Mark your calendars for this year’s Sled Island! Attendees can expect to see a cross-genre collection of musical talent during the five-day event. Acts announced to date include genre-defying indie/alternative artist Bartees Strange as guest curator, garage rock chameleons Osees, Chicago-based indie rock three-piece DEHD, cosmic free jazz legends Sun Ra Arkestra, Latin folk innovator Helado Negro (selected by Bartees Strange), Toronto’s viral hip-hop sensation Akintoye, gothic folk artist Emma Ruth Rundle (playing a solo piano set at Central United Church), Philadelphia-based punk rock revolutionaries Mannequin Pussy, alternative R&B/hip-hop artist Amindi, indie pop musician and trans activist Vivek Shraya, Toronto-based rapper and 2019 Polaris Music Prize winner Haviah Mighty, and indie pop musician SPELLLING.
The full lineup also includes post-metal supergroup SUMAC, progressive black metal outfit Liturgy, experimental metal duo The Body, Portland-based heavy psych four-piece Blackwater Holylight, Montreal post-punk trio Cola, Mexican grunge-meets-shoegaze outfit Margaritas Podridas, experimental electro-pop duo Water From Your Eyes, bossa nova-infused psych-folk artist Sessa, Brooklyn-based garage rock trio THICK, Montreal electronic punk duo Pelada, ambient metal trio BIG|BRAVE, and genre-bending death metal three-piece Suffering Hour.
Sled Island has also announced that Juno award-winning comedian and Ramy actor Dave Merheje will be this year’s comedy headliner! He will be joined by other hilarious acts for two nights of comedy Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24 at the Globe Cinema.
Each year, Sled Island’s guest curator helps to shape the festival’s programming. Bartees Strange’s previously mentioned selection, Helado Negro, is rounded out by an incredible collection of talent, including grunge-meets-indie group Pom Pom Squad, soulful singer-songwriter KAINA, Japanese jazz rap artist and saxophonist Sen Morimoto, math rock-inspired emo outfit Gulfer, Philadelphia-based electronic beatmaker JWords, genre-agnostic alternative act Maneka, and acclaimed avant-garde rapper Maassai, and more still to be announced. Along with guest curator duties, Bartees Strange will perform at the #1 Royal Canadian Legion on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
The Sled Island Music & Arts Festival takes place each June across multiple Calgary venues. The event showcases music, comedy, film and art, and attracts more than 40,000 attendees each year, receiving rave reviews from both local and international attendees, artists and media.
Passes and single show tickets are on sale now at SledIsland.com!
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