Sled Island 2023 Day 1: June 20, 2023 Recap

The “For The Record” team made their way to Calgary for this year’s Sled Island Music & Arts Festival. On the way there, they stopped at the small and young community radio station, euroRadio, in Nanton, AB. The station started operating in 2020 and has really come a long way since! Their operations are small, but they have a large and passionate drive to help support and build their local community. It is always amazing to see a community radio station thriving like this, and to see that the commitment to supporting the local community is universal across all Campus and Community radio stations. We wish euroRadio all the best and look forward to stopping in again after their isolation booth is finished! 

Once the team made it to Calgary and were settled at the accommodations, they made their way to the Sled Island Kick Off Party at Commonwealth Bar & Stage.

The first act was Calgary’s “More Than Nothing”, they are an Experimental group that blend elements of Classical, Contemporary, Avantgarde, and Electronic. Group members are flutist Jiajia Li, violinist Laura Reid, Whitney Ota & Krzystof Sujata. The start of their performance was very harmonic and developed a very open and warm atmosphere which then moved towards more dissident tones and themes. Currently, they have no social media presence or released music so if you see their name on a bill definitely check them out!

The team then headed to the basement stage at Commonwealth and were able to catch a set from Temia. This Calgary based artist really pushes what the Hip-Hop genre can do, with elements of Carib Beat, Drill, Grime, Trap, 808s, Old School, and at times a hint of Experimental Electronica. She carries an amazing energy throughout the performance and really keeps the audience engaged in between songs.

The final act the team was able to see was Roya, an Experimental Electronic performer based in Stockholm, Sweden. The performance crafted a dreamy, sorrowful and passionate soundscape through a minimalist set using only two synths and her vocals.

There were so many more acts performing the opener, however the team wasn’t able to take them all in, a great reminder that Sled Island has so much to offer, regardless of your interests or tastes! The team ended off the night by taking in the many public works of art that feature throughout Downtown Calgary, and dreamed of what Lethbridge could look like with similar installations.