Interstellar Rodeo was an annual three-day outdoor music event held the last weekend of July in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, established in 2012 and held at the Heritage Amphitheatre within Hawrelak Park. From 2015 to 2017, Six Shooter Records also had an Interstellar Rodeo in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. The final Edmonton Interstellar Rodeo was in 2019. The festival showcases performers from numerous genres. Notable performers to date include

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and colla ...

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

and

Hawksley Workman Hawksley Workman (born Ryan Corrigan, March 4, 1975) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has garnered critical acclaim for his blend of cabaret pop and glam rock. Workman has released eleven full-length albums throughout his career. A mul ...

in 2012, and

Alabama Shakes Alabama Shakes are an American rock band formed in Athens, Alabama, in 2009. The band currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, and bassist Zac Cockrell. The band began its career touring and perfor ...

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

and the Dukes, Sarah Harmer,

Serena Ryder Serena Lauren Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Toronto, she grew up in Millbrook, Ontario. Ryder first gained national recognition with her ballad "Weak in the Knees" in 2007 and has released eight studio ...

and

Shout Out Out Out Out Shout Out Out Out Out was a Canadians, Canadian dance-punk/electro (music), electro group from Edmonton, Alberta. The band's lineup is unusual in that it includes multiple drummers and bassists, as well as vintage synthesizer equipment. History ...

in 2013.

History

Interstellar Rodeo was established in 2012 by Shauna de Cartier of

Six Shooter Records Six Shooter Records is an independent record label based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that uses an artist-centric business model, focusing on art before commerce combined with extensive touring. Six Shooter Records was founded in 2000 by Shauna T ...

. The event took place annually during the last weekend of July at the Heritage Amphitheatre at Hawrelak Park in the North Saskatchewan River Valley. The amphitheatre features covered seating with uncovered grassed areas beyond. Interstellar Rodeo featured artist-wine pairings. In 2019, festival passes cost between 149 and 279 dollars. In 2014, Interstellar Rodeo was shut down for one day due to poor weather. The 2019 Festival was shut down for approximately one hour on July 27 due to severe thunderstorms in eastern Alberta. In late 2019, de Cartier announced the festival would be going on hiatus and not returning for summer 2020.

Interstellar Rodeo Winnipeg

From 2015 to 2017, Interstellar Rodeo expanded to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. The Winnipeg festival took place at The Forks in mid-August. The festival line-up typically featured some overlap with the Edmonton festival but with the addition of Manitoba-based artists such as Leonard Sumner. The festival dropped out of Winnipeg due to financial concerns from competing with free concert series in Winnipeg such as the Canada Summer Games concerts in 2017.

Performers

2015 *

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

Vance Joy James Gabriel Keogh (born 1 December 1987), known professionally as Vance Joy, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician, and former Australian rules footballer. He is best known for his 2013 hit song " Riptide". Joy signed a five-album de ...

* Steve Earle and The Dukes * Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings * July Talk *

* Tanya Tagaq *

Justin Townes Earle Justin Townes Earle (January 4, 1982August 20, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. After his debut EP, ''Yuma'' (2007), he released eight full-length albums. He was recognized with an Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist ...

* Rhiannon Giddens * The Lone Bellow * Black Joe Lewis *

Elliott Brood Elliott Brood (often stylized as Elliott BROOD) is a three-piece Canadian alternative country band formed in Toronto in 2002. It consists of Mark Sasso on lead vocals, guitar, banjo, ukulele, harmonica and kazoo, Casey Laforet on guitar, lead ...

NQ Arbuckle NQ Arbuckle is a Canadian alternative country band based in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of Montreal-born Neville Quinlan (the NQ of the band's name), Mark Kesper, Peter Kesper, John Dinsmore and Jason Sniderman. History NQ Arbuckle was formed i ...

* Amelia Curran * Jason Plumb & The Willing 2016 * Blond(e) Goth *

The Strumbellas The Strumbellas are a Canadian rock band from Lindsay, Ontario Lindsay is a community of 22,367 people ( 2021 census) on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough ...

* Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats *

* The Wet Secrets * Thao & The Get Down Stay Down * Leonard Sumner *

Skydiggers Skydiggers is a Canadian roots rock band from Toronto formed by Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson. Since 1990, they have released 19 albums/EPs and have had a number of singles that have appeared on the Canadian charts. Their most successful album i ...

Fantastic Negrito Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz (born January 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Fantastic Negrito, is an American singer-songwriter whose music spans blues, R&B, and roots music. His 2016 album '' The Last Days of Oakland'' won a Grammy award f ...

* Sykamore *

Margo Price Margo Rae Price (born April 15, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter, producer, and author based in Nashville. ''The Fader'' called her "country's next star." Her debut solo album '' Midwest Farmer's Daughter'' was released on Third Ma ...

* Joe Nolan *

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

* Henry Wagons * Sam Outlaw *

Begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ...

* Wintersleep * Lee Fields & The Expressions * Henri Herbert *

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

* Del Barber * Case/Lang/Veirs 2017 *

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

Sarah Slean Sarah Hope Slean (born June 21, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and musician. She has released eleven albums to date (including EPs and live albums). She is also a poet, visual artist, and occasional actress. Career Major recordi ...

* Danny Michel * The Dead South * Yola Carter *

Shakey Graves Shakey Graves (born Alejandro Rose-Garcia; June 4, 1987) is an American musician and actor from Austin, Texas. His music combines blues, folk, country, and rock and roll. Rose-Garcia received his stage name at Old Settler's Music Festival in 20 ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band and musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the ...

Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. O ...

List of artists

;2012 (July 27–29) * The Beauties *

Alejandro Escovedo Pedro Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, includin ...

and The Sensitive Boys¹ *

* Richard Buckner *

Cadence Weapon Roland "Rollie" Pemberton, better known by his stage name Cadence Weapon, is a Canadian-American rapper based in Toronto, Ontario. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Pemberton released his first album, '' Breaking Kayfabe'', in 2005 with posit ...

* Carolina Chocolate Drops *

Jenn Grant Jenn Grant (born August 20, 1980) is a Canadian folk pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career Grant performed as a musician for a time in her early teens, but stopped due to a bout of stage fright. She did not return to pe ...

* Michael Rault Band * Jason Plumb and The Willing *

Shakura S'Aida Shakura S'Aida is a Canadian blues vocalist, songwriter and actress. She is sometimes credited Shakura. History Shakura S'Aida was born in Brooklyn and lived in Switzerland before moving to Canada. S'Aida was lead singer of the 13-piece world ...

* The Sojourners *

Wagons A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, coun ...

¹ *

(featuring Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet) *

, originally booked, was unable to perform due to illness and was replaced by Alejandro Escovedo and The Sensitive Boys and Gillian Welch. ;2013 (July 26–28) *

* C.R. Avery * Del Barber * Amelia Curran * The Deep Dark Woods *

and The Dukes *

John Fullbright John Fullbright (born April 23, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter from Okemah, Oklahoma. While still in high school, Fullbright performed at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah. In 2009 he released the album ''Live at the Blue Door' ...

* The Good Lovelies * Sarah Harmer *Interstellar All-Stars, featuring

Jim Cuddy James Gordon Cuddy, (born December 2, 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo. Early life and education Cuddy was born in Toronto, Ontario. His mother Jean Cuddy was an English teacher at Monarch P ...

, Danny Michel and Quique Escamilla * Jr. Gone Wild * Danny Michel with The Garifuna Collective * Mike Plume *

* Rachel Sermanni *

* Kurt Vile * M. Ward * Chris Wynters and Scott Peters

References

External links