BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition June 2019

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SLED ISLA ND NOLAN KNIGHT Sled Island, Calgary’s dynamic discovery indie music festival is back for another stacked five days. Sled delivers thoughtful, engaging and diverse programming that has become a focal point for the music and arts community in Western Canada. No matter your vibe, Sled Island offers entry points for everyone while also digging deep enough for new favourites to emerge. June 19 to 23, 2019 / Various Locations / Tix: sledisland.com By SEBASTIAN BUZZALINO 20 BEATROUTE JUNE 2019 JULIEN BAKER SLED ISLAND 2019’s GUEST CURATOR J ulien Baker’s delicate folk songwriting feels like a long-forgotten favourite sweater. She is emotive and resilient, leaving wideopen spaces for listeners to enter her songs and feel right at home, tackling tough topics like trauma, substance abuse and self-acceptance. It’s at once comforting and disarming. In 2018, she co-founded boygenius, a supergroup of sorts with Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers. As this year’s guest curator, Baker uses her powerful voice to add poetry to Sled Island, contributing artists such as Bully, Death Bells, Japanese Breakfast and JPEG- MAFIA to the lineup. We caught up with her to talk about the process of guest curating the festival, what her vision was for the bands she brings to Sled Island and how it all fits together into the larger picture for 2019. What was it like to get approached by Sled Island to be guest curator? JB I’ve never done anything similar to curating Sled Island or anything close to that scale, so being approached by the festival was both a massive honour and a daunting task. It felt like an enormous gift to have a say in what kind of acts would be brought to the festival and I was happy I would get to help create a lineup full of artists that bring me so much joy. I also felt a slight amount of apprehension because I wanted festival-goers to enjoy and be able to engage with the music as much as I do. I think it was an exercise for me in letting go of suppositions or trying to anticipate the desires of others.
What are you most proud of in your role as guest curator? JB I wanted booking the festival to be a more thoughtful process than just picking my favourite bands: I mostly wanted to make sure that there were a variety of experiences and narratives presented. So I tried to balance things, make sure the acts weren’t all completely obscure and also that they weren’t all within such a similar vein that it was alienating to people who maybe preferred another genre. I tried to view my role as curator as a chance to redirect attention to the artists that I believe have something important to impart to people or who have moved me. I think I wanted to, in the most humble way possible, put music in front of people that has affected me and that I think could affect them in a meaningful way. You are Sled Island’s youngest guest curator to date. Do you feel that allowed you to bring a different vibe to guest curating? JB It was an enormous honour, while a little intimidating. I find I’m usually a student of those much older or much younger than me, those who are either much more privy to the current or much more versed in the past. Both categories of people seem to have a more comprehensive understanding of music’s intricate, constantly emerging history. I suppose that is true of any person, since no two people are going to have the exact same musical taste or preference. I think one of the great things about this festival is that it sort of eliminates the stratification between those who organize the fest and those who attend. It changes the format, removes the somewhat invisible arbiters of taste who curate a lineup and decide what is worthy of attention. I think getting rid of that perceived superiority gap creates a context that seems much more intimate and more human, the guest curator is just offering their individual knowledge to the communal awareness, saying, “Here is something that feels valuable and important and worthy to me. I hope that you can derive as much joy from it as I have.” To me, music has always been an exercise in shared curiosity and I hope that, if anything, that spirit of curiosity and ongoing conversation is my contribution to Sled Island this year. Julien Baker plays Saturday, June 22 at The Palace Theatre 4ESSENTIAL SHOWS 3 CASS MCCOMBS Wednesday, June 19 Central United Church There’s nothing flat about the earthy tones of modern troubadour Cass McCombs’ latest album, Tip of the Sphere. After all, the California-bred singer-songwriter is a seasoned professional when it comes to surveying life’s emotional peaks and valleys. Armed with a sharp ear and a steady hand, the politically-minded myth-maker draws on traditional Western rock, folk and punk to 1 MAN OR ASTRO MAN? Saturday, May 22 Dickens Pub A radioactive rock and roll juggernaut dedicated to bringing the good word of science fiction to the galaxy, Man or Astro-Man? have scoured the globe to fill their set with the most stimulating sounds and diminutive lyrics in the known universe. Attracting alien species from all quadrants with an array of zany but airtight tracks, their performances encapsulate the atomic excitement of an Apollo 2 BULLY Friday, June 21 Palace Theatre There’s no better stress relief than forming a punk rock band and venting frustrations with chords and kick drums. Alicia Bognanno has never needed much of an excuse to rebel against the status quo. As the front woman of Nashville’s Bully, she’s strapped herself into both the driver’s seat weave vivid narratives for modern times. He’s an alt-country architect with a pop-coloured vision that has been framed out over the course of a 10-album and 15-year career. Mc- Combs has made exploration and experimentation the crux of his practice. Some songs meander like lazy rivers while others leap and gallop like horses fleeing a burning stable, but they all reference classic Americana. For McCombs, it’s not about recreating the past, but reflecting on a shared history in a relatable and authentic way. Seductive in all its mangy dog splendour, McCombs’ signature sound with its dark humour, harmonic brain dumps and counterculture root-downs has the potential to unclog cognitive filters and flood the hidden catacombs of the human soul. Christine Leonard splashdown, complete with all the rocket-fuelled and the producer’s chair in order to launch their dangerous garage rock dreams into the stratosphere. Brave enough to expose wounds old and fresh, Bognanno channels her excess angst and energy on the stage and in the studio. After five years of slogging it out, the heavy hooks and hard turns that have defined Bully’s rough exterior are more than 4 RAPSODY Thursday, June 20 Palace Theatre Rapsody (aka Marlanna Evans) is a modern hip-hop enigma. The rapper grew up in the small town of Snow Hill, NC, and did not discover her love of hip-hop until she entered college. No matter if Evans was a late bloomer, she has germinated and taken root in the music scene, establishing herself as a smooth, sophisticated emcee, known for her elaborate rhyme configurations, wordplay and metaphors. Her sophomore release, Laila’s Wisdom (2017), was met with critical acclaim and saw her collaborating with some of hip-hop’s biggest stars, including Anderson .Paak, J. Cole, H.E.R. and Kendrick Lamar. Channeling chill west coast vibes from g-funk-era soul samples with the raw grit, bounce and technicality of east coast production, Rapsody delivers an authentic blend of hip-hop and R&B. Tory Rosso antics fans have come to expect from these punk just crude devices. Bully rules the hallways with a strict DIY dress code of fuzzy guitars and neon screams that go beyond the easy 90s Seattle scene comparisons. Warmed by the glow of Bognanno’s fiery lyrics, the band’s stripped down style sets aside the artificial and allows their naked skills to shine through the noise, grunge and glamour. Christine Leonard rock kosmonauts. Roll over, Dick Dale! Here we have mercurial surf guitar mechanics with instrumental ranges that rival those slick-haired stringbenders of the early 60s. Claiming the dance floor as their personal Area 51, this Tesla-coil crew sets the scene for close encounters with the light fantastic. Undeniably catchy, Man or Astro-Man?’s nimble picking and rumbling rhythms are the perfect soundtrack for a high-octane dune buggy rally or just another day of watching UFOs crash into the ocean. Life’s a beach. Christine Leonard JUNE 2019 BEATROUTE 21
Page 1 and 2: Festival Season Starts Now! JUNE 20
Page 3 and 4: Contents MorMor, April 30 at the Bi
Page 5 and 6: UPCOMING SHOWS SLUM VILLAGE JUNE 25
Page 7 and 8: Meet the Tempo Family BC MADE CRAFT
Page 9: That’s Dope THIS MONTH IN CANNABI
Page 13 and 14: MUSiC My granddad told me that the
Page 15 and 16: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS Wheat Kings
Page 17 and 18: august 6th, 2019 queen elizabeth th
Page 19: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS Psych-rock d
Page 23 and 24: Tickets on sale now! JESSIE REYEZ
Page 25 and 26: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS IN LOU WE TR
Page 27 and 28: AN A nderson .Paak moved from couch
Page 29 and 30: JIMMY FONTAINE 5MUST-SEE 1 A$AP ROC
Page 31 and 32: Reviews MUSiC Album Review CARLY RA
Page 33 and 34: RICHARD AUCOUN Releasee Haven Sound
Page 35 and 36: MARISA HOLME LOCAL ALBUMS LDUMB Clu
Page 37 and 38: KALI UCHIS & JORJA SMITH May 22, 20
Page 39 and 40: RUN TO THE HILLS Navigating The Pla
Page 41 and 42: RE-IMAGINING JOHN AND YOKO John & Y
Page 43 and 44: 06.19 Vancouver Craft Beer Week: so
Page 45 and 46: NEW! #SummerofSPRITZ
Page 47 and 48: TD Vancouver International Jazz Fes
Page 49 and 50: Quanah Style Canada Day Block Party
Page 51 and 52: JUNE 2019 BEATROUTE 51

BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition June 2019

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