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This article was published 01/08/2019 (2475 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Benefit concerts for Jarvis warehouse fire

Last week, a fire ripped through a warehouse on Jarvis Avenue, a building that housed studio spaces for tons of local artists and musicians.

There are a few crowdfunding pages online to raise money for those who lost work and equipment in the fire, and now some benefit concerts are in the works as well.

Friday, Aug. 2, the Park Theatre is hosting a show specifically to raise funds for the bands that lost gear in the fire. The Park Theatre has stated it will match every admission paid in advance or at the door, and a silent auction will also take place. Trevor Buckley, the Great Steelhead, One of Us, Dinner Club and the Sorels will contribute the music for the evening, and tickets are $10 at Eventbrite, on the event’s Facebook page or at the Park Theatre.

Saturday, Aug. 3, the Royal Albert Bar and Grill is hosting a benefit concert featuring the Murder Birds, Filthy Animals and Nic Dyson, as well as a silent auction, with all proceeds from the event going to victims of the fire. Cover is $10 at the door.

Next week, on Friday, Aug. 9, Big Drama Shows and Room 204 Productions are presenting a four-band bill at the Good Will Social Club that was supposed to be a fundraising show for new amenities in the bands’ Furby Street jam space, but has now morphed into a fundraiser to replace equipment lost in their Jarvis Avenue jam space, which was in the warehouse that burned down. There will be performances by Nice Cops, Ceilings, Louser, and Shaner and McLeaner (of the Uglies); tickets are $10 at the door.

— Erin Lebar

Local performance artist takes new show to Toronto

Local artist Davis Plett is taking their show 805-4821 to the prestigious Summerworks Festival in Toronto, but for one night only you can catch a sneak preview of it right here in Winnipeg.

805-4821 is a trans coming-out story composed of other stories, including dialogue from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, a half-remembered swim lesson and extended Facebook correspondences. Plett’s work invokes technology — in this case, a hacked overhead projector — to explore the contemporary human condition.

805-4821 is created and performed by Davis Plett with direction and dramaturgy by Gislina Patterson. It runs Friday, Aug. 2, at 7 and 9 p.m. at Mentoring Artists’ for Women’s Art (MAWA), 611 Main St.

MAWA is a ground-level accessible space with gender-neutral washrooms and is a scent-free space. Content warnings include explicit references to sex, violence, trauma, gender dysphoria, violent intrusive thoughts and sexual assault.

Admission is free and a hat will be passed after each performance to support travel costs. Zines of the performance text will also be available for sale.

— Frances Koncan

Live music and a movie

Grab a lawn chair, pack a blanket and head to the Exchange District this Friday for some local music and famous concert scenes. Concert Movies at the Cube returns on Friday, Aug. 2, with a double-header featuring a performance by Winnipeg’s Roman Clarke and a screening of Prince’s 1987 movie, Sign o’ the Times. DJs Hunnicutt and Co-op are also scheduled to perform.

Last summer, the Exchange District BIZ tested the concept of music and movie pairings with Yes We Mystic and the Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, as well as 3PEAT and the Beastie Boys’ Awesome; I… Shot That!

The event will take place in Bijou Park, located on the east side of Old Market Square, from 7:30 p.m. to midnight. The entire park will be licensed and will feature beverages from Nonsuch Brewing Co. Concert Movies at the Cube is free to attend and open to all ages. Visit exchangedistrict.org for more information.

— Eva Wasney

 

Blue Rodeo plays two-night stand

The band behind the CanRock classic Five Days in July is coming to Winnipeg for two nights in August.

Blue Rodeo’s Wednesday, Aug. 7, and Thursday, Aug. 8, shows at the Burton Cummings Theatre are rare summertime dates for arguably Canada’s hardest-touring outfit; for the past several years, the band has performed here in the depths of January.

Jim Cuddy (vocals/guitar), Greg Keelor (vocals/guitar), Bazil Donovan (bass), Glenn Milchem (drums/vocals), Mike Boguski (keyboards) and Colin Cripps (guitar/vocals) haven’t released any new material as a band since 2016’s 1000 Arms, but Blue Rodeo’s founding members have been busy with solo albums: Cuddy released Countrywide Soul in the spring, while Keelor’s Last Winter came out in 2018.

The shows start at 8 p.m. and tickets are $49.50 plus fees at Ticketmaster.

— Jen Zoratti

Take a Viking Voyage at the 130th Icelandic Festival

The 130th Icelandic Festival (Islendingadagurinn) is sailing into Gimli this August long weekend. Running Friday, Aug. 2, to Monday, Aug. 5, the theme of the festival this year is “Take a Viking Voyage” (Farið í Víkinga Ferðalag).

“We are all on a variety of literal and figurative voyages throughout our lives,” festival president Grant Stefanson reflects. “We hope that you will take the time to think about your voyages and our voyages together as we celebrate Icelandic culture in Gimli.”

Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, the Icelandic education, science and culture minister, will be presenting the toast to Canada during the traditional program at Gimli Park on Monday. The festival will be honouring Tim Arnason, a longtime volunteer and past festival president, who will also present the toast to Iceland. Additional speakers include this year’s Maid of the Mountain (Fjallkona) Margaret Thorlakson Kernested and Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon.

The festival is bringing back many of its popular activities and events, such as the enormously successful 50/50 draw that started last year. Draws will take place each day of the festival and tickets can be purchased online at fundingchange.ca/icelandicfestival.

Music on the Rooftop will take place Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Waterfront Centre-Johnson Hall with a performance by Signy Janelle Arnason. Additional music offerings during the festival include Sebastian Gaskin and Efflo at the Harbour Stage and the Alternative Folk Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, with performances by Aurora Peiluk and Keiran Bjornson, Brooke Palsson, Slow Leaves and Ariel Posen.

The popular Vingólf Beverage Gardens will be back in Gimli Harbour, where festival-goers can enjoy food and drinks, including Brennivín and Crown Royal cocktails and food from many different vendors. The Viking Village is back as well and will feature re-enactors replicating authentic aspects of Viking life at Harbour Park Hill, including jewellers, wood carvers and battles.

The festival is offering up some new activities, including an Icelandic Fashion Show taking place on Saturday, Aug. 3, where traditional and modern Icelandic garments will be modelled and refreshments will be served. Also new this year is the festival’s inaugural 5k running race. The sold-out race will be held in conjunction with Manitoba’s oldest running race, the 51st Islendingadagurinn 10-mile road race. Both races will take place on Sunday, Aug. 4.

A complete schedule is available on icelandicfestival.com or via the Icelandic Festival app.

— Frances Koncan

 

Rockin the Fields of Minnedosa

Dust off your tent/camper/RV, slide into those ripped jeans and tease up that hair, rock fans.

If it’s the August long weekend, you know the amps will be turned up to 11 at the Rockin’ the Fields of Minnedosa festival. The fest, which returns from Friday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 4, boasts a lineup of Canadian and international acts that’s sure to please classic rock fans of all ages.

The Friday main stage lineup kicks off at 6 p.m. with the metal queen herself — Lee Aaron. The evening continues with Harlequin and Platinum Blonde bringing their brands of timeless rock to the stage before Canadian rock legends April Wine close out the night.

On Saturday, Aug. 3, the main stage music kicks off with the festival’s battle of the bands winner before turning things over to Montreal’s Sam Roberts Band and their anthemic rock staples such as Where Have All the Good People Gone? and Brother Down. The night closes with Georgia’s Collective Soul, whose hits such as Shine, The World I Know and Where the River Flows made them rock radio mainstays in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Sunday’s main stage lineup brings some of Canada’s most distinctive voices to Minnedosa. The evening kicks off with Streetheart, who will play Rockin’ the Fields for the fifth time — but the first without singer Kenny Shields, who died in 2017. The set will honour Shields’ life and singing career before the band turns things over to powerhouse vocalist Sass Jordan. Vancouver quartet 54-40 follows Jordan before Tom Cochrane, the pride of Lynn Lake, closes the night with Red Rider starting at 10:30 p.m.

The Heritage Co-op Hilltop Stage will feature all manner of tribute acts and up-and comers during the day and into the wee hours, including Guns N’ Roses tribute act Nightrain as well as Bed of Roses, who will bring Bon Jovi’s best tracks to life.

For more info on camping and the lineup, as well as to buy tickets, visit rockinthefields.ca.

— Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson