Sled Island

Today we're very excited to announce over 150 more bands, comedy, film, art, special events and conference panels, as well as the full schedule for all of this year’s programming. To see the complete lineup and schedule, visit SledIsland.com.

On top of all the incredible music this year, Sled Island is proud to announce that the 2024 comedy headliner will be JUNO-nominated stand-up comedian, television writer and Canada's Got Talent finalist Courtney Gilmour, whose comedic work focuses on her unique experiences as a congenital triple amputee. She will be joined by other hilarious acts including Dakota Ray Hebert, Jacob Balshin, Nathan Hare, and host Faris Hytiaa.

Presented in partnership with the Calgary Downtown Association, Sled Alley is a family-friendly, all-day party that has been extended from the alley behind The Palace Theatre onto 1st Street SW, between Stephen Avenue and 9th Avenue. The event takes place on Saturday, June 22, and will feature DJs, a local art market, skateboarding from The Compound Mobile Skatepark, food trucks, a non-alcoholic bar, and free art activities for all ages, including an interactive augmented reality experience from Calgary-based AR gaming studio EarthMMO. Other special events at this year’s festival include the Sled Island Drag Brunch, Punk Rock Bingo, Quiz Shoe, the annual Wrap-Up Pig Roast, and more.

Sled Island Film will feature the Alberta premiere of Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, a wildly entertaining documentary that follows legendary cult musician Swamp Dogg as he transforms his LA home into an artistic playground. This endearingly quirky new film will help kick off the festival on Tuesday, June 18 at the Globe Cinema.

2024 art programming includes the Alcove Centre for the Arts Exhibit, taking place at Alcove (244 7th Ave SW) and showcasing a selection of talented local artists. Also, the festival will once again present the annual Sled Island Poster Show, which pairs local artists with musicians playing the festival to create limited-edition, hand silk-screened posters by Burnt Toast Studio. Posters will be on display and available for purchase. Both art shows will run for the entirety of the festival.

Lastly, all conference panels will take place at the beautiful Central Library on Friday, June 21, where attendees will learn about DIY album releases, self-marketing, tax management, booking abroad, navigating AI, and harm reduction in the music industry.

Passes and tickets are on sale now. A limited number of single tickets to newly-announced shows and day passes will go on sale this Friday, May 17 at 12pm MDT.

For more information, visit SledIsland.com.

Thanks to our funders and sponsors at connectFirst Credit Union, Eighty-Eight Brewing Company, Dandy Brewing, The Beltline BLOX, Calgary Downtown Association, Confluence Distilling, Calgary Arts Development, The City of Calgary, Travel Alberta, Calgary Foundation, Rozsa Foundation, Government of Alberta, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Calgary's Future, Structured Abstraction, Canada Council for the Arts, SOCAN Foundation, FACTOR Canada, Venture for Canada, and the Government of Canada.

We're back with an all-new Sled Island Rock Lotto on Saturday, May 18!

Join us at the Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club, where we’ll bring together 25 musicians from various backgrounds and draw names from a hat to form one-off bands for one night only, with less than 10 hours to write and perform new material!

Once again, this year's event is focused on creating meaningful connections between musicians just starting their music journey in the city and artists more familiar with the Calgary music scene, with the goal of fostering a more diverse music ecosystem and increasing equitable access to creative opportunities for all.

The lineup of participating musicians will be announced in the coming weeks!

Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 26 at noon MDT. For more information and for tickets, visit Showpass.com/RockLotto2024.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. If you would like to attend but ticket prices are a barrier, please contact info@sledisland.com.

Thanks to Calgary Arts Development for making this event possible!

Huge shout out to Becca Lowe for the poster art!

The second wave of Sled Island 2024 artists is here! 

New additions include breakthrough Canadian indie rock sensation EKKSTACY, trailblazing Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Molina, experimental guitarist and composer Jeff Parker (a longtime member of the post-rock group Tortoise), boundary-pushing hip-hop artist and composer Slauson Malone 1 (selected by Show Me the Body), outlandish hyperpop performance artist Alice Longyu Gao, Francophone post-punk quartet Corridor, and LA goth rock outfit Death Valley Girls.

We’re also very excited to welcome Cincinnati synth-punk trio The Serfs, Toronto-based punk rock four-piece Bad Waitress, celebrated Canadian DJ and rapper Myst Milano (returning to the festival after a gripping performance in 2018), Detroit ghettotech trio and guest curator selection HiTech, psych-laden shoegaze project The Discussion (the latest offering from Laura Pleasants of Kylesa), NYC rhythm and noise band Sediment Club – the final guest curator pick and side project of Show Me the Body’s Jackie McDermott – and Indigenous electronic artist Kehiw, who will be headlining this year’s Drum Beat Entertainment showcase. These artists join already announced acts such as Mick Jenkins, Cherry Glazerr, Show Me the Body, Kari Faux, Planet Giza, W.I.T.C.H., Laurel Halo, Forest Swords, Wombo, Soul Glo, Tomb Mold and many more.

On top of that, we’re proud to announce an outstanding collection of emerging artists joining this year’s lineup, including electronic-infused hip-hop artist Sydanie, trap and R&B performer SuKha Never Dies, Edmonton soul singer Aladean Kheroufi, Vancouver-based Afro-fusion act MAUVEY, ambient composer and violinist respectfulchild, indie-folk singer-songwriter Bennett Mitchell, avant-pop artist Kee Avil, ‘90s-influenced indie rock group knitting, Japanese drummer and electronic composer mineo kawasaki, Winnipeg post-punks Fold Paper, Edmonton post-hardcore four-piece Midnight Peg, noise-meets-screamo outfit OBROA-SKAI, Ottawa art-pop band Pony Girl, electronic dream pop artist Tess Roby, and dynamic Vancouver punk band WAIT//LESS. 

We’re also thrilled to continue our partnership with the Iranian artist-run festival SET Experimental Art Events this year, who have curated a small selection of some very exciting Iranian artists to perform at Sled Island 2024. ⁠The project, titled SLED X SET, is a collaboration meant to build relationships between the Iranian and Canadian artistic scenes, and to bring more cutting-edge and boundary-pushing music and multimedia art to Calgary and beyond. The artists joining Sled Island this year include Niloufar Shiri & Caleb Klager, GOLPESAR, ArtSaves and Cinna Peyghamy.

Sled Island’s complete 2024 lineup and schedule will be announced in the coming months, including over 150 more bands as well as comedy, film, visual art, special events and conference programming.

Sled Island passes and tickets are currently on sale at SledIsland.com. A limited number of single show tickets to select newly-announced Sled Island 2024 shows will go on sale this Friday, April 12 at noon MDT.

For more information and to see the current lineup, visit SledIsland.com.
 

Huge shout out to Becca Lowe for the awesome poster art!

Thank you to our sponsors and funders at connectFirst Credit Union, Eighty-Eight Brewing Company, Dandy Brewing, The Beltline BLOX, Confluence Distilling, Calgary Arts Development, The City of Calgary, Government of Alberta, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Structured Abstraction, SOCAN Foundation, FACTOR Canada, Venture for Canada, and the Government of Canada.