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 Queen, Molten 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:

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

Calgary-based sludge rockers Owls and Eagles will make their debut on June 1 through Moments Records with the narrative album, Patience Vol. 1. You’ll find the first single from the record, “Enlightenment,” streaming on the Bandcamp embed below, and if you want to skip over the rest of my blah blah and just hit up the audio, I won’t be offended. I get it.

For those sticking around, a bit of context. Owls and Eagles is comprised of vocalist/drummer Mark Russell and guitarist/vocalist Ross Ferguson. Russell is the founding frontman of the crossover hardcore outfit Citizen Rage, whose latest EP, called simply Black EP and the band’s sixth such short release named for a color — in 2017, they put out five of them: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Pink — was issued in 2020. Making his first appearance in Citizen Rage on Pink was Ferguson. And he wasn’t the only swap-out in the band during those years either.

Now, Citizen Rage are still active — they’ll play 2023’s The Electric Highway festival alongside Sasquatch, Black Mastiff, La Chinga, and others. Indeed, Owls & Eagles will play as well. All of this is to tell you that it’s probably fair to call Owls and Eagles a side-project, but as “Enlightenment” informs, it’s more than enough of a stylistic turn from the other band to make sense as its own thing. The six-minute-long track starts minimal and slow, a creeping intro with vague echoing whispers spoken over, unveiling its crunch-toned nod of a groove at 1:19 with a riff that reads like a declarative sentence. It comes on, sets up shop, and the roll it begins holds for the duration.

Russell and Ferguson share vocals in the verses and chorus, complementing each other not so much in harmony or direct call and response, but in dueling shouts into the proverbial void that remind a bit of Sweden’s Cities of Mars if more prone to a bit of barking by the finish. Their two-piece configuration gives an edge of rawness to their sound — producer Jamie Kovalsky at Prohibitor Studios also helmed Citizen Rage‘s Black, so there’s another thread linking the two bands — but that suits the sludgier vibe well and the echo on the vocals allows a sense of room to permeate just the same. It’s not a huge giant lumber, but neither is it in any danger of not getting the point across.

I haven’t heard all of Patience Vol. 1 as yet and honestly I don’t even know if it’s done, but “Enlightenment” came my way and I dug the groove and thought you might too. Simple as that. You’ll find the song and a bit more about it from the band below. Hope you enjoy:

Owls & Eagles on “Enlightenment”:

Our story starts with Patience realizing her home has become poisoned by hate, greed, and corruption. She makes a choice; she chooses to leave this place she has called home since birth. For once in her life, she sees everyone for who they really are, liars, cheaters, destroyers, killers of the land, pure evil at its fullest. She leaves and never turns back.

Produced and engineered by Jamie K at Prohibitor Studios Calgary. Artwork by Tannis Paige. Scheduled to release June 1st 2023 on Moments Records.

Owls & Eagles are:
Ross Ferguson – Guitar/Vocals
Mark Russell – Drums/Vocals

Owls & Eagles on Facebook

Owls & Eagles on Instagram

Owls & Eagles on Bandcamp

Recorded in 2020, the second full-length from Calgary heavy rockers Gone Cosmic, titled Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling, arrives on Sept. 2 through Grand Hand Records. Premiering below, “For Sabotage” is the third single from the impending LP behind the opener “Crimson Hand” (which it also follows on the record) and the side B leadoff “Endless,” and it brings into focus the underlying progressivism of the band’s approach. Oh they’re a rock band, make no mistake, but if you take a listen to the King Buffalo-y guitar in “For Sabotage” or any of the three singles, more generally the message is there waiting to be heard — Gone Cosmic are the kind of band who blow other bands off the stage.

In 2019, the four-piece made their debut on Kozmik Artifactz with Sideways in Time (review here), and even two years after the fact, the urgency that they put into getting back into the studio for the follow-up resonates. Vocalist Abbie Thurgood is a classic heavy rock belter, and from “Crimson Hand” through the sci-fi funk of closer “The Future’s Calling,” her performance is likewise dynamic and forceful. To wit, the three-minute “To Refuse Compromise.” That’s it. That song is the sentence. But guitarist Devin “Darty” Purdy, bassist Brett Whittingham and drummer Marcello Castronuovo are more than a backing band to showcase the talent of their frontperson. It’s Castronuovo who fires the first shots, launching “Crimson Hand” with a drum fill that — once you’ve actually listened to the rest of what follows — is revealed as a signifier of intent. And whether it’s the buildup of “Envy Thrives” or the plotted post-apex comedown of “Causeway,” Gone Cosmic interpret progressive heavy rock as a means to generate movement, to energize and excite.

Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling was produced and mixed by Josh Rob Gwilliam at OCL Studios, and what a task that must’ve been. Thurgood‘s voice is at the forefront — it could hardly be anywhere else — but to listen to the glorious punch of Whittingham‘s bass on “For Sabotage” or the centerpiece “The Wrong Side of Righteous” as Purdy‘s guitar weaves around it in Elderian noodling style, or the way in which Castronuovo‘s fill seems to roll downhill as “Endless” begins to move toward its payoff at around the 2:40 mark, and the balance of elements at play is striking. Understand, Gone Cosmic aren’t playing expansive, dug in progadelia for their own indulgence. The longest song here is the semi-titular closer “The Future’s Calling” at an airier 6:22, until the penultimate “Taste for Tragic,” the album shifts back and forth between three-minute and four-minute tracks, and for seven of nine inclusions, that pattern results in a raucous, largely uptempo rager.

But there’s no dumbing-down happening anywhere. Gone Cosmic aren’t trying to curb their impulses — again, the ethos “To Refuse Compromise” — so much as bring the listener to their level. And Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling can be challenging to keep up with as it moves from one side to the other on diagonals, angular corners, forward thrust, reverse transwarp and all this, but the songwriting on the whole is no less a consideration than the instrumental contributions — vocals included — on which it’s built. Even as “Taste for Tragic” gallops to its finish to let the swaying shove of “The Future’s Calling” take hold for an early throwdown before the space-out begins, there’s intent if not staid poise — there isn’t really staid anything — and by the time the album gets to that point, you’re either on board with the band having earned enough trust to believe they’ll make it work, which they do, or you’ve already stopped listening and it doesn’t matter anyhow, except to say you’re missing out and it’s your loss, etc.

One way or the other, Gone Cosmic‘s 39-minute stretch on Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling draws from multiple sides, and if I’ve focused on the progressivism above, it’s because that’s the underlying foundation, but be sure, there’s plenty of blues rock, psychedelia and outright heavy-heavy to go along with that, and the band’s sense of fluidity emerges from the interaction of elements, stylistic and practical, as they recast genre to suit their purposes. Is it the future? I don’t know. It’s born of the past but not hindered by sentimentality for it, and the command of craft certainly comes across as forward-thinking, but one generally thinks of the future these days as a dark and dystopian place — you know, like the present — and Gone Cosmic here are pushing a brighter but nonetheless realistic vision. I wouldn’t know the future if it punched me in the throat, and maybe that’s what’s going on with “The Wrong Side of Righteous,” but I’ll say that I wouldn’t mind if this was it.

Preorder link and sundry PR wire info follow the premiere of “For Sabotage,” which is on the player below.

Enjoy:

Gone Cosmic, “For Sabotage” track premiere

Abbie Thurgood on “For Sabotage”:

“We are constantly challenged by competitive societal attitudes such as ‘at all costs’ and ‘must win’ mentalities. ‘For Sabotage’ explores stepping outside of these norms and expectations that are ingrained in us encouraging the ability to see consequential thought processes and objectively view one’s path rather than being reactionary. ‘For Sabotage’ is a call to be more kind to oneself and to listen pursue and trust our own individual thought processes.”

Buy the CD/Vinyl here: https://gonecosmic.bandcamp.com/

Gone Cosmic – For Sabotage
Written and performed by Gone Cosmic from album ‘Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling’ releasing on September 1, 2022
Produced, Recorded, and Mixed by Josh Rob Gwilliam at OCL Studios in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Mastered by Brian “Big Bass” Gardner
Art by Brock Lefferts
Album release via Grand Hand Records.
Copyright and Publishing 2022 Gone Cosmic Entertainment

Championed by a soaring songstress Abbie Thurgood (The Torchettes), whose boldly evocative tones recall Skunk Anansie chanteuse Skin and Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, and accompanied by an agile and aggressive psych-rock outfit, composed of guitarist Devin “Darty” Purdy (Chron Goblin), bass player Brett Whittingham (Chron Goblin), percussionist Marcello Castronuovo (Witchstone), Gone Cosmic has carved out an expansive domain that stretches from sweltering Southern sludge pits to breath-stealing sonic spacewalks.

A blood (orange)-scented breeze that bows the trees, Gone Cosmic chases the infinite haze from the skies and puts it right back in your eyes. Groove-mining breakdowns become the stuff of legend as the four pieces’ floor-thudding tail kick and hellfire halo holler originates a whole that is far more potent than the sum of its individual elements. Meet your new astromancers, the phase-shifting and hard-rocking force that channels the empyreal sounds of heaven on Earth. – Christine Leonard (Beatroute AB, Canada)

GONE COSMIC is
Abbie Thurgood – Vocals
Devin “Darty” Purdy – Guitar
Brett Whittingham – Bass
Marcello Castronuovo – Drums

Gone Cosmic, Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling (2022)

Gone Cosmic on Facebook

Gone Cosmic on Instagram

Gone Cosmic on Bandcamp

Grand Hand Records on Facebook

That’s some stomp in the leadoff track from Gone Cosmic‘s new album, Send for a Warning, The Future’s Calling. You can hear even in the snare sound of “Crimson Hand,” for example, that the band are trying to distinguish themselves, and that’s before you get to the fun of the start-stop solo in the second half of the hard-boogie, three-and-a-half-minute, got-no-time-for-your-nonsense rhythm. I guess the irony here is that the follow-up to 2019’s Sideways in Time (review here) was recorded in 2020, which now is the past even before it can come out heralding its warning about the future — do you think it’s about gas prices? — but that was going to be the case anyway, even if perhaps in other circumstances it wouldn’t have taken as long for it to get out.

So it goes. Note that like its predecessor, Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling references time in the title if not mentioning it directly. Curious to hear how the rest of the record is produced and just how deep Gone Cosmic go in finding a niche for themselves. And also to see whether or not the album was held back in part so the band could tour and if, where, when that might happen.

Maybe asking more questions than I’m answering, but that’s hype in the age of no-sleep. The PR wire takes it from here:

Canadian hard blues rockers GONE COSMIC to issue new album “Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling” this fall; stream new track “Crismon Hand”!

Calgary, Alberta’s psychedelic hard rockers GONE COSMIC announce the release of their new album ‘Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling’, due out September 2nd on Grand Hand Records. Listen to their raucous new single “Crimson Hand.”!

About this new song, vocalist Abbie Thurgood comments: “People are complex entities on their own individual paths and it’s important to determine which people in your life may actually be a detriment to you. I have been in multiple situations where people have been very comfortable to take, so they took until there wasn’t much left for me to give. There’s an ignorance in these situations, on my part, in being too trusting and giving the benefit of the doubt. Crimson Hand is a reflection on these types of relationships and the importance of self-awareness and self-worth.”

Featuring nine progressive psych-blues anthems designed to upgrade your sonic synapsis. GONE COSMIC’s sophomore album “Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling” was recorded in November 2020 at OCL Studios. It was produced, mixed and recorded by Josh Rob Gwilliam (Ghosts of Modern Man, JJ Shiplet, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald), and mastered by Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Brian “Big Bass” Gardner (Dr. Dre, David Bowie, Outkast, The Melvins, Rush).

New album ‘Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling’
Out September 2nd on Grand Hand Records – PREORDER: https://gonecosmic.bandcamp.com/album/send-for-a-warning-the-futures-calling

TRACKLIST:
1. Crimson Hand
2. For Sabotage
3. Envy Thrives
4. Causeway
5. The Wrong Side of Righteous
6. Endless
7. To Refuse Compromise
8. Taste for Tragic
9. The Future’s Calling

A blood (orange)-scented breeze that bows the trees, GONE COSMIC chases the infinite haze from the skies and puts it right back in your eyes. Groove-mining breakdowns become the stuff of legend as the four pieces’ floor-thudding tail kick and hellfire halo holler originates a whole that is far more potent than the sum of its individual elements.

Pivoting on the acute juxtaposition of Abbie Thurgood’s soulful vocals and the galvanizing dexterity of Devin (Darty) Purdy’s promethean guitar runs, GONE COSMIC’s sidereal style is emboldened by an equally accomplished and inventive rhythm section, comprising bassist Brett Whittingham and percussionist Marcello Castronuovo. Issuing a universal invitation to emerge from the suspended animation of quarantine and share in their lusty deconstructive discoveries, Gone Cosmic’s stunning future dispatches are set to transmute that which is set in stone back into primordial lava. Their debut album “Sideways In Time” was released in 2019 through Kozmik Artifactz.

GONE COSMIC is
Abbie Thurgood – Vocals
Devin “Darty” Purdy – Guitar
Brett Whittingham – Bass
Marcello Castronuovo – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/gonecosmic/
https://www.instagram.com/gonecosmic/
https://gonecosmic.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/GrandHandRecords/

Gone Cosmic, Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling (2022)

Calgary, Alberta, two-piece Drug Sauna allegedly recorded their late-2020 three-song EP, 2% Saunic, in their van. Is that true? Does it matter? Maybe, and no, in that order. The resultant in-your-head claustrophobia of the eponymous “Drug Sauna” brings enough ultra-stoned consciousness consumption that, wherever it was made, it was made well to suit its purposes. Likewise, opener “Space Druggin'” (get it?) and the closing take on Nazareth‘s “Razamanaz” are no less nod-melting, the twisted low end of bassist Deano and the raw drums of Cory hypnotic despite their lo-fi presentation even on the uptempo finale.

The Dregs Records, who it would seem have an affinity for that which may have emerged from an especially dank humidor, has signed the band to release 2% Saunic on tape, which, yes, should fit its fuckall nicely. Preorders are open as of today and run until March 15, and to be on the safe side an April 1 release date has been set.

The announcement follows here. I leave you to it and wish you well:

Drug Sauna – The Dregs Records

The Dregs Records is stoked to welcomes Calgary’s dirtiest duo, Drug Sauna, to the family. After seeing a one-minute video in 2019 of these pasty party animals Shane (of TDR) fell head over heels for what the band was all about. They truly capture the sense of freedom of the hesher lifestyle.

We have a few projects lined up for 2021. First up is getting 2% Saunic on cassette tapes. With boogie vans pre loaded with them suckers, it seems like a total no brainer. There will also be a special “doom” edit of their Nazareth cover Razamanaz exclusive to the tapes. This run is limited to 100 units and will be split between the band and label and will be released on April 1.

Are they using that date as a joke just in case there are delays due to covid? You’ll have to wait and see!

Pre orders start today and will ship once they are received. By their calculations this could be mid March (wink wink). Pre Orders end March 15th and the fashionably late will have to wait to party till the actual release date in April.

For US orders hit thedregsrecords.bigcartel.com for Canada drugsauna.bigcartel.com and Europe flip a coin heads TDR tails Drug Sauna. Can’t wait till we all can hit the road, till then stay stoned!

Drug Sauna are:
Deano: Bass/Vox
Cory: Drumbs

https://www.facebook.com/drugsauna/
http://instagram.com/drug_sauna
http://drugsauna.bandcamp.com/
drugsauna.bigcartel.com
https://linktr.ee/thedregsrecords

Drug Sauna, 2% Saunic (2020)

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Turner Midzain of Woodhawk (Calgary, Alberta)

—

How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

We’re dealing with it the best we can. We had to unfortunately postpone a lot of touring, which is the only real way a band like ours makes any money. We also had a couple of members laid off amidst this.

We’re trying to rebook our Canadian tour for August, but we’re being cautious as it could get cancelled again depending on the circumstances. But other than that, we’re all healthy and talk every day.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

No groups over five [as of April 6]. But honestly a little too relaxed for the situation. Other provinces in Canada have locked down or shut down more business and limited outings, but it seems like bigger heads in Alberta are a little more concerned about other issues other than the pandemic…

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

Definitely. Most of our peers had to cancel tours or shows. Also, most of them aren’t rehearsing the way they used to. So I think it’s putting a strain on artists in many ways. But we’re a resilient community that will prevail. Like a lot of us, we fear the toll it will take on the music venues all over the world that are closed and have no funds to maintain existence without any revenue.

So I hope as many as possible stay open. But we’re unlikely to see a resurgence of patrons rushing to the pubs or venues as this pandemic settles. So even if a venue is able to reopen, it may not have the same income it used to.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

If you can support artists or local businesses in your city, do it. Walmart will be fine at the end of this. But your local economy and business owners are going to take the biggest hit. Donate where possible, and buy local. Support where and when you can. Be nice to one and other. This sucks and we’re all going through it together.

http://woodhawkriffs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WoodhawkRiffs/
https://www.instagram.com/woodhawkriffs/
https://woodhawk.bandcamp.com

When you’re doing it right, you put out a record, then you tour. Sometimes you tour first. That’s cool too, so long as you tour again later. Point is, if you’re going to be the kind of band who tours, you frickin’ get up and you tour.

That’s what Woodhawk are doing and while I’m running my mouth in generalizations, I’ll say that I have no idea why more bands don’t tour Canada. Yes, Woodhawk are from Calgary, so its home turf, but why the hell aren’t more acts from the US hitting Sudbury? Or Winnipeg? Or Saskatoon? I see lists of shows from bands in the States and they play the same room three times in a year? Why not go see someplace new? Meet new people? Who maybe haven’t already seen you three times? Go tour Canada, is what I’m saying. Whether you’re Canadian or not. And hell’s bells, tour Mexico too.

Woodhawk head out supporting later-2019’s Violent Nature (review here) beginning March 26. Dates follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:

Riff Wizards WOODHAWK Announce “Violent Nature Canadian Tour”

New Album “Violent Nature” Out Now

Calgary’s riff wizards Woodhawk announce they will be trekking across Canada once again in support of their latest album “Violent Nature” released this past November. The tour will kick off in Vancouver on March 26th and wrap up in Nelson, BC on May 23rd (dates listed below).

The band comments:

“We’re thrilled to be hitting the road in Canada again. This will be our largest Canadian tour yet, going from coast to coast. Always happy to get to some new places and meet some new people, and return to our favourite places. We were thrilled with how well our latest record ‘Violent Nature’ did in Canada, so it only felt natural to roll into as many cities as possible. See you at the gig!”

Woodhawk – “Violent Nature – Canadian Tour”
March 26 – Vancouver, BC – The Astoria
March 27 – Victoria, BC – Upstairs Cabaret
March 28 – Kelowna, BC – Doc Willoughbys
April 1 – Calgary, AB – Ship and Anchor
April 2 – Lethbridge, AB – The Owl Acoustic Lounge
April 3 – Regina, SK – The German Club
April 4 – Winnipeg, MB – The Handsome Daughter
April 6 – Sudbury, ON – The Asylum
April 7 – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
April 8 – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah
April 9 – Toronto, ON – The Monarch
April 10 – Ottawa, ON – House of TARG
April 11 – Montreal, QC – Turbo Haus
April 14 – Quebec City, QC – L’Anti
April 15 – Saint John, NB – Taco Pica
April 16 – Fredericton, NB – The Capital Complex
April 17 – Halifax, NS – Gus’ Pub
April 18 – Moncton, NB – The Caveau
April 20 – Oshawa, ON – TBD
April 21 – Sault Ste Marie, ON – Loplops
April 22 – Thunder Bay, ON – Black Pirates Pub
April 23 – Brandon, MB – The 40
April 24 – Saskatoon, SK – Amigos Cantina
April 25 – Edmonton, AB – The Aviary
May 22 – Invermere, BC – Ullr Bar
May 23 – Nelson, BC – The Royal

WOODHAWK:
Turner Midzain – Vocals, Guitar
Mike Badmington – Bass, Vocals
Kevin Nelson – Drums

http://woodhawkriffs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WoodhawkRiffs/
https://www.instagram.com/woodhawkriffs/
https://woodhawk.bandcamp.com

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