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The Electric Highway 2024 Makes First Lineup Announcement

Posted in The Obelisk Presents, Whathaveyou on January 16th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Canadian metallers Anciients rest atop the bill for The Electric Highway 2024, the Calgary-based three-dayer festival co-presented by The Obelisk along with a slew of others. After the date reveal and ticket-onsale in November, the fest has now begun to unveil its lineup, which is probably fortunate because it’ll be April before you know it. Vancouver’s Dead Quiet and Empress are also included, as well as Darty from Chron Goblin‘s ambient project Musing, the returning hardcore-born heavy of Owls and Eagles and I think a few other repeat offenders. Hell, Anciients played Calgary 420 Fest in 2017, which was the precursor to The Electric Highway, so there’s history here if you want to find it.

There will be more as well, so sit tight. Canadian heavy is its own ecosystem distinct from the US underground, and I always look forward to seeing who’s going to be at The Electric Highway as a great way of finding new bands and checking in on those regulars. I’ve never been to Alberta and don’t harbor any delusions that I’ll be at The Electric Highway — though it’d be fun — but I’m glad to support this fest with this site and dig into some of the finest in heavy that the Great White North (and maybe a few American bands by the time they’re done; you’ll recall last year Sasquatch headlined) has to offer.

The PR wire puts it thusly:

the electric highway poster

The Electric Highway Festival (Calgary, AB) Announces First Round of Bands For 2024 Lineup

w/ Anciients, Dead Quiet, Empress, Flashback, Buffalo Bud Buster and more!

April 4- 6 – Dickens Pub

Festival passes are available at https://theelectrichighway.ca/festivalstore/

Event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/327207160030277

The Electric Highway Festival is excited to announce the first round of bands for the 2024 edition of the festival being held in Calgary, AB on April 4, 5, and 6 at Dickens (1000 9 Ave SW).

Canadian Juno Award-winning Vancouver band Anciients will headline the whole festival. They will be joined by various Western Canadian bands including Dead Quiet, Empress, Flashback, Buffalo Bud Buster, and more.

Anciients (Vancouver)
Dead Quiet (Vancouver)
Empress (Vancouver)
Buffalo Bud Buster (Calgary)
Flashback (Calgary)
Pharm (Kelowna)
Owls & Eagles (Calgary)
Gnarwhal (Yellowknife)
Solid Brown (Calgary)
The Getmines (Vancouver)
Tebby And The Heavy (Edmonton)
Musing (Calgary)
Blacksmith & Brewer (BC Sunshine Coast)
Stone Spear (Kelowna)
Black Daggers (Red Deer)
Atomic Yeti (Saskatoon)
Conjure Hand (Victoria)

Limited Early Bird passes are on sale for $65 until the rest of the bands are announced or the early bird passes sell out. Regular advance passes will be available at that time. There will also be a variety of single-day tickets available as well as 2-day passes.

www.facebook.com/ElectricHighwayFestival/
www.instagram.com/TheElectricHighway
www.TheElectricHighway.ca

Owls and Eagles, Live at The Electric Highway 2023

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The Electric Highway 2024 Tickets Available; Lineup Info Coming Soon; Co-Presented by The Obelisk

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 9th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

There will be much more info to come once they, you know, start listing the names of bands that will be playing the fest next April, but I’m thrilled to have The Obelisk in continued association with The Electric Highway. The site was among the co-presenters (there’s a bunch, so I’m not trying to be Mr. Checkoutmycoolface Face or anything) for the event earlier this year, and while I wasn’t so fortunate as to be there to see it, that Sasquatch video below looks pretty rockin’ and I look forward to learning who’s going to be there in 2024.

Early bird tickets — or as they call them in Europe: earlybird tickets — went on sale the other day and will be out until Nov. 30, so if you want to get together and road trip over to Calgary or something like that, hit me up. Might be fun. Maybe we could take a bus or a train! I hear Canada has those, having invested in public infrastructure and all that.

Looking at AirBNBs in Calgary. Will get back with prices.

From the PR wire:

the electric highway poster

The Electric Highway Festival (Calgary, AB) Kicks Off Early Bird Passes For 2024 Lineup

April 4- 6 – Dickens Pub

The Electric Highway Festival has launched early bird passes for their 2024 lineup being held in Calgary, AB on April 4, 5, and 6 at Dickens (1000 9 Ave SW.). Early bird passes go on sale Monday, November 6th at the cost of $65 CAD until November 30th.

Festival passes are available at www.theelectrichighway.ca/festivalstore/​

The first round of bands for the 2024 lineup will be announced on Friday, December 1st along with advance passes going on sale that same day online.

Those in the Calgary area on Saturday, December 2nd will be able to purchase festival passes in person at the La Chinga CD release show, which is a “Pit Stop on the way to The Electric Highway Festival”.

Event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1728887477610186​

Dec 2nd Tickets – https://www.showpass.com/lachingacalgary/​

​The Electric Highway Festival hosts various genres that range from Desert Rock, Stoner Metal, Doom, Sludge, Trippy Psychedelic, Surf Rock, Acid Rock, Noise Rock, Fuzz Rock, Space Rock, Blues Rock, Heavy Psych, Heavy Blues, Southern Rock, Fuzzy Punk, Sludgy Hardcore bands and variations of any of the previously mentioned styles.

The 2023 edition of the festival featured Californian headliners Sasquatch, one of the event’s past favorites, laying down their brand of fuzzy, kick-ass Desert Rock & Heavy Psych with direct support from Vancouver’s La Chinga who returned for their 4th appearance on the Saturday night. Black Mastiff returned to headline the Friday night with Calgary’s Gone Cosmic and HypnoPilot headlined the Thursday show with support from Citizen Rage. These were just a few of the wicked bands that played at this past year’s The Electric Highway.

www.facebook.com/ElectricHighwayFestival/
www.instagram.com/TheElectricHighway
www.TheElectricHighway.ca

Sasquatch, “New Disguise” live at The Electric Highway 2023

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The Electric Highway 2023 Announces Full Lineup; Co-Presented by The Obelisk

Posted in The Obelisk Presents, Whathaveyou on March 7th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

The Electric Highway 2023 banner

Obviously I’m stoked to have a logo for The Obelisk on the poster for The Electric Highway 2023, to be held in Calgary, Alberta, later this month. Goes without saying. Honestly, even if this was just a Sasquatch and/or La Chinga show and I was asked to present it, I would, so yeah, there’s a lot to dig here and I’m pleased to be keeping good company, tucked away in the bottom right-hand corner well below the likes of Canada itself — I had no idea they gave grants for this kind of thing, but I’m not surprised; other countries don’t hate creative people nearly as much as the US seems to — and with 24 bands spread out over three days, there isn’t a doubt that state-support will be put to good and voluminous use.

The fest is March 23-25 — Thursday, Friday, Saturday — and along with familiar faces like Gone Cosmic and Black Mastiff, who were playing this thing when it was the Calgary 420 Fest, before it became The Electric Highway ahead of an ill-fated 2020 edition, there’s a bunch of bands I don’t know like Space QueenMolten Lava and No More Moments, so you’ll pardon me if I have a bit of homework to do. Unfortunately, I won’t be in Calgary to see the fest in-person, but I’m happy and proud to support the work they’re doing and to take the poster below as a checklist of stuff to dig into.

So, off I go to do that, and off you go to the PR wire for the full lineup, links and so on:

The Electric Highway 2023

Calgary’s The Electric Highway Festival Announces Lineup For Its Returns In 2023 – March 23 – 25

Full lineup can be found below.

3-day festival pass holders can pick up their wristbands at Dickens at any time during the event. Pre-order merch sales will also be available for pickup throughout the weekend too. Don’t be disappointed. Order your merch ahead of time.

The Electric Highway is a fully immersive festival experience and offers much more than just music. The festival also features an art and vendor exposition during all three days at Dickens, March 23 – 25, 2023.

Festival passes are on sale starting Jan 25th – 10AM MT; check www.TheElectricHighway.ca to purchase and for more festival information.

All tickets and pass holders will be receiving instructions by email on how to transfer their 2020 tickets for 2023 ones. As well, all vendors will receive an email to confirm their attendance. Anyone that cannot attend this year – both ticketholders and vendors – can transfer their attendance to a future year.

The Electric Highway looks forward to bringing this year’s festival to you, and can’t wait to see everyone in March!

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/849216866328036

The Electric Highway Official 2023 Lineup:

Saturday, March 25th – Festival headliner: Sasquatch (Los Angeles, CA) with direct support from La Chinga (Vancouver, BC)

​Friday, March 24th – Headliner: Black Mastiff (Edmonton, AB/Vancouver, BC) with direct support from Gone Cosmic (Calgary, AB)

​Thursday, March 23rd – Headliner: HypnoPilot (Lethbridge, AB) with direct support from Citizen Rage (Calgary, AB)

​All other festival bands are:​
Brown Dwarf (Red Deer, AB)
Buffalo Bud Buster (Calgary, AB)
Destroy My Brains (Lloydminster, AB)
Empress (Vancouver, BC)
Father Moon (Calgary, AB)
Garuda (Cranbrook, BC)
Hombre (Calgary, AB)
Iron Tusk (Siksika, AB)
Molten Lava (Vancouver, BC)
Musing (Calgary, AB)
No More Moments (Siksika, AB)
Owls & Eagles (Calgary, AB)
Set & Stoned (Crossfield, AB)
Space Queen (Vancouver, BC)
Tebby & the Heavy (Edmonton, AB)
The Astral Prophets (Calgary, AB)
The Basement Paintings (Saskatoon, SK)
The Sleeping Legion (Winnipeg, MB)

Ticket Information:

Advance 3-day Festival Passes are $75. Advance passes go on sale from January 25, 2023, until March 22 or while quantities last.

Regular Festival Passes are $95 at the door if quantities are available.

www.facebook.com/ElectricHighwayFestival/
www.instagram.com/TheElectricHighway
www.TheElectricHighway.ca

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The Electric Highway 2020: Full Lineup & Pre-Party Announced

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 12th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

the electric highway poster

Last time, when The Electric Highway 2020 called out its preliminary lineup, I decided to roll with calling it the inaugural-ish edition of the Calgary-based festival, as it’s grown out of the 420 Music & Arts Festival of years prior, but still, there’s no question they’re doing it up for the occasion of the new name and presentation. Poster art by none other than David Paul Seymour has been unveiled, Mothership have joined on with Sasquatch, Wo Fat and Duel near the top of a Texas-dominant lineup — Sasquatch being the outlier geographically — and a pre-show has been announced with Seattle’s Year of the Cobra crossing the border to headline. These updates would seem to complete the proceedings as they’ll proceed, but of course April’s still a couple months out and you know, subject to change and all that. Still, it looks like a pretty badass time if you can make it.

Info came down the PR wire:

Festival Line-Up Announced! All Roads Lead To The Electric Highway In Calgary, AB, Canada!

Buckle up for The Electric Highway Festival, two days of killer bands, rad artists and fuzzy vibes April 17 & 18, 2020 at the historic Royal Canadian Legion #1 in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The Electric Highway Festival has completed its lineup with the addition of the mighty Mothership from Dallas, Texas. The Supersonic Intergalactic Heavy Rock trio’s goal from the beginning has been to carry on the tradition of the classic rock style of the ’70s, updated and amped up for the modern-day. Mothership have created a unique sound that satisfies like a steaming hot stew of UFO and Iron Maiden, blended with the southern swagger of Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top, paired with a deadly chalice of Black Sabbath. Do not miss this chance to hop on board and join Mothership as they tear across the Universal Cosmos!

The Electric Highway Festival has also added Vancouver’s Empress to the lineup. Both Mothership and Empress will be performing at the festival on Saturday, April 18, 2020. That brings the total number of bands performing during the festival to 22.

The Electric Highway Festival is excited to release its official artwork created by the renowned dark surreal artist David Paul Seymour. David Paul Seymour is an internationally known illustrator based in Minneapolis, MN who has created artwork for Municipal Waste, Conan, Mastodon as well as Shadow Weaver and Wo Fat who are both performing at The Electric Highway Festival in 2020. David Paul Seymour is also a driving force behind The Planet of Doom, an Animated Tale of Metal and Art and the creator of the Kumasan comic series.

The rest of the 2020 lineup brings an electric offering of North American bands featuring headliners Sasquatch and Wo Fat laying down their brand of fuzzy, kick-ass Desert Rock & Heavy Psych. Duel from Austin, Texas will be playing Canada for the 1st time at The Electric Highway Festival along with Hippie Death Cult & LáGoon both from Portland, Oregon. Festival favorites La Chinga return from Vancouver for their 4th appearance and Calgary’s Gone Cosmic & Buzzard from Victoria, BC are just a few more of the wicked bands that will be playing on two stages over the two days of The Electric Highway Festival, the full lineup below.

The Electric Highway Official Lineup:
Sasquatch (Los Angeles, CA)
Wo Fat (Dallas, TX)
Mothership (Dallas, TX)
Duel (Austin, TX)
La Chinga (Vancouver, BC)
Gone Cosmic (Calgary, AB)
Hippie Death Cult (Portland, OR)
LáGoon (Portland, OR)
Buzzard (Victoria, BC)
Chunkasaurus (Victoria, BC)
Bazaraba (Calgary, AB)
Shadow Weaver (Calgary, AB)
Father Moon (Calgary, AB)
Set & Stoned (Crossfield, AB)
Row of Giants (Calgary, AB)
Hemptress (Kamloops, BC)
Pink Cocoon (Montreal, QC)
The Sleeping Legion (Winnipeg, MB)
The Basement Paintings (Saskatoon, SK)
Empress (Vancouver, BC)
Locutus (Calgary, AB)
The Worst (Calgary, AB)

The Electric Highway Festival is also getting the whole thing started with a Kick-Off Party on Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at The Palomino Smokehouse & Social Club. This killer line up features Seattle powerhouse psychedelic doom duo Year of the Cobra as they return to Calgary. They will be joined by Calgary’s Bloated Pig, Outlaws of Ravenhurst, and newcomers Falcotron along with Red Deer’s Smoothsayer.

2 Day Festival Pass holders can pick up their wristbands a day early at The Electric Highway Festival Kick-Off Party. This event will be free for festival pass holders or $13 at the door for non-pass holders. (Space is limited so make sure to get their early!) Pre-order merch sales will also be available for pick up at this event too. Beat the lineup and come for some bands, beer & BBQ at the Pal!

The Electric Highway 2020 —> www.facebook.com/events/1346173098884903/
The Electric Highway Kickoff Party—> www.facebook.com/events/809469542830729/
The Electric Highway Pinball Tournament —> www.facebook.com/events/2408742202725992/
The Electric Highway Arts Expo & Market —> www.facebook.com/events/476224713238363/

“All Roads Lead to the Electric Highway”

www.facebook.com/ElectricHighwayFestival/
www.instagram.com/TheElectricHighway
www.TheElectricHighway.ca

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The Electric Highway Announces Inaugural Lineup with Wo Fat, Sasquatch, Nebula & More

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 6th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

A little bit of Cali, a little bit of Texas, a little bit of Portland, Oregon, and a whole lot of locals — the first lineup for The Electric Highway has been unveiled and the Calgary-based festival’s mission would seem to be directed toward kickass heavy and stoner rock. Thus, Sasquatch and Wo Fat headlining with Nebula and Duel also on board. And hey man, if you threw any kind of heavy rock and roll party in the entire nation of Canada — and Canada if frickin’ huge — and you didn’t at least invite La Chinga let alone actually have them play, your ass would just be negligent. That’s a band that’s never gonna do anything but make a strong rock bill stronger.

Calling this the inaugural The Electric Highway is fair enough, since it seems to be working under its own concept — pinball tournament! — but it formerly operated under the banner of the 420 Music and Arts Festival, and had a few years to its credit in that form. Still, a new name is a new name, so alright. Maybe “inaugural” with an asterisk. “Inaugural-ish.”

The PR wire has details. The fest has a hashtag that’s probably good advice anyway:

the electric highway poster

All Roads Lead To The Electric Highway Festival In Calgary, AB, Canada!

#BuckleUp baby, The Electric Highway is excited to announce our inaugural lineup! We wanted to put something special together for our first trip on the Highway and with over 20 bands in two daze, we think we have done exactly that…

Day One, Friday, April 17th Wo Fat from Dallas, Texas will be returning with their brand of Psychedelic Heavy Blues to headline night one, and we are flying in their bro’s in DUEL to share the stage with them that night too! Also laying waste to Friday night are BC’s Buzzard & CHUNKASAURUS, coming all the way from Portland, Oregon we have Hippie Death Cult & LáGoon, joining us from Montreal is PINK COCOON, and representing our amazing local scene will be Father Moon, Locutus, Row of Giants and The WORST.

Then on Day Two, Saturday, April 18th bringing the fuzz from California, we are STOKED AF to welcome back the mighty Sasquatch to headline our whole party and are psyched to have their buds Nebula along for the ride! As for the rest of Saturday, it just wouldn’t be a party without Vancouver’s La Chinga on the bill, along with local faves Gone Cosmic, Bazaraba, and Shadow Weaver from Calgary, Crossfield, Alberta’s Set & Stoned, Hemptress from Kamloops, BC, The Sleeping Legion from Winnipeg and rounding out our first lineup, from Saskatoon, The Basement Paintings.

The Electric Highway is taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion #1 in downtown Calgary, AB, Canada on April 17 & 18, 2020. Tickets go on sale at 10am MDT on Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at https://theelectrichighway.ecwid.com/.

The Electric Highway Official Lineup:
Sasquatch (Los Angeles, CA)
Wo Fat (Dallas, TX)
Nebula (Los Angeles, CA)
Duel (Austin, TX)
La Chinga (Vancouver, BC)
Gone Cosmic (Calgary, AB)
Hippie Death Cult (Portland, OR)
LáGoon (Portland, OR)
Buzzard (Victoria, BC)
Chunkasaurus (Victoria, BC)
Bazaraba (Calgary, AB)
Shadow Weaver (Calgary, AB)
Father Moon (Calgary, AB)
Set & Stoned (Crossfield, AB)
Row of Giants (Calgary, AB)
Hemptress (Kamloops, BC)
Pink Cocoon (Montreal, QC)
The Sleeping Legion (Winnipeg, MB)
The Basement Paintings (Saskatoon, SK)
Locutus (Calgary, AB)
The Worst (Calgary, AB)

The Electric Highway 2020 —> www.facebook.com/events/1346173098884903/
The Electric Highway Kickoff Party—> www.facebook.com/events/809469542830729/
The Electric Highway Pinball Tournament —> www.facebook.com/events/2408742202725992/
The Electric Highway Arts Expo & Market —> www.facebook.com/events/476224713238363/

#BuckleUp

“All Roads Lead to the Electric Highway”

www.facebook.com/ElectricHighwayFestival/
www.instagram.com/TheElectricHighway
www.TheElectricHighway.ca

Sasquatch, Live at Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 8, 2019

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