes to the following organizations: Camp Quality, Boys and Girls Club of Calgary, Kids Up Front and set up an All-Ages Contest via Facebook! If you are under 18, enter by posting a photo or drawing to show how excited you are for Sled Island on your Facebook wall and tag us at Sled Island Festival to win an All-Ages Pass. Be creative and have fun!

In case there wasn't enough value packed into your wristbands, Sled Island is thrilled to be working with a wide range of Community Partners offering special discounts for wristband holders during the festival. All you have to do is show your Sled Island wristband and you'll get 10% off your next coffee at Cafe Beano, 10% off all sorts of bakes goods from Sidewalk Citizen, 15% off a bouquet for that special someone at Peaseblossoms Flowers, 10% off meals or $1 off Sled popsicles at The Coup, Buy one pizza get a second one free (equal or lesser value) at Una Pizza, plus so much more! Check out the full discount guide here.

On top of that Mission Tattoo are offering a 20% discount on all tattoos this week, plus custom flashes are available for $75 - $100 from June 20 to 23 only!

Huge thanks to all of our Community Partners for participating in this generous program. Please remember support your local and independent businesses while out enjoying yourselves this week and every week! 

Just a reminder to all our anxious fans, Sled Island pass pick up and purchase will be available from June 15th to June 22nd from 12pm - 8pm daily, with extended hours during the East Village Block Party on Thursday, June 21st, at the Simmons Buidling located at 618 Confluence Way SE. 

Thanks to a new partnership with East Village, the iconic Simmons Building, will become the hub for volunteers and attendees leading up and during the Sled Island Music and Arts Festival! The Simmons Building building will also be used as the primary hub for the festival's 400+ volunteers, the blood, sweat and (volun)tears of the fesitval! In conjunction with Alberta College of Art + Design, Sled Island is transforming the historic brick walls of the Simmons Building into an art installation featuring original paintings, sculpture and more by some of Calgary's best emerging artists. And, lastly but certainy not least bike rentals will also be available to attendees and artists through a partnership with the Good Life Bike Company during the days of the festival and located in or around the Simmons Building. Email green@sledisland.com to reserve your bicycle today! 

Kick your festival week off right with the 6th annual C1RCA x Sled Island Poster Show at Sloth Records on Tuesday, June 19th from 6 -9pm. This is a unique opportunity to pair local designers, illustrators and artists with musicians playing the festival.

For fans, this is your chance to own a limited edition, three-colour, poster hand silk-screened by the Alberta Printmakers’ Society. 

Featuring artwork by: Dylan Birkholm, Nicole Brunel, Jennifer Crighton, Daniel Curtis, Jeffrey Craig, Jason Deary, Abby Fong, Komboh (Michael W. Mateyko and Hans B. Thiessen), Dean Robertson, Ryan Scott, Dave Teatro.  

Poster Show Director: Josh Ruck.

This year we're offering a pick up or mail home service, so you can purchase your poster and not worry about (spilling beer on) it - we'll mail it to you, or make it available for pick up. Party on!

In combo with the poster show go watch Just Like Being There, a documentary on the greater gig poster community screening at The Hifi Club at 7:20pm on Tuesday, June 19 as part of Sled Island Film. Watch the trailer here. 

We've got some news - news that initially bummed us out but now makes us super happy. With over 230+ bands playing the festival, it's inevitable a small handful will have to cancel for one reason or another. Both, The Spits and BadBadNotGood are no longer able to play Sled Island for their respected reasons. The Spits ran into some hard times, and we did our best to make it work. Unfortunately they had to cancel. BadBadNotGood were offered a top secret recording opportunity that they couldn't refuse. We respect the decision they had to make and hope to see them blowing up in the near future! On the upside, we've now added a couple more bands and shows to the festival that are sure to blow some minds!

We are proud to announce The Urinals, one of the most highly respected bands in punk rock history are now coming to Sled Island. This is the kind of stuff music fans should know about. It's time to shape up and broaden your musical horizons.  Past festival headliners Yo La Tengo did when they cited them as one of their major influences; local legends Women did every time they would take a break in their magical set to cover The Urinals classic  "Black Hole", and so many more. In a few words, this band is important. They are a classic. Go see them. 

Making a return to Sled Island are Ladyhawk, an all-time staff fave from East Vancouver that sound like... every one of your friends ripping their sweaty shirts off in a rock show, like biking in a formidable V by the river late at night, like driving 18 hours straight to Halifax and screaming "I DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING" at 1am in the rain, like playing scrappy baseball… Duffy, Darcy, Sean and Ryan write heartfelt rock songs awash in beer soaked advice, reminding you to make the most of your time, and fuck the rest. 

Chicago-based How To Dress Well and his early '90s R'n'B vibes have been at the top of most the Sled Island staffers' lists of must-see-shows at the festival. With some worries that HTDW's one set at the stunning Theatre Junction GRAND on June 23 might not be enough to accommodate all of the folks wanting to start swoonin' and get smitten, we went ahead and got him a second show at the festival.  It's gonna be all slow jams and smiles at The Hifi Club on Friday, June 22 along with HUMANS and Wax Romeo & AMAK. Stamped, no erasies.

So there you go. We'll be updating the schedules (web and pdf) as soon as we can. In the meantime, give The Urinals, Ladyhawk and How To Dress Well a listen and take comfort in the fact that Sled Island is going to be stellar.