Hey, it’s Chantal. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track or be in the know about all the cool things going on in the city or online! Social media can get flooded, life can get chaotic, you know how it is. That’s what this is here for! Alternative Weekends is a nifty little series with the top 3 things happening in Edmonton or on SONiC, over the weekend. Who’s releasing a new album? Is there a SONiC artist live streaming? What can you do in Edmonton this weekend? Those questions will be answered here.

Here are 3 things to check out this weekend:

1. Enjoy the Edmonton Comedy Festival

This weekend multiple venues in the city are hosting the Edmonton Comedy Festival! You can see shows at the Spotlight Cabaret, ATB Financial Arts Barns, Varscona Hotel on Whyte, and Yuk Yuk’s Century Casino.

The festival started on October 14th but only goes until the 17th, so you have until Saturday to check it out. This year is also the 10th anniversary of the Edmonton Comedy Festival.

You can look at the full schedule by clicking here.

2. Listen to Gord Downie’s Away Is Mine

On Friday October 16, Gord Downie’s album Away is Mine, will arrive posthumously. It’s a double album including electric and acoustic versions of all ten songs. All of the tracks were recorded at the Hip’s Bathhouse Studios back in August of 2017, which was only two months before Gord Downie passed away, in October 2017.

Guitarist/co-writer Josh Finlayson and Downie’s brother Patrick wrote in a statement that, “This won’t be his last release, but these are the final ten songs Gord sang before he passed away. The last time he ever sang into a mic. That’s pretty special to us.”

Three songs have been released off of the album to date; “Hotel Worth”, “Useless Nights” and “About Blank”.

You can listen here.

Saturday is also the anniversary of Gord Downie’s passing. Rest in peace.

3. Watch a free virtual music festival

From Friday to Sunday, you can watch Save Our Stages Fest for free! Some of your favourite SONiC artists like The Lumineers, Rise Against, Foo Fighters, Nathaniel Raitflif, and Portugal. The Man will be there. Unlike some of the other livestreamed festivals we’ve seen, the footage from Save Our Stages will not be from archived performances. The artists will be performing live from various venues.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is partnering with YouTube to livetream the festival for free all weekend long. However, if you do donate the proceeds go to supporting vulnerable independent music venues.

For more information on the festival click here.

You can watch the trailer below.

Filed under: Alternative Facts, Alternative Weekends, Alternative Weekends with Chantal