Laura Ponce

About Laura Ponce

Posts by Laura Ponce:

29Jun2026

CKXU at Sled Island 2026: Day 3!

The Big Bang, Fireworks, the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs- nothing was as explosive as the Friday of Sled Island. Today the CKXU crew took on their final day at Sled before departing back to the land of Lethbridge. Today was a 3 for one combo on the tears of joy and frisson reaction to the bands we saw today.

Knitting – the soft dreamy sounds of grungy indie rock

I’ll be completely honest with you all, I’m one of the biggest Knitting fans around. Seeing and interviewing these guys was one of the highlights of the whole sled experience. Kicking off the start of the last day at the PinBar with one of the best indie rock bands coming out of Montreal, Quebec. Lead vocalist and Guitarist Micha has such a lovely, sweet and soft voice that whispers sweet, bittersweet lyrics into your heart. The sounds from this 3-piece are tied in perfectly by the heavy drums of Andy and the ever-enticing guitar riffs of Sarah, who is also the band’s producer and recording engineer. The talent of this band is truly unmatched. I had the biggest smile on my face the entire show while also holding back tears of joy (a common occurrence for today).

I have too many recommendations from this band’s discography, but if I may, they are all well worth it. Knitting’s newest album Souvenir comes out June 26th, but while you wait for that, you can listen to their previous album Some Kind of Heaven, with “Heaven” being a feature track. For something a bit more grungy sounding than “Heaven”, give “Nite Lite” a listen, one of my favourite singles Knitting has put out, and a dream come true to see live.

Chrome Harvest – “Folk songs for prairie goths”

After leaving the PinBar with happiness and lots of merch, we headed over to the Palace Theatre to see the much-anticipated Chrome Harvest. The title sums this band up pretty well, so they did a good job giving themselves that description. This Lethbridge seven-piece makes such magical music it warmed my heart watching them play. Not proud but woman enough to say it, I’ve never gone to see this band play because I truly thought they were heavy. When I found out they were some of the best indie folk around, I was shocked. I was even more blown away when I actually heard them play; plus they have two drummers, how sick is that!! Chrome Harvest beautifully blends the sweet folk sounds of the Banjo and Acoustic guitar with intense drums and mellow vocals to make the perfect sound I would describe as big band indie folk. The venue was large, but despite this, the show itself felt so intimate. To tie in the warm music, our very own Kort Woycheshin, @flamesgrain, provided projected videography from scenic views around Lethbridge, AB. This band was truly a breath of fresh air and a time I will never forget.

Black Country, New Road – Big Band Indie Alternative

The headliner, yet one of many highlights of Sled Island. This beautifully eclectic-sounding six-piece hailing from the United Kingdom put on such an unforgettable show. The Palace Theatre was unsurprisingly packed to capacity way before these guys got on stage. If you haven’t heard the music these guys create, you are truly missing out. Their music is such a wonderful blend of theatrical-sounding melodies with big buildup and loud climaxes that move you to your core. Hailing from South London, this group is nothing short of spectacular. The range of instruments played on stage during this show was truly impressive. Aside from the incredible harmonies and talented instrumental skills, the storytelling in the lyrics is truly something so great that the words I write won’t do it justice. Some songs were so sweetly intimate, such as “Forever Howlong”, while others started off this way then pulled you up with the intense buildup like “Two Horses”. My favourites were the songs that had the perfect blend of all the previously mentioned attributes, all of which left a huge smile on my face and a need to move with every beat. “Happy Birthday” and “Besties” are two songs that will forever feel like fireworks inside my body when I listen to them, and I hope you feel the same.

Sled Island 2026 has truly been an incredible experience and the highlight of my year. I sincerely thank all of the volunteers, bands, venue staff, audience members and the Sled Island team for creating something so magical. I look forward to what is yet to come and look back fondly on what has been the greatest festival in Southern Alberta and within Canada. From all of us at CKXU, thank you, Sled Island.

Photos by Kort Woycheshin, @flamesgrain on Instagram

Words by Laura Ponce

19Jun2026

CKXU at Sled Island 2026: Day 2!

Day 2 of Sled Island is in the books! We saw a bunch of great bands including but not limited to, ENTWINE, Radioactive Vampire Teeth, Witch Victim, and the night’s headliner Flooding. Saskatoon’s best heavy act Yarbo played at the Loophole on a bill with Lethbridge’s only band that features Ewi, NON ULTRAS; that gig was headlined by experimental rock outfit, cute. The CKXU team headed for a quick bite of pizza then boogied on down to the BLOX to catch an all-time Sled Island attraction: Radioactive Vampire Teeth.

ENTWINE: MUSIC FOR BIONICLE FANS.

Composed of members from various heavy-projects, Entwine describes themselves as a love letter “a love letter to ‘90s mathcore/metalcore and Y2K-era media.” Opening up on a mixed bill at Sloth Records managed to bring scary riffs through a Fender Hot Rod. Seeing bands like Entwine at Sled is always interesting to see how the crowd will react. As someone who actively goes to HC shows in Calgary and Lethbridge this isn’t new territory but for people sticking around to watch Sick Puppy it might be? People were moving, riffs were heavy, bionicles mentioned, good times had by all.

Radioactive Vampire Teeth (RVT) – noise rock and performance art

Twas the second day at Sled Island and all through the day was calm until we went to see our first show of the day, Radioactive Vampire Teeth. Before heading over to the BLOX Art Center I only had two pieces of knowledge on this duo. First, their post show interview energy is off the charts in the best way possible. Secondly, their incorporation of food in their show at last year’s Sled was something I’m sure no one would believe without seeing it themselves. On stage sits Matthew, drummer and vocals, using a toy voice changer mega phone that was hooked up to the board. PJ was set up on the side with too many instruments and gadgets, the most id ever seen for a two person band, let alone one person playing it. I’m talking minilab keyboards, synthesizers, a toy electric guitar and chicken feet? To top it all off, these guys were giving away free tattoos during the duration of their show. This entire show off the get go was a sight to behold and the music hadn’t even started yet. Off rip they break the news that they are breaking up and this is the last show ever! How devastating yet so candid; it was great. The feel of their music was so chaotic and intense in the best way possible. I had the biggest smile, I mean it truly gave me the energy to start moving around. Within the set we’d get “appreciation songs” for an old Sled sponsor, ConnectFirst and it was one of the best things within the set. I mean the unseriousness of at all yet the dedication and focus on both musicians faces really was the cherry on top. After the show I had the best time speaking with Radioactive Vampire Teeth and I want to share my favourite part of it all. Simply put, these guys are basically noise rock. When I asked them how they would describe their own genre without using traditional genre terms they said, and I quote, “squelchy radioactive bubbling sludge sounds with volcanic rocks falling into it, divided by 13 plus 42 with a side of orange juice and eggs.”. This was easily the craziest Sled show and I HIGHLY recommend you see them play if you ever get a chance.

Witch Victim – the night i became a victim to the witch

After the unique experience that was RVT it was time to fall back into comfort and lullabies with the beauty that is Witch Victim at the Palomino. This was my third time seeing this lovely group perform and it was just as magical as the last. If you enjoy any kind of slower indie shoegazey music you will fall in love with these guys the way I did. Hann and Dan, both on vocals and guitar for the band, were such joys to interview, I felt like such a fan girl. The enthusiasm and love for what they do was radiating off of them. This show was deemed the tear jerker of the night because of how intimate the vocals and guitar blend together. The intense drums give the music an adrenaline rush while you listen to some of the smoothest and softest whispering voices touch your soul. Please please please listen to “Horizon” and “I’m alright, I’m just a little tired”. It is the most soul shifting music that could bless your ears today, tomorrow and yesterday.

FLOODING: SLOWCORE, MELANCHOLIC, NIGHTMARE-GAZE TYPE ISH

Mazzy Star-esque siren-like vocals with brooding distorted guitars creating a dissonant wall of sound that craves resolve. Throughout this set the Flooding kept us intrigued with a post-rock sensibility hovering between loud and quiet with epic cresendos and melancholic quiet slow parts. What Slint achieved via composition and structure, Flooding pursues with intense dynamic range substituting odd-time for feedback.

Photos by Kort Woycheshin, @flamesgrain on Instagram

Words by Laura Ponce, Kort Woycheshin, and Jeremy Collier

18Jun2026

CKXU at Sled Island 2026: Day 1!

The time has come for another year of Calgary’s premier underground and alternative music festival, Sled Island! The festival features Los Angeles-based experimental noise-hop trio Clipping. as Sled Island guest curators. Still, before their headlining performance at The Palace Theatre on Saturday night, there are an enormous number of bands and artists from near and far playing Mohkinstsis the rest of the week.

Laraaji

As I was navigating the Sled Island schedule for this year’s edition, I found myself getting excited, but not because there were lots of bands I had heard of, but because of the absence of bands I recognized. It’s been posted on this yearly blog many times, but the beauty of Sled Island is discovering your new favourite band and finding up-and-coming acts. With that said, the first show I saw was the opposite of that.

Laraaji is best known for his collaborations many decades ago with Brian Eno, most notably working with Eno to create the blissful sound sanctuary that is Ambient 3, but in the years since he has continued to grow his sound and himself and it is wonderful that his artistic journey has brought him to Sled Island. Laura and I actually had a chance encounter with Laraaji. We were sitting in Sled Village, and he was just chilling on the couch, so I swallowed my nerves and asked him if he could record a station ID for CKXU, which he did. It’s not the most exciting story, but he was such a gentleman and it was very surreal.

The show itself was gorgeous; the Central United Church was glowing with the evening dusk and Laraaji was wearing a stunning orange coat that made him shine. There were waves of autoharp slowly bending through the pews of the church and while the music obviously had no percussion, there was a shared process of melodic digestion passing across everyone lining the walls of Central United. What surprised me the most about his performance was his ability to surprise himself and turn his surprise into an improvisation. He would create a drone through the autoharp then slice blues piano chords over top of the airy melody, and while my words won’t do those sounds justice it was stunning to listen to.

After Laraaji, Laura and I headed over to the Legion to catch Jed Arbour…

Jed Arbour

After seeing such a great performance at the Central United Church, Jeremy and I headed to the #1 Legion to see Jed Arbour open up the night for the other artists on the main floor. This Montreal-born, Calgary-based musician brought on such deep emotions in me that I genuinely had tears in my eyes by the end of the set. With a rich post-rock sound and grungy vocals, I was moved deeply by the performance. I knew I’d shed a few tears during Sled due to all the feelings of frisson I’d be feeling, but so early on was a shock. This show brought on such an amazing sound with slow-rolling drums, guitar and bass, along with an almost eerie-sounding clarinet in some songs; then to top it off, the most emotionally deep-sounding vocals ever. They were seriously nothing short of amazing, and if you want to shed a tear like I did, check out “Parasite” off their 2023 album titled Disappointing Dog Park. It is truly an incredible musical experience that you do not want to miss if you can catch it

Shunk

A Montreal-based four-piece band was not on my radar until I saw this set. The vocalist put on a performance that perfectly complemented the sound; I will never forget it. A theatrical mix between exaggerated and sustained vocals, almost opera-sounding, in songs such as “Rat King” paired with eclectic on-stage energy and engagement with the guitarist and bassist made this band such a fun and exciting time. The vocalist has such an intriguing stage presence with the way they purposefully moved their eyes side to side to every beat in between singing and the manor they danced with their hands sound the mic stand, then running around the crowd to incite a mosh pit. Truly, all of it was so amazing I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. Following such a great performance, I was fortunate enough to catch the guitarist and bassist for a quick interview. During the show, I was standing on the left side of the stage near the bassist, but although I only saw one guitar, it really sounded like there were two. In the post-show interview, I learned the guitarist had connected the left and right speakers separately to make such a wicked stereo rig; the sound was amazing. Shunk’s genre is hard to fully describe, but I will try my best before you readers inevitably check it out. At times theatrical with big, loud lyrics and upbeat riffs and drums, almost like Blondie but more new age and at times grunge, songs like “Snake” and “Tennis” are a perfect example of this unique style. But wait, these guys also get down and give you some of the smoothest sounds in today’s indie rock that I’ve heard in a long time, with lovely calming riffs and French vocals found in songs such as “Banale” and “Cloud”. The whole experience entranced me. I highly recommend giving Shunk’s latest album titled Shunkland a full listen, as there is bound to be at least one song you fall in love with.

Oranje

To these guys, all I can say is wow. This group really blew me away and had to be the highlight of my night. My only intro to this four-piece was “these guys have an awesome art rock/math rock sound and are really into football”. These two things were confirmed and were better than I could have ever imagined. After reading this, I need you to listen to their single “Ankara Messi”; it sent chills down my spine when I heard it live. Calgary is really lucky to have these guys as one of their local bands. Oranje has such an upbeat and energetic sound that you can’t help but move to the music. In their latest album, In Irons, the vocals sing ever so sweetly with guitar and drums. Something I found very lovely about this band’s performance was the little twinkles from the synth, which can be heard in songs such as “Quanzor” and “BWV”. Your quality of life will increase if you listen to this band, I promise.

All in all, an amazing first day of Sled, and I am elated to experience more!

Words by Laura Ponce and Jeremy Collier