Naturally most of you will spend this weekend spraying last year’s beer and butter chicken off your tarp so you can dirty it up again at the beloved Calgary Folk Music Festival. If you want a break from all the weekend warriors hitting Prince’s Island Park however there’s still plenty going on at the city’s other venues.
One of the week’s most anticipated showcases is an appearance from indie rap veteran El-P performing alongside equally influential hip-hop legend Killer Mike as duo Run the Jewels . Aside from their incredible recent LP these two have been drawing great reviews for their energetic live show. Factor in support from Queens-based rappers Despot (formerly signed to El-P’s now-defunct Definitive Jux imprint) and former Das Racist member Kool A.D. and you’ve got four good reasons to line up outside of the Republik when this show hits on Thursday July 25.
It’s no secret that Chris Dadge continues to carry the torch for experimentation with his regular concert bookings and Bug Incision record label. On Thursday July 25 he’s arranged yet another great show at Weeds Café. This one features Canadian expats Tim Olive and Kelly Churko performing under the alias Toque . Boasting a remarkable list of noisy collaborators these two repurpose objects and combine them with guitar and electronic experimentation. They’ll be joined by solo sets from Kris Ellestad and the Dadge man himself.
Brothers Seth and Ben Leon are not just bonded by blood but also garage rock. They’ve performed together in the scrappy duo Jeremy Clarkson for a few years now and if you haven’t had a chance to check them out yet you’ll have precisely 24 chances to do so on Friday July 26 and Saturday July 27. That’s because they’ll be performing 24 shows at 24 different venues around the city in a 24-hour time period. The kick-off show takes place at Broken City on Friday July 26 and concludes on Saturday July 27 with an evening show at The Palomino that also includes a free pancake breakfast. Find out more about this ambitious arguably insane project in the Your Face Here section of this very issue.
For some non-Folk Fest folk vibes on Sunday July 28 you could head to Local 510. The venue will be hosting a free show featuring performances from three singer-songwriters. Forest Tate born Brendan Fraser played in numerous local bands for years and years before arriving at his current singer-songwriter project. He’ll be joined by Adam Fox’s hushed folk rock as Field Assembly and local musician Dustin Anderson’s psych-leaning Heart Failure Research Unit project.
Finally the week will close out with an appearance from conscious rap veteran Talib Kweli who will bring out droves of first-year political science students and hip-hop heads when he performs at Commonwealth on Tuesday July 30 alongside guests Humble Giants and Apeface .
