Join us at Sled Island!
CKUA Summer is heating up. First up: Sled Island! Join us in person or live on air as we capture the high-energy fun of this eclectic Calgary music and arts festival, June 18 – 22.
Did you catch the Sled Island preview with host Amy van Keeken during This Just In, June 6 at 10am? Amy chatted with performer Willie Thrasher and Sled Island Festival Manager Hemen Tor-Agbidye. She also played music by Sled Island performers including TOPS, Bibi Club and Oddisee. Listen OnDemand until June 12.
Then, get ready for CKUA Summer on location at Sled Island! Here are a few moments to mark on your calendar:
Wednesday, June 18: Host Kate Stevens and co-host Amy van Keeken bring you The Upload live from Sled Village, 11am – 1pm.
Thursday, June 19: It’s a live-to-air broadcast from Sled Island, at the King Eddy. Join us to hear multi-instrumentalist and folk musician Amy Nelson play from 9pm to 9:40pm followed by folk-rockers Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback from 10pm to 11pm.
Friday, June 20: Join us for another fun live-to-air broadcast from the King Eddy. Indie rockers Kue Varo & The Only Hopes will hit the stage to play live from 10pm to 10:40pm.
Host Kate Stevens, for one, is ready to get the Sled Island party started.
“It is such a fun festival,” she says. “You’re never really sure what you’re going to stumble into next and that’s part of the magic. You could be catching a sweaty punk set in the basement of a bar and then watching this jaw-dropping, mind-melting jazz fusion set a couple of blocks later.”
“Meeting our listeners is my absolute favourite part. Radio is a very funny medium because it’s usually just me in a padded room talking to myself,” she laughs. “During our summer festival coverage we actually get to see and meet the people who power CKUA: our donors, our listeners.”
As a downtown-dweller, Stevens says she takes in as much of Sled Island as she can. “I pack my bag and run around all day, then head home for a break, then do it all again at night!”
“It’s one of my favourite times of year. It’s so heartwarming when we can actually meet the CKUA community and catch some live music together.”
And, of course, CKUA Summer is just getting started! Over the next couple of weeks, listen in for our festival previews. We’re covering the Medicine Hat JazzFest, Beaumont Music Festival, North Country Fair, Rosebud Chamber Music Festival and Edmonton International Jazz Festival. All the details can be found here.
“ICU2” by TOPS, who will be playing at Sled Island:
