Sled Island 2016 - Downtown Venue Guide

Sled Island 2016 kicks off this week, from June 22nd to 26th you can catch tons of great bands downtown!

Always hard to classify, Sled Island covers a wide range of genres and styles. Over the course of an evening at a venue like the #1 Legion you might hear hip-hop, electronic and punk without batting an eye! You can also experience world class art, film and comedy.

You still have a chance to grab a Sled Island Discovery Pass. This wonderful wristband gives you access (based on capacity) to any of the shows organized as a part of Sled Island, including the big show at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, June 25th. You can also grab tickets to individual shows, but a great way to experience Sled Island (and Downtown Calgary in the process) is by using your wristband to get access to the many shows happening around at any given moment.

Here are some of our top picks for Sled Island 2016:

Royal Canadian Legion Branch #1 - 116 7th avenue SE

The Legion is a great place to check out during Sled Island. With two floors of music happening, you’ll definitely get an earful. Plus it’s located right on the LRT line and there is tons of free bicycle parking nearby! Lots of great music including: New York Post-Punk/Dance group ESG, local lo-fi rock band Blü Shorts, Edmonton MC/Saxophone player Mitchmatik (Wednesday). Local indie rockers Milk Toast, Edmonton’s dark electro-pop duo Concealer, and chiptune act Monroeville Music Center (Thursday). Legendary garage rockers The Sonics, Local Franco-garage band The Synthetiques and local favourites LoveWave (formerly the Pygmies) (Friday). Get a dose of heavy with hype-worthy metal band Deafheaven from San Fransisco and psychedelic metal band Shooting Guns from Saskatoon (Saturday).

John Dutton Theatre - inside the Central Library at 616 Macleod Trail SE

One of many spots for all-ages music! Be sure to catch some great bands including female fronted punk band The Shiverettes (Wednesday), or a presentation of Verses vs. Homelessness (Saturday night).

Central United Church - 131 7 Ave SW

Another all-ages venue, this historic downtown church hosts everything from folk artists like Astral Swans and Angel Olsen (Wednesday) to experimental percussionist Tortoise (Saturday)

Flames Central - 219 8 Ave SW

With hockey season long over, Flames Central will be alive with electronic sounds featuring headlining sets from Polaris prize nominated producer Kaytranada (Friday) and festival curator Peaches (Saturday) and more!

The Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club - 109 7th Ave SW

With two floors of music running Wednesday through Sunday, the Palomino has almost too much music to mention! Be sure to stop by Sunday for the annual Sled Island pig roast, for even more music and some great BBQ! Catch bands like Vancouver’s Jay Arner, local punks/E.T. aficionados Pre Nup (both Saturday), Edmonton’s Jesse & the Dandelions (Friday), Portland Surf Rockers Máscaras, Montreal electro-punks Duchess Says (Thursday), Edmonton indie-pop act Tropic Harbour (Thursday), and much, much, MUCH more!

Theatre Junction Grand - 608 1 St SW

(All Ages) The wonderful Theatre Junction Grand hosts a number of great events during Sled Island. Starting Wednesday, the theatre will screen a film in conjunction with Fairy Tales Film Fest called Desire Will Set You Free, Thursday will feature a number of pop artists including local Aleem Khan, and headliner Julia Holter. Friday will feature music, comedy and a special event workshop for creating safer spaces in both the main, and Studio spaces. Saturday features more music, and more comedy, as well as an artist talk presented in conjunction with the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers.

Dickens - 1000 9th ave SW

Featuring headlining sets from the likes of punk veterans Psychic TV (Friday) and New Bomb Turks (Saturday), with local support from locals like Melted Mirror (Friday) and the Ex-Boyfriends (Saturday). You can also catch some noisy electronic fusion on Thursday night at Dickens as LA noise-rock band HEALTH headlines with support from local ambient/noise duo Form.

Wine-OHs - 811 1 st SW

Wine-OHs will feature a number of great folk/alt-country acts on Friday including local singer-songwriter Lucid 44, and maritime favourite Shotgun Jimmie. Wednesday and Thursday will feature headlining sets from experimental artists JOOKLO ZAPPA and Man Forever (respectively).

Olympic Plaza - 228 8 Ave SE

(All Ages) Saving the biggest and the best for last, Olympic Plaza is the all-ages, all-day spot, featuring beer garden and vendors/food trucks to make it a real festival experience. Taking place Saturday, the day gets kicked off by DJ Evan Van Reekum, and continues with sets that range from the experimental indie-pop of Montreal’s Moon King to the genre defining sounds of indie rock legends like Built to Spill and Guided By Voices.

I’m sure we missed something, so please see the entire Sled Island Schedule for the most up to date and accurate details!

Wow, that’s quite a list! Hope you enjoy Sled Island and be sure to follow us on Instagram, we’ll be posting tons of photos through the entire festival!

Tagged as: music, Sled Island