music&events
(Mark Andrea)
2. It’s a chance to discover your new favourite band, or catch an act playing a tiny venue right before they become a household name and move on to much bigger venues as happened with Patrick Watson in 2007. His spell-binding set at The Refinery is still talked about by many of the 100 or so people that got to see it.
Under the Radar:
Text by Tyson McShane
Serious JUNOfest Excitement Mar13-14 JUNOfest
Various events, showtimes and ticket prices; junoawards.ca From March 9 to 15, the JUNO Awards are returning to Saskatoon for the first time since 2007. As is the tradition, the awards will be preceded by a full week of events leading up to the big ceremony on Mar. 15. As part of that, there will be many, many events happening all across town. Obviously the awards ceremony out at SaskTel Centre and the songwriter circle at TCU Place will be big draws for many people, but if the 2007 Junos are anything to go by, the real fun will be in getting out to the clubs for JUNOfest.
For Mar. 13 and 14, JUNOfest takes over all your favourite local music venues, from intimate spaces such as The Refinery to bigger clubs like the Capitol and Coors Event Centre. As an added bonus, rumour has it there will be a few shows happening in less typical (and tiny) venues like 9 Mile Brewery as well. All told there will be at least 24 shows featuring more than 50 bands, ranging from emerging locals acts to many JUNO nominees and all curated by Broadway Theatre Executive Director Kirby Wirchenko and his team there. Considering how excellent their justwrapped-up Winterruption festival was, you can bet that with the extra backing of the JUNOS they are going to put together something special.
5 Great Reasons to be Excited for JUNOfest 1. It’s your chance to see some of Canada’s biggest bands in small clubs.
Feb01
Saskatoon Blades vs. Lethbridge 7pm; tickets $25; saskatoonblades.com It’s fast-paced WHL action for the Blue & Gold, with NHL prospects Tristen Robins, Koen MacInnes and Rhett Rhinehart looking to lead the team into the West Division playoffs. Remaining Blades home games: Feb. 5 vs. Regina; Feb. 9 vs. Moose Jaw; Feb. 12 vs. Brandon; Feb. 22 vs. Swift Current; Feb. 29 vs. Prince Albert; Mar. 4 vs. Calgary; Mar. 6 and Mar. 18 vs. Regina; and, Mar. 21 vs. PA. SaskTel Centre (3515 Bill Hunter Ave.)
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Feb07
Kinsmen Celebrity Sports Dinner 4:30pm Tailgate Party, 6:30pm program; tickets from $700 (1/4 table)/VIP table $2,800; kinsmendinner.ca Five of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history grace the podium at the 60th anniversary of this charity fundraiser. TCU Place (35 22nd St. E)
3. It’s the best deal of the week. You can buy a wristband that will get you into every venue (subject to capacity), meaning you can take a chance on checking out someone new or hop from venue to venue all weekend. 4. JUNO weekend is a big party for the Canadian music scene, so even if your favourite band isn’t playing JUNOfest itself, they may be in town and checking out friends’ bands, and you never know when someone decides to hop on stage to make a surprise guest appearance in a venue much smaller than they typically play. 5. It’s a chance to discover a new local Saskatoon or Saskatchewan band. It’s becoming less and less of a secret that Saskatchewan’s music scene is thriving and JUNOfest will be a chance to see just how good it is, as most shows (Courtesy photo) will include local acts on the bill. 10+ venues Tyson McShane has toured across Canada, the US, UK and Europe, and released four albums with his band, Slow Down Molasses. A co-curator of MoSoFest over 2012–2016, he presented some of the most exciting new music from across North America, next to Saskatoon’s finest bands. @TysonMcShane @SlowdownMolasse
Feb08
Sask. Rush vs. Colorado 7:30pm; tickets from $32; saskrush.com Tickets are hard to come by for the high-flying Rush as they look to increase their lead in the West Division over rivals the Mammoth in NLL league play. Future home games for the Green and Black include Feb. 29 vs. Toronto, Mar. 7 vs. Vancouver and Mar. 20 vs. Georgia. SaskTel Centre (3515 Bill Hunter Ave.)
