I Heart Edmonton

Downtown's Artery set the stage for a memorable night of indie melodies and torrid compositions by way of Sid York, et al BY EMIL TIEDEMANN The Artery T HERE were two curious bright red doors that seemed painted onto the back wall of The Artery , decal'd in what some might suspect is alleyway graffiti. I entered through the left one, enticed by what was on the other side. A pretty, young woman greeted me from behind some counter, and then put a checkmark beside my name on the guest list, confirming my arrival. But I had to wait for my cohort to show up before I could probe the rest of this rooted-yet-new-to-me venue I'd been invited to before, though had yet to accept. When he arrived we shuffled along some sort of plywood(ish) floor, making our way past a quasi-make-do bar with a limited option of hootch. But what mattered was that they served my option of hootch. We made our way into this comparably-spacious room with a ready-to-go stage, a booth for the lig...

Visionary independent musician festival shakes up Old Strathcona, exposing 150 of the most talented artists of our thriving music scene BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I N a town synonymous with a rich festival legacy, virgin events better have the chutzpah to garner any real recognition or relevance to stand out from the crowded surplus of summertime goings-on in Edmonton. By all accounts, the maiden SOS (Sounds of Old Strathcona) Music Festival did just that. Without a hitch, no! But the 3-day Whyte Avenue extravaganza was a definite triumph for its organizers, the artists, the venues, and the thousands of local and not-so-local patrons who took in the 150+ shows from July 9-11 . Last Friday (July 9) was the kickoff of the first-ever SOS Fest, when acts like Captain Tractor , Ann Vriend , Ten Second Epic , Mustard Smile , and Politic Live blistered huddled barrooms and cramped lounges with the best indie music this province has to offer. The following morning (July 10), I arrived on the infamou...

Dozens & dozens of indie acts will merge in Old Strathcona for Edmonton's newest festival, simultaneously highlighting our diverse music scene BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I KNOW what some of you are thinking. Do we really need ANOTHER festival in this city? Well, if that was what you were thinking, then I'm here to tell you: YES! I mean sure, we have the Fringe , Folk Fest , Capital Ex , the EIFF , Street Performers , Heritage days, The Works , Blues Fest , the Dragon Boat Fest , Global Visions , the International Jazz Festival , the White Light , A Taste of Edmonton , NextFest , Symphony Under the Sky , Ice on Whyte , DEDfest , Cubamemucho , Exposure , Creative Age Festival , the North of Nowhere Expo , Chante , the Literary Festival , dEdmonton , Improvaganza , Ink Fest , Original Fare , the Vocal Arts Fest , Summer Solstice , PoFest , the International Children's Festival , Silver Skate , Serca Fest , the Alberta Drama Festival , Dreamspeakers , the Feats Festival of Dance...

MBF & the Loud Love Choir reminded me of just how much I love music...and they couldn't have come at a better time! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T WO weeks ago I didn't even know who Michael Bernard Fitzgerald was. Fast forward to last Thursday night (Feb. 11) and I can tell you what kind of beer the man drinks (his concert-sponsored Big Rock , for the record), the names of at least three of his former loves ( Maxine , Suzie & Caroline ), and that he autographs his CDs with an accompanying heart. That's quite the transition! Now let's just rewind back again to a time when I lived in a world without Fitzgerald, MBF for short. All the regulars would take turns singing comparable melodies whenever I turned on the radio, so I stopped turning on the radio. And all the CDs in my car had overstayed their welcome. Then, about two weeks ago, I recieved an email about some "folksy" musician named Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, 23, and that the next stop on his 5-city tour o...