Festival to transform Saskatoon’s 20th Street into sustainable, bike-friendly public space
Park(ing) Day, an annual worldwide event, has returned to Saskatoon.
Over the course of Friday, September 20, 20th Street West will undergo a radical transformation. Metered parking spaces will be turned into mini parks. Pop up fashion stores and art galleries will come alive.
And that ugly parking lot on Avenue B and 20th will be transformed into a festival celebrating local music and art.
Here’s what you can expect to see music-wise:
Outdoor Main Stage (20th St & Ave B)
Slow Down, Molasses – 12pm
Called “the Broken Social Scene of the prairies” by Exclaim Magazine, Slow Down Molasses takes cues from the wide open spaces of their home, crafting expansive, texture-heavy pop songs that are prone to breaking into storm squalls of drone, delay and feedback.
Minor Matter – 1pm
Minor Matter combines light-footed orchestral instrumentation along with unorthodox folk pop song structures. Their songs are comprised of dense harmonies that are whimsically playful – a blissfully eccentric listen.
The Bad Decisions- 2pm
Combining fuzzed-out rhythms with gut-punch folk, The Bad Decisions are the latest heavy hitters to emerge from Saskatoon’s beardo rock scene.
Bastard Poetry – 3pm
With songs inspired by front man Alex Shenton’s earnest lyrics, Bastard Poetry are rough-hewn but warm-hearted. Musically the group takes elements of campfire and combines it with rousing, anthemic punk rock hoary choruses.
Apollo Cruz – 4pm
Apollo Cruz are still the youngsters of Saskatoon’s blues scene, but they have already developed a refined sound that combines elements of rock, funk, country, reggae and jazz. And party.
Smokekiller – 5pm
Earnest folk songwriting meets plaintive acoustic guitar plucking on Always With You, the latest album from John Antoniuk aka Smokekiller. His performances are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes jubilant, but always honest.
Keiffer & the Curiosity Club – 6pm
Keiffer Mclean is the latest prairies songwriter to emerge from the province. On his single “Headful of Diamonds”, a brilliantly wistful prairies folk ode, Mclean croons overtop of smooth, seductive instrumentation.
– Check out Ominocity’s recent interview with Keiffer Mclean HERE.
Make Liars – 7pm
A raucous power-trio, Saskatoon’s Make Liars take taut rhythms and mash them liberally with muscular rock riffs and sandpaper coarse vocals.
Evening Party (Inside The Two Twenty – 220 20th St W)
Rory Borealis & The Northern Lights – 8pm
Borealis is equal parts balladry and northern prairies amble. Combining a strutting folk acoustic sound along with the brassy march of a trumpet, Rory Borealis & The Northern Lights are the soothing moment when the beer is cold and the crowd is chill.
Howl Howl – 9pm
Taking their inspiration from the ebb and flow of global protest, Howl Howl utilize live instrumentation along with electronica and spitfire hip-hop rhymes to create a unique and polarizing sound.
HairDu Records DJs – 10pm-1am
A Saskatoon record label that focuses primarily on emerging electronic and DJ artists, HairDu Records has become the new epicenter of prairies party-rocking.