Sled Island Festival Series: Ben & Basil Leon on Sled Island, Music & Community

The Sonic Collective: Sled Island Festival Series

Ben & Basil Leon on Sled Island, Music & Community

Darren Scott talks with Dandy Brewing’s Ben Leon and his teenager Basil about their experiences at Sled Island 2026. Ben brings a unique perspective as a musician who played at the very first Sled Island, while Basil shares what it’s like experiencing the festival as a young music fan limited to all-ages shows.

But the highlight of the conversation comes when Basil tells a touching story about Calgary musician and percussionist Chris Dadge helping them on their own musical journey. It’s a beautiful reminder of the generosity, mentorship and community that makes Alberta’s music scene so special.

Listen now and discover another side of Sled Island.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome back to the Sonic Collective. Over the past few months, we've done something a little different here in the podcast. We've taken the Sonic Collective outside of the studio and into the Calgary music community to explore one of the most important events on the local music calendar, Sled Island. If you've been following along, you've heard conversation with some of the artists, musicians, and the people involved in the festival. We've talked about what makes Sled Island unique, how it has shaped Calgary's music community, and why a festival like this matters to artists who are trying to build an audience and a career. And then in June, I finally got to experience Sled Island from the other side, not just as someone covering the festival, but as a fan. For four days, my friend Kelly Shaw and I ran around Calgary, going from venue to venue, seeing as many artists as we could, gathering audio, photos, video, talking with musicians and fans, and generally trying to take in everything Sled had to offer. Somewhere along the way, something unexpected happens. I realized that the thing I was really interested in wasn't just Sled Island, it was the music, the artist, the people behind the music, and particularly the incredible music being created right here in Alberta. This Sled Island project also gave me the opportunity to have some conversations that I didn't want to simply leave buried inside one wrap-up episode. So today, you're gonna hear one of those conversations One of the things I wanted this Sled Island series to explore was the idea that this festival really belongs to the entire music community. It's not just for musicians. It's not just for hardcore music fans, and it's certainly not just for people my age. Definitely not. Old guy in the room. Sled Island has always been about bringing a huge variety of people together around music, and I wanted to hear from someone who had experienced that evolution firsthand. My friend, Ben Leon, is one of the owners of Dandy Brewing here in Calgary. Dandy is also one of Sled Island's official beverage sponsors, so you probably encountered their beer at Sled venues throughout the festival. I know I had my share fair. I li- I really like that Dandy lager. I love all their stuff. great beer. But Ben's connection to Sled goes back much further than just Dandy Brewing. Before he was a brewery owner, Ben was a musician. He played in the Montreal band, The Nymphets, who performed at the very first Sled Island Festival. So Ben has seen this festival from the stage, from the business side, and now as a parent bringing his teenager along, and that's where Basil comes into the story. Basil had been attending Sled Island with Ben for several years but experiences the festival differently than an adult attendee. Because they're a teenager, the all-ages shows are particularly important, and that gave me the opportunity to hear what Sled Island looks like from the perspective of a young music fan. What I really enjoyed about this conversation was that it became much more than a discussion about which bands they saw. We talked about the festival, discovering music, the importance of all-ages shows, and the relationship between generations of music, musicians, and music fans. And Basil also told me a story about a Calgary musician and percussionist, Chris Datch, that really stuck with me. That Chris Datch, he just kept popping up everywhere I went at Sled. it's crazy. Uh, Basil's story is a story about an established musician taking the time to help a young person who was just beginning their own musical journey, and for me, that story really captured something important about Calgary's music community. without further ado, here is my conversation with Ben Leon and Basil

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 3:26

all right, Ben and Basil, thank you for joining me today. we wanna talk to you about a bunch of things, but the number one thing about this episode, and it's all about the 2026 Sled Island. Obviously, we're gonna talk about all of it, but, I wanted to talk to some people that I knew. I wanted some perspective from somebody a bit younger coming into the show, that I know has, his dad, Ben, has, grabbed them and taken them all over Sled. So I think that, you're gonna offer a real interesting perspective. But, with that, let's dive right in, maybe just take turns, and just to start, what was your biggest takeaway from the festival this year?

Ben and Basil 4:06

Do you wanna go first? I think this year it was, from recent memory at least, one of the more varied, list of artists. you had Black Country, New Road as one of the headliners. You had Clipping, and a bunch of, in that experimental space with Lucas Abella, Laraji, and then you also had so many of those other genres, indie with Home Shake and, egg punk, I think, with Snooper. Egg punk? I'm not sure.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 4:39

Yeah. And Basil, what was your, like what were some of your favorites?

Ben and Basil 4:44

Yeah, that, so my favorite show that I was able to stop by at this year was, Laura Jeanie in, the United Church. That was pretty wild, and- That was really good Robert Ike Aubrey Lowe opening for Laura Jeanie was amazing, phenomenal. Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 5:01

that, that was quite... I was actually there. I did have to leave before Laroji came on. but I did see the first... I kinda saw you guys.

Ben and Basil 5:08

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 5:09

you across the room and, yeah. Anyway, yeah, very cool. And that was that JJL that

Ben and Basil 5:14

Yeah. Wait a second.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 5:16

cool. like flutist and atmospheric, and then that drummer playing pra- yeah, very cool stuff. Very. And Ben, what about you? What do you... What's some of your-

Ben and Basil 5:23

Yeah, Laraji was up there. it's always a special the last few years as, to get into the, emotional nerdy dad stuff. we w- we've been kicking off SLED with the show at the Central United. So it's always, that's always a high point to, before we sometimes go off and see different shows, to have that- Hermetès. Yeah, we saw Hermetès last year and Laraji this year, but also just seeing someone like Laraji that, I don't know if anyone ever thought that he'd come to Calgary, but, a cool dude. And then, yeah, this year, Snooper was really amazing, and I would say, Retail Simps at the Palomino on the Friday night was amazing, from Montreal. That was super fun. And then, the next day, n- not just 'cause I'm with Dandy, but I thought the lineup at the Dandy show was, Saturday afternoon show was amazing. Chris Burns and his grow- Going Concerns, which is members of Retail Simps, was an amazing closer. Chris Burns was, in that band Terminal Sunglasses from Montreal in the '80s, and they've long been one of my favorites. So yeah, I'd say those were the hits for me. What? Yeah, I think those are definitely the high points, but there was a lot this year I found, I find most year there's a lot of the, big hits and then you- some shows, where you're like, "Oh, I'm not connecting with this," and, could've gone somewhere else or something like that. And I found this year, everywhere I went, it was all solid and good and great. So yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 6:56

Yeah, and a few people I've talked to have said that they've felt hey, every year's amazing, but this year seemed to have a special twist, and I was hearing a lot of, "Hey, this might be one of the best SLEDs yet," right? just the diversity of the lineup, how they've really expanded it from, in its inception it was definitely skewed a little more alternative punk. but, and then when they, brought in, Flying Lotus, I think was a big change, into you got more hip hop and things, and you're seeing more and more of that

Ben and Basil 7:22

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 7:23

Basil, I'm very interested again in hearing your perspective because, being underage, and I think we wanna i- impart on people, first of all, there's even a lot of free shows, but there's also all-ages shows. maybe take me through a few of the all-ages spaces and shows that, you saw.

Ben and Basil 7:40

Yeah, for sure. So The main one was Central United, and then I went over to Pinbar And did you make-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 7:52

But Pinbar was all

Ben and Basil 7:53

Yes Yeah Pinbar was all ages, and they're always the best. one of my favorite venues for all ages. I remember seeing a lot of... I think I've seen, hardcore shows there- Yeah in the past. Yeah, I think they... Sorry, not to butt in. It's okay. So they, no, I, just as a side note about Pinbar, I think that I've had those conversations with Arlen, one of the owners of Pinbar, about just, the importance of being an all-ages venue in this city, and, just ride or die for all ages, and I thought that was great, 'cause you don't often hear that from bar owners. and then I sadly wasn't able to make it to any shows at Loophole, but Loophole is another one I really wanna highlight. They are always, almost all of their shows are all ages. I think-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 8:38

Loopholes come up many times with a lot of the artists and, attendees that I've talked to. So big shout-out to Loopholes for that

Ben and Basil 8:45

Even just like in the experimental space in Calgary also, just like supporting all those all-ages shows, I think they're definitely a very important, venue right now. Yeah. Yeah, and there's nothing like it in the city. it's just such a cool spot to see

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 9:03

yeah. Small, little, intimate, ver- yeah, it's super cool.

Ben and Basil 9:06

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 9:07

cool. That and, the Blocks Art

Ben and Basil 9:09

Yes

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 9:09

lot. Yeah

Ben and Basil 9:11

Yeah Did you get to Box this year? I don't know if I did this year, but my buddy Edwin went there to see Cooling Prongs and and it was pretty wild from what he was, like, telling me afterwards. It was, yeah, definitely

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 9:27

One thing I love about SLED is the most inclusive, diverse, safe space, and just everybody's there to discover and learn and be into the music together. And, is that the same experience for you? Or I guess, what's the perspective of somebody younger?

Ben and Basil 9:42

I think right now it's it's so difficult to say because after the pandemic when venues started to slowly start shutting down and all-ages stuff was getting a bit, difficult to run, I think it's definitely starting to go in the right direction. But I still think that more all-ages shows, especially slightly bigger bands are something that I would really like to see in the future

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 10:15

Yeah. Yeah, agreed. And it is good to see we're seeing the community build up, like The Loophole and The Blocks that we said that offer these spaces for, like all genres too.

Ben and Basil 10:25

Exactly

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 10:26

and hey, you, and I know, we're both all local here, but outside views I think really pigeonhole us as folk and country a lot, but there's so much more to the Alberta and Calgary music scene than

Ben and Basil 10:38

Yeah. Yes.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 10:39

Yeah

Ben and Basil 10:39

Definitely. And I think Calgary traditionally also had a really good all-ages scene. I was out here for a couple years in high school, and I know- Yeah at least in the punk scene, or, and rock scene and that whole sort of side of it, like venues like, The Malti and stuff just had, hundreds of kids. And some really great bands came out of that, like Chicks Dig It, and, Martyr and stuff like that.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:05

Yeah

Ben and Basil 11:05

and when I came back out in 2008, like Carpenters Union Hall I think was still doing some shows and stuff like that. And yeah, I think Calgary, I think there's a lot of bands even on the national scene that, don't necessarily say they're Calgary bands because they moved to Toronto or Montreal or stuff like that. But I think Calgary's done a great job. And, back to SLED, like yeah, I think I agree, it'd be cool to have some bigger stuff as part of the- Yeah all-ages programming. I- But, It's definitely going in the right direction- Yeah, Yeah. I feel like right after, the pandemic would've been your first one. Yeah. Yeah. And it was a struggle to find the all-ages shows. or not a struggle, but like you had to really make sure your schedule was done right to get to see the all-ages shows, whereas this year it was we split up for some shows and everything. there was stuff going on. So it's definitely moving in the right direction.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:58

Yeah. The, and that's good. And again, it is known for its inclusivity, make it everyone. And we understand there's liquor licenses and bigger bars and stuff, and it can make it more difficult at times. But, there's more and more of the venues are just, savvy to that, so doing

Ben and Basil 12:13

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 12:14

that, that's good to hear. That's good to hear because I've always said that too. I... Sled, you could be, you stand behind a guy dressed in a business suit.

Ben and Basil 12:20

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 12:21

in my mid-50s and just look like an old dad and, and, and then you'll also be standing next to somebody with full Mohawk, and then, the most beautiful trans woman you've ever seen, and, just community in Sled. And I just love that about it. And it's just, And you just feel that vibe. You go up to the stage and get into the show with

Ben and Basil 12:38

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 12:38

that.

Ben and Basil 12:39

No, it's, every time I travel, and we played the first one, and after that, like everywhere we went, we'd wanna tell people about, like you'd start describing this festival to people and they'd be like, "Really? In Calgary?" And you'd be like, "Yeah. it's wild, like how cool it is and how like..." Yeah, it just, I think it's done huge things for the community, the music community and the music scene.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 13:04

Yeah. And in the original episode, we got into a little with Zach Peshek, and he kinda loosely based it and had gone to the, Pop Montreal Festival and kinda taken some ideas from that and took it back

Ben and Basil 13:16

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 13:17

actually, y- that was a good lead in, 'cause, that was my next question, Ben, 'cause, I know you're in a band, based out of Montreal

Ben and Basil 13:22

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 13:23

correct? Yeah, and, so you're in a band, you own a brewery now, Danny, we'll get into that more, as you're a sponsor. But so what is your relationship with SLED yourself? So you just mentioned you played the first one?

Ben and Basil 13:36

yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 13:37

Yeah

Ben and Basil 13:37

when Zach started it, he was connected through friends or family with, Sean Petch, who was at that time was working for Pop Montreal pretty high up in sort of the management there. and also played in one of my top 10 Canadian bands, The Adam Brown. He was the guitarist in that band. So we knew him, and he also grew up the street, but I didn't- from me, but I didn't know him at that point. we went to different high schools. But, yeah, so when we were booking a tour across Canada in 2007, Sean over beers or shot us an email, said, "Hey, I'm involved with this brand new festival in Calgary. if you guys wanna play, it would be awesome. We're trying to get some, bands from all over to come out for this." So we did. I was... I'd already- I'd been out for a couple years, but, at that point was angry and hated Calgary. I was like, "Yeah, sure, okay, we'll come play this festival." And, at that point, The Legion had never done a show, so it wasn't even on my radar, and we found out we were playing The Legion, and I was

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:40

What?

Ben and Basil 14:41

like

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:42

yeah. No, actually that is crazy when you say

Ben and Basil 14:44

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:44

'cause I, I do that. And I tell them, "Oh yeah, The Legion's one of the

Ben and Basil 14:47

Exa-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:47

venues now."

Ben and Basil 14:48

It's

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:49

yeah, I never thought of that. yeah, you're right, be like, "Oh yeah, you're gonna go to The Legion?" What? And there's a bunch of old men, in the corner?

Ben and Basil 14:53

E- exactly. Exactly. So it was a t- a total kind of on our side, "Oh, it's great. We'll play a festival. We have places to stay in Calgary. We know a few people, so that'll be our Calgary show." And then, it was so much fun, that first year, just sorta hanging out and all the bands and the Legion was mind-blowing. And then, I moved out the week after 2008, so I wasn't there for that, missed the Modern Lovers. But, 2009, moving back, to Calgary, I knew Zach and I knew Sean, and that was about it. fell into working at Broken City, which was at that point home base for Sled, 'cause Zach

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:32

That was a good... That, that venue is sorely missed, I gotta say. And I was surprised Modern Love, is that what?

Ben and Basil 15:37

Yeah, Modern Love.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:39

I just thought, "Oh, that's gonna

Ben and Basil 15:40

Yeah, it-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:42

I,

Ben and Basil 15:42

yeah, still walking by it during Sled, it's still I'm not very, like, sentimental person but you should be able to go have beers on the roof of Broken City during the day during Sled. it's just part of it. Also, especially it being an all-ages venue for during the day. Broken City was. Yes. Yeah. That's what I mean.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:03

Yeah

Ben and Basil 16:04

yeah, that was a huge loss, too, f- and they were, like, really, especially the later years, adamant about having all-ages programming on Sundays- Yes during the day, and that was a big loss, when they lost there. But, yeah, and so in 2009 was back out and, knew those guys, so just sorta started volunteering a bit here and there. And then, yeah, been to every one since. 2008's the only one I've missed

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:33

Wow, that's impressive.

Ben and Basil 16:34

It's, I think, Arif Ansari is the only one that... Maybe Craig.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:39

yeah. Yeah. don't know him well. I've been introduced to him a

Ben and Basil 16:42

yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:42

but I saw him everywhere. The-

Ben and Basil 16:44

he's-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:44

Yeah,

Ben and Basil 16:45

Arif? Yeah. Yeah, the best dude. Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:48

He's good friends with some of my good

Ben and Basil 16:50

Oh, sweet

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:51

we, but yeah. But yeah, I always see him out

Ben and Basil 16:53

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:54

you too, yeah. I think we w- I, yeah, we

Ben and Basil 16:56

Crossed paths, yeah, for sure, yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:57

yeah. yeah. But, yeah, so you're, you've seen a lot of shows together over the years. I guess together, what are the most favorite acts or artists that you two seen together and discovered together?

Ben and Basil 17:10

Aladeen at Sloth Aladeen Karoufi. Yeah. At Sloth Records. That was- Almost died. Yeah, it was the hottest show I've ever been at. But it was s- it was

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:20

yeah.

Ben and Basil 17:21

the best I've seen him play. Yes. on his own, and he had a- Drum machine, retro yeah, like a s- '60s or '70s drum machine, and

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:29

Oh,

Ben and Basil 17:30

Oh, Hermitess last year. Hermitess. not just because it's the kickoff show, and you know- Yeah we got to do it together, but- Also Chris Dad's drumming. He's in, 50 places at once during Sled. It's crazy. Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:41

Oh, yeah. I also, I don't know him, but I met him this year because I saw him so

Ben and Basil 17:46

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:47

and I had interviewed Brock Geiger, who is, he's his drummer.

Ben and Basil 17:50

Yeah,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:50

yeah.

Ben and Basil 17:51

plays with that friend He's the best.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:52

everybody. He was with JJL

Ben and Basil 17:54

yeah Yes And yeah, Chad's drummer, produced and recorded Basil's cassette as well.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 18:01

really?

Ben and Basil 18:02

yeah. Yeah, Hermitess I feel was like a, like- Hermitess was great mind, like one of those shows where you're like, the, "I don't want it to end." Especially in the church. Yeah, like that was pretty outstanding

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 18:16

Yeah, and the locations keep coming up too, and the church, like, yeah, obviously the acoustics

Ben and Basil 18:21

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 18:22

the vibe in there, right? It's very yeah, it's a very interesting place to see the shows.

Ben and Basil 18:27

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 18:27

you just washed over something, but I'm very interested. But, basically, so you've produced your own music. You have, a, cassette. So what... Yeah. Tell me a little bit about that

Ben and Basil 18:37

it's called Mascara. It's- It's the name of the cassette or the band or your- I have... Oh, my project is called Magic Art Club, and it's just a way for me right now to experiment with different genres. I started out, noisy power electronics and then started to lean more into, indie pop recently and drum. Yeah. And that's-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 18:59

By just that you have that creative space, right?

Ben and Basil 19:02

Yeah, no, it's amazing to watch. But yeah, Chris, Sorry, I don't mean to talk on you. No, it's okay. Basically reached out to Chris to see if that was an option, and Chris was, like, super into it, and,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:14

Yeah

Ben and Basil 19:15

two days of recording, and really- It was amazing working with him, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. And just his wealth of knowledge, 'cause he is the studio drummer for Always from Halifax, and, produces a lot and records a lot of that stuff, which I had no idea. So- Oh, does he? I think he did. I shouldn't say he produced and records a lot of it. Records, does some of the recording and- Yeah and has produced stuff for them, but plays drums on a lot of it. another maritime connection.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:44

Yeah, go Maritimes. Yeah, for those don't know, we have a Prince Edward Island

Ben and Basil 19:47

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:48

r- raised in Prince Edward Island and

Ben and Basil 19:50

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:51

to Alberta, and

Ben and Basil 19:52

Yeah. That's where the family is.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:53

family

Ben and Basil 19:54

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:55

yeah. Great place to be

Ben and Basil 19:56

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:57

right? Yeah, we're the best.

Ben and Basil 19:58

Yeah, exactly.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 20:00

So actually, one thing, I love that, that Chris helped you out, and and one thing with SLEDD, and it came up many times too, is that, not only are you seeing these amazing acts, but they're right beside you watching the acts that they're probably gonna be out next. I just mentioned, I did meet Chris because I had interviewed Brock Geiger, and then he was standing around. I'm like, "Hey, didn't I just see you at JJL?" And he's like, "Yeah." And then he's in Eye of Newt, and he knows all these bands, and and super supportive. And the other thing is too, is that they're willing to talk to you, and I think they wanna help. and hey, there's no myth that musicians, you do it for the love, you do it for the creativity and the art. there's usually not a lot of money in it. So when you can help somebody else and you get that opportunity to give back, a lot of these, not just local, but these small musicians and artists will help. I just interviewed Arlo Maverick. He was a, a hip hop, act out of Edmonton. he was the second last at The Ship on the Thursday night. and I'd interviewed K-riz and the family, and K-riz was the closer. But anyway, Arlo blew me away. He had The Ship, and all, going and just pumping. It was so good. And after, I'm like, I had to, I'm like, "I'm interviewing that guy 'cause

Ben and Basil 21:05

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:06

entertaining." But when I really dug into him, you should see the stuff he does. He's going to schools, teaching songwriting

Ben and Basil 21:11

Wicked

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:12

elementary and junior high, and he just came back. He produced all these videos to help other artists know how to g- get funding and do things. So

Ben and Basil 21:19

I get it.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:20

out Arlo

Ben and Basil 21:21

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:21

a separate interview, but it just goes to show, you just glossed over that. But yeah, a nice local artist helping, a teenager trying to really do their art. So that, oh man, that, that's probably the best story in this interview.

Ben and Basil 21:32

Yeah, exactly.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:33

that's super cool. yeah.

Ben and Basil 21:35

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:35

Don't know. okay, we'll switch it a little bit. So we glossed over it, it's obvious, but, Dandy Brewing, who is awesome and one of the best spots in the city, and the beer, we all know that.

Ben and Basil 21:45

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:45

I've known you, I've know- I met you many years ago. There's a whole other

Ben and Basil 21:48

Yes.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:49

a child once, but we won't get into that.

Ben and Basil 21:51

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:51

but so Ben, obviously you've played in it, you love SLEDD, but what led you to get Dandy involved?

Ben and Basil 21:59

Yeah, I think just exactly that, that we loved it. there's, we don't have a huge marketing budget, but, when we opened Dandy, and the original one was tiny, and we had no marketing budget, I would just joke with them all the time. at that point, Sean was still, festival manager, and RF was on the board. I'd see them a lot, and I'd be like, when Phillips is done, or when Steam Whistle's done, or Big Rock's done, come to us." And then, in 2016, it was up, and we were still really tiny, so I was like, "Okay, darn, can't do it now, but

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 22:30

Not yet, yeah

Ben and Basil 22:31

next time come to us." And then, thankfully, we had opened our new location. We're a little bigger, and then just decided that we'd take the risk on it or, and put most of our marketing budget towards it. But, really, it stems from just believing in it. I think, being a, a brewery in the city, we're in the business of gathering and people having fun and a good time. And, as I mentioned before, I think SLED brings so much to the city that's so unique for community, and, it's... not every city has a festival like this. And so it's actually everything we truly believe in, art, community, diversity, all that stuff that SLEDs stands for is we c- might as well, cut out their sort of mission statement and value statement from their website and put it on ours. We approached them when we knew the contract was up and said, we, however we can be involved, we wanna be involved because, this is our people. This is what we believe in. And, and I think that's why it's been such a good relationship. I know, other breweries in the past that have been involved are happy to write a very big check and, or a, a sizable check, and then drop off some, the beers for the artists and then say, "Great, have a good time." "There, you got what you need." And, we come from it from the side of we wanna see SLED grow. We wanna be involved with SLED. We wanna see, what it can do, and we're there every step of the way with them and try to, not just bring money to the table or product to the table, but also ideas or, having the parking lot shows and stuff like that. it's whatever we can do, we want to 'cause it's incredible. It's an incredible festival and-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:11

T- yeah, I agree. And I'm a co-owner in a smaller distillery, and I, I love, and the, yeah, the marketing budget's not there, but the same thing. I remember so much, and then I'm good friends with the Beer Fest guys, Mark

Ben and Basil 24:23

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:23

you love Sled so much," and he put me in the Sled area in Beer

Ben and Basil 24:27

It's sweet

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:27

was like, yeah, there wa- there was like, you guys were there, and there's... And we should shout out the others, like 88 Brewing, Confluence Distillery, Ross and Phee, obviously good friends of

Ben and Basil 24:37

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:37

and, and then I know Annex had their Non

Ben and Basil 24:40

Yep.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:40

year in there,

Ben and Basil 24:41

The soda sponsor,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:42

so support local. Hey gang, a quick shout-out, like these local breweries, distilleries, when you can, spend that extra money, it's worth it, 'cause they're keeping the money in the community. And it's one thing you said, you do these golf tournaments, and people come to us all the

Ben and Basil 24:53

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:54

you donate to these?" And we do. We give back. you know what you're not seeing is, all these big international brands

Ben and Basil 24:59

Totally.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:00

ones in your community giving back. It's the little guys like us, so I, you know I've always appreciated that, and

Ben and Basil 25:05

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:06

like, I'm glad that, these types like, Dandy and 88 and Confluence are our sponsors now versus, like you said, the Steam Whistles or just the Molson and the

Ben and Basil 25:15

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:16

screw you

Ben and Basil 25:16

Yeah. No, it's,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:19

those

Ben and Basil 25:19

like

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:19

That's not punk at

Ben and Basil 25:20

No, exactly, It's, it would feel weird or it has felt weird with different beer sponsors when there's not that presence, 'cause I think yeah, it's fun. And also why would you sponsor it if you don't wanna go to shows every night and

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:31

Yeah,

Ben and Basil 25:31

w- we

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:32

ridiculous.

Ben and Basil 25:33

it's, yeah, it's the best. We love it

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:35

It is. Okay, yeah, we'll come back to that in a, before the end here. But, one thing, and we've been talking all around it, but, people often compare Sled Island to larger festivals. It lo- I mentioned it was loosely based on Pop Montreal, but even like North by Northeast or even South by Southwest, but really it's got, it's a completely different Calgary feel. I guess I'll start with you, Basil. What do you think makes Sled Island so special? And then I'll your dad to do

Ben and Basil 26:02

I think with a lot of festivals, even the great ones, there's a big issue in terms of curating them where it will either be only the largest bands, only these, giant massive bands, or it will only be really, small bands, which I think still has its place. But I think with Sled, it's able to mesh all these different bands regardless of their popularity, into maybe one show or, one night to create a feel that I feel like a lot of other festivals haven't been able to curate

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 26:43

Yeah, couldn't agree more. Gr- that, that is very Sled. Yeah, it's not like, and I say it in the main episode, but imagine going to a festival that big and they're like, who's gonna be there?" You're like, "Oh, I don't really know. I'm just gonna go figure it

Ben and Basil 26:54

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 26:55

like that, that would never happen, whereas Sled, that's literally what Sled is. yes, you know some of the larger to medium acts, but you might

Ben and Basil 27:02

Yes

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 27:03

it's all different genres, and it's just, yeah. yeah.

Ben and Basil 27:05

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 27:06

Ben, what would you

Ben and Basil 27:07

Yeah, like that for sure, similar to Basil, I always use the term it punches above its weight. Like the curation of the festival is so strong. I think, Mode has done an amazing job and, Tyra this year and Haman before that and Sean before that with convincing, I don't know if convincing is the word, but taking the swings on some of these bigger, more interesting bands that Calgary would never be on the tour sort of radar for them getting them here for people to see. And, and then I think that also falls for, genre and stuff like that. Like they, they're very good and very thoughtful about making sure all these different genres and communities are represented and building these bills that are like, it's almost like alchemy where you have like different genres on the same bill or something like that. And you're like, this shouldn't make sense altogether, but it does. Like the different times where you're like, I'll just go check out this band. That's what I wanna see. I'm not really into the rest of the stuff. And then you get there and you're like, no, all of this is amazing and I wouldn't have taken a chance. I can't remember, this is terrible, the, as an example, the band that opened at Dan D,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 28:23

Hip hop Thursday?

Ben and Basil 28:24

totally not something I would've, s- sought out or anything like that. And then I was down there and I was like, "This is a great..." "This is amazing." And

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 28:32

Yeah, they're fun.

Ben and Basil 28:33

yeah. So I think, that's the, the biggest strength. And I think also, just their, again, having sponsors like us, but, going to South by Southwest, Pop Montreal a little bit, but 'cause it just, because it's a bigger festival. But North by Northeast, they can become very sort of industry-focused as opposed to putting on a show or the art, and that can kinda get lost in it. And, sponsors start getting way too much power, I think. And, and then also just, labels and PR companies stepping in and being like, "This is what we wanna do. We're gonna leverage this festival to do this or that and make that happen." And I think that, Sled has done an amazing job at just, saying "No, this is what the festival's about." I know as a sponsor, they're very clear that we're a sponsor to support what they're doing, not a sponsor to go in and make it a dandy festival or start making decisions, and I really respect that and love that about it, because they do know what they're doing. They're the experts. And, I think, yeah, that's like with people like Anthony Fantano just, this year sort of being blown away by that it exists and it's yeah. and as I said before, we talk to bands on tour and tell them about this festival, and then, they go Google it and they'd be like, "Wait, these bands played?" or "This exists in Calgary?" yeah. It's great. So yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 29:59

I g- and it is unknown, and I'm a m- I'm a mid-50s guy, and even my circle of friends obviously maybe not as c- into music as I am, but they w- they often have no idea, or even about Sled itself, not even like certain bands. But, but to that point, Basil, like in your school or your friends or your groups, like is there a knowledge around the festival at, like at, in, in these schools? do you think? Or is it just like like a, a very still niche for your f- circle of friends?

Ben and Basil 30:29

I think in my age group right now, I've... Not really in my school as much, but just in the local music scene with, friends' bands like Cleaver and, Canadian... I guess they're not a all-ages band. I was gonna say Canadian Dispatch. yeah, Cleaver and kind of those bands, I think. It was pretty unknown for a while. but I think it's been starting to, get quite a bit bigger. yeah, my friend Edwin, bassist for Cleaver, I went to La Regie with him, and I also, I gave him an all-ages pass, and he went, and, every single night was at some, random experimental noise show. Yeah. Yeah, he was-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 31:14

I s- I saw, I went to Lana Del Reybes. That was

Ben and Basil 31:17

Oh s-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 31:18

don't know if I could put on an album, but that was art. that was a stunningly crazy, amazing,

Ben and Basil 31:24

Yeah. Oh, I f- yeah, I forgot about that show. That was a good show. That was a great show

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 31:29

Or Ekthros. yeah. And he was an indigenous artist, and he was, like,

Ben and Basil 31:33

He's amazing

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 31:34

yeah, residential schools and kinda scream, but, it was cool. And again, in that notion of, you could be stan- I didn't realize it, at the whole show for him. Beside me, I'm like, "Oh, there's this, beautiful woman beside me," and that was Lana Del Rey, but I didn't know till after. I'm like, "Oh, I have... And that's the thing, you can experience these shows right beside,

Ben and Basil 31:50

Yes

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 31:51

like, I walked out of that going like, "Okay," like, when other would I get exposed to that, right? and I appreciate it. And again, I'm probably not putting on an album and bopping to

Ben and Basil 31:59

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 32:00

it is, it was a piece of art. It was amazing

Ben and Basil 32:03

is amazing, yeah. He's pretty legendary right now in the noise scene in Canada I've found. Yeah. He's on that one label Iron Lung, I think. But yeah, very cool. Yeah. I'm glad that people were going out to see him this year, so yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 32:18

And so Basil, like you're at school and people are like, "What'd you do last night?" You're like, "Oh, I went and saw Exorsus and, Lana Del Rey." But he's are they like, "You're insane."

Ben and Basil 32:25

That is like the, the norm now for you, I'd

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 32:28

Yeah.

Ben and Basil 32:29

find, I... All my friends are weirdos like me, so I think-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 32:33

weirdos are the

Ben and Basil 32:34

Yeah exactly. Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 32:36

yeah. Absolutely.

Ben and Basil 32:38

I think, This year it seemed people in your circle were a little more aware- Yeah than in past years, for sure. I find, especially through booking some all-ages bands, I think Medusa's was gonna play I think that there's so many people in my scene that would... are now having Sled on their radar, that are probably gonna attend next year, and I think that it's just so amazing. And I also hope that there's more, all-ages shows that are, like, teenagers in bands. Yeah. Yeah, 'cause... And ma- I, I think they've been doing it every year, but this year it found, I f- I found, Yeah, to your point, the all-ages programming also included lo- more local all-ages bands.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 33:27

Yeah, that, that's a really good

Ben and Basil 33:28

and I think, it's really awesome to see big touring bands at an all-ages venue so all-ages, can go and see it. But if they don't, if they're not as dialed into the festival because none of their friends' bands are playing it, then they're not even gonna get to those shows. Yeah. So this year, like Riot Girls and- Rebel Girls Rebel Girls. Sorry, I'm gonna get that wrong every time. Yeah, Medusa's

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 33:49

riot girls is the genre, right? Girls are, yeah,

Ben and Basil 33:52

I find- It's...

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 33:53

Bikini

Ben and Basil 33:53

Yeah. I... Oh, sorry. no, go ahead. I find, in terms of Sled, one of the things I would really like to see in the future is more, diverse genre-wise for these all-ages local bands, 'cause there's, so many weird teenagers playing in bands. there's, a weird parody grindcore band- in, Okotoks or something that I think- Sweet would be funny to see.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 34:17

Parody grindcore. yeah.

Ben and Basil 34:19

Awesome. Sweet. there's just so many cool bands- I don't know any grind- that are, like, all, u- all made up of members under 18, and I think that's gonna be the biggest push for more kids my age to go 'cause that's, like-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 34:34

And who's kidding who? Basil, you're, the, the kids are the creators, right? we all know that. we're old music fans," and, and there's a lot of great, creativity from older artists, and I'm not bashing anybody, but, I just watched a documentary on East Bay Punk, where, Green Day and all those bands came out of, and you're like, but that, it was all kids, and they just kinda DIY'd it. They made their own club, and, they just started to do it, and I think that's a great idea. I think that's something hopefully SLED will embrace and grow, and it, and admittedly, I think they have. There is more,

Ben and Basil 35:05

Yes.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 35:05

So Ben, as a father to Basil, and it, and obviously you're a musician and an artist yourself, and you wanna support this, but I guess what advice would you give for parents with teenagers that are maybe all of a sudden coming and probably not as cool as you, Ben, and but, but, they wanna do music or do art or attend these SLED shows? I guess, what advice would you have for parents with, kids in, in those situations?

Ben and Basil 35:30

I ju- lean into it. I think, it comes on very fast that you'll realize how old you are and, I think about four of the genres mentioned by Basil, I don't even know exist or what they are. And once I could get over things like that, that, what music was in 2004 through 2010 or '12 isn't what necessarily the same. but yeah, I think Calgary has so, especially looking at Calgary, so many opportunities. with SLED, like the all-ages pass is hardly any dollars. and I think you don't have to go to that many shows to make it worth it, so- Also all the free shows. Yeah, and there's free shows.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 36:10

of free

Ben and Basil 36:10

And I think that as a step number one, just getting a pass and going out and going with the kids to see the shows, and you'll have your mind blown and the kids will get to see some really cool stuff. but then during the year, things like, Band Camp, that, Misha from Misha and the Spanx does is like- Amazing amazing, cool. Rebel Girls came out of that. Yeah. came out of Band Camp. and yeah, I think there's all this really cool stuff happening in the City of Calgary, and it's, it's- More teenage promoters as well. Yeah, more teenage- All the kids, like, all the kids booking shows too- Yeah I've found. Yeah, I think kids are inherently good and just wanna create and do their thing. but it was

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 36:52

any,

Ben and Basil 36:53

been my, view on it is like, "Yeah, let's do it." They've, Basil's booked some shows at, Loophole at Blocks and stuff, and, I just try to be a, a help if they have questions when I can, but otherwise it's just try to support and be there 'cause, yeah, there's a lot happening in the city that, for free and not free. But, SLED, I think every parent should get passes with their kids 'cause it's super fun.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 37:20

Yeah, and I think what gets missed too, and I've mentioned it, we all have, but is that just that community and camaraderie that you're just out. You'll see the same people you're just "Hey,"

Ben and Basil 37:30

exactly

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 37:31

and you're just vibing next to somebody, and it doesn't... Then it's a completely different van

Ben and Basil 37:35

Yeah. Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 37:36

it's such a cool experience. and like again, I made a joke about it, but I said, I'm like, "I don't think I've ever seen like a fight or an

Ben and Basil 37:43

No.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 37:44

show." I'm sure it's happened, but

Ben and Basil 37:45

Knock on wood, but- Just-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 37:47

yeah, knock, yeah, knock on wood. But like it honestly, it's just such a... people are there to really

Ben and Basil 37:52

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 37:52

and discover and be around like-minded individuals. And and not to use the word but weirdos are the

Ben and Basil 37:59

Yes

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 38:00

y- and it's just inclusive, and

Ben and Basil 38:01

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 38:02

welcome there, and that's the way it should be. in a world now that's getting more and more divisive, and a festival like Sled is more and more

Ben and Basil 38:08

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 38:09

So

Ben and Basil 38:09

No, I think that...

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 38:10

it's amazing

Ben and Basil 38:11

Yeah, actually I never thought of that, but you are 100% right. In all the years I've never seen a fight. It's always ever since the first time. But also, I was just gonna add to what I, I was saying, I think one of the other great things about taking the kids to Sled is in today's world where all music is at their fingertips, and, through Spotify or YouTube or TikTok, Bandcamp- Radio music they can find all these bands in genres. And I think of when I was a teenager in high school, getting into punk rock and stuff like that, and being like, no one listens to punk rock at this school," or no- Like, where, or around me and I think there's these kids in, basements and bedrooms all over the city that maybe are doing really cool experimental jazz and don't realize that, Yar- Jarrah Sharif. Jarrah Sharif, who's world renowned, is from Calgary and playing a million shows during Sled. And I think,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 39:05

Yeah

Ben and Basil 39:06

for kids who are doing their own thing or finding a really cool community maybe online and don't realize that it's happening in this city, that there's actually a very cool scene, and then they can connect and they can g- be playing shows and doing stuff, which is awesome.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 39:22

Yeah, and playing an instrument or playing your

Ben and Basil 39:24

Yes.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 39:25

playing in front of a screen, right?

Ben and Basil 39:26

yeah. And I think, like, how many... how many kids start bands when they see other bands? And I think if a 15-year-old gets to a show and sees Rebel Girls playing, then they're like, "Oh, they're teenagers. I'm a teenager. I could..."

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 39:41

Yeah. yeah, you can

Ben and Basil 39:42

let's do this." So yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 39:43

yeah.

Ben and Basil 39:44

yeah. I love it

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 39:45

no apologies. No apologies. we talked about it earlier too, but I wanna switch it now a little bit 'cause SLED's great, but you've now done an offshoot. You've been doing it for several years, and that's Dandy Fest. So tell me, when is it, first of all, and then, how to get tickets and all that stuff, and then what Dandy Fest is all about

Ben and Basil 40:00

Yeah, Dandy Fest takes place this year, August 22nd, at Dandy Brewing Company. We, close off the streets in front of the brewery and, bring in a ton of bands. It started... it did start as a sort of customer appreciation day, where we brought in a bunch of friends breweries and some of the best beers we could find, in North America, and had a bit of live music, and some friends' bands would come down and play. And over the years, it's evolved, and last year we fully shifted it into a one-day, a more conventional one-day music festival that has, we like to say, the best beer bar in the city for that day. We... So you still get all the, unique beers and cool stuff that people are doing on the craft beer side. but now it's a full day, two stages of just really cool bands that we love

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 40:51

yeah. It's a great festival, and really an extension of what

Ben and Basil 40:54

Yeah. Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 40:55

yeah. Yeah, and a- adding to the scene. And if you haven't been down to Dandy, you have a great space down

Ben and Basil 41:01

Thank you

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 41:01

you ex- you have the big patio, and then if you're adding

Ben and Basil 41:03

Good piece,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 41:04

the road,

Ben and Basil 41:04

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 41:05

be a good time. That's gonna

Ben and Basil 41:07

yeah. No, it's gonna be great. I-

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 41:09

yeah. Awesome. And where do you get tickets?

Ben and Basil 41:11

you can get tickets on our website, dandybrewing.com. There's a big banner across the top that will take you to it. we have this year, Otto Benson is gonna be amazing, from New York. we have Charlotte Cornfield, who's, just been putting out amazing records for 15, almost 20 years, I would say. and she just released a brand-new record on, Merge. I got that right? Yeah. she's gonna be amazing. You Do Right from Montreal, who's a post rock, band, named after a song by Krautrock heroes Can.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 41:50

Oh yeah, nice

Ben and Basil 41:51

and They Say Stories, which I'm really excited to see, which is a shoegazy band from Setina. they, their album they released last year, which I think was also recorded with, Chris, was named, by KEXP in Seattle as one of the top 100 records of last year.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 42:07

Sweet

Ben and Basil 42:08

yeah, it's gonna be a great lineup, and we got my, I don't wanna say favorite band in the city, but for some reasons they are. Outlaws of Ravenhurst are playing this year, which if you haven't seen them, they are- Amazing probably the best metal players in the city

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 42:25

and is that an all ages?

Ben and Basil 42:27

It is not an all ages show due to

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 42:29

think so. But

Ben and Basil 42:29

the...

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 42:30

wanna... We've been talking about it a lot. I don't wanna mislead

Ben and Basil 42:32

Yeah, due to the heavy beer element, we that one. I won't even say, but

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 42:38

Tough balance on that one. Yeah, I'll finish with one last little question, to both of you. if you could describe SLED in one word, what would that be?

Ben and Basil 42:52

I'm gonna say summer camp. I think, yeah, I think of it every year as seeing everybody you haven't seen in a year, getting to do fun stuff that you haven't been able to do all year, and yeah, it's the kickoff to summer

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 43:05

Yeah. And Basil?

Ben and Basil 43:07

I almost wanna say like innovating or something

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 43:10

Yeah,

Ben and Basil 43:10

like That's probably a better No,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 43:12

that, yeah, that's a great one. yeah. That's, yeah, that, that's great. 'Cause it is, it's completely

Ben and Basil 43:15

like facing your fears Yeah Like at

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 43:16

all about

Ben and Basil 43:16

the Front of the development of the industry for music festivals, I feel Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 43:24

Yeah. Amazing. hey, a, a big thanks to you both. it was great talking to you. great to see you at Sled. I know I'll see you at the next

Ben and Basil 43:32

Yep.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 43:32

I'll definitely be coming to Dandy Fest this year. and Basil, special shout-out to you. Thanks for

Ben and Basil 43:37

you so much for having

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 43:38

teen perspective, and keep making that art and keep doing it. And I look forward to seeing you out there, as well. But, thanks to you both.

Ben and Basil 43:46

you so much for having us.

Outro Stuff 43:51

Wow. Thanks a lot, I wanted to talk to the artists, I wanted to hear from the fans, I wanted to experience the festival as a music fan, and as someone covering the event for the Sonic Collective for the first time. I came away with something I really wasn't expecting, a much deeper appreciation for the music being made right here in Alberta. Throughout this series, we've heard from artists including Brock Geiger, Evan Reznick from Sun Glaciers, K-riz and the Family, K-riz, Contra and Aboshi from Cartel Madras, and others. We've talked about the history of Sled Island in the previous episode, Sled Island: The Festival That Changed Calgary Music. We heard from Ben Leon, who has been connected to Sled Island since the very first festival, and his teenager, Basil, who gave us the perspective of a younger generation of music fans. There are so many stories here, so many artists, and frankly, far too much great music for me to stop now. If you haven't listened to the earlier episodes yet, go back and check them out. Start with Sled Island, the festival that changed Calgary music, then explore the artist interviews and the conversations with Kelly, Ben and Basil, and Arlo Maverick. Taken together, they're really one big story, a story about a festival, a story about a music community, and for me anyway, a story about rediscovering why I love doing this podcast in the first place. Thank you to every artist who let me into their world. Thank you to everyone who sat down for an interview. Thank you to Kelly for spending four crazy days running around Calgary with me. Thank you to Ben and Basil for sharing their perspective. Thank you to Arlo and thank you to Sled Island, the volunteers, the venues, the sponsors, and everyone who makes this festival possible. Most importantly, thank you to the people who actually go out and support live music. Please go, go, because that's where all of this starts. Don't just listen to your favorite artist. Go see them. Buy their record, buy the shirt, tell a friend, support the venue, support the festival. And if you discover an artist you've never heard before, give them a chance. You never know, they might become your next favorite band. I'm Darren Scott. This has been The Sonic Collective, Thanks for listening.

46:04

Thanks for listening to The Sonic Collective. If you enjoyed this episode, help us keep great music alive by subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing the show with a fellow music fan. Be sure to explore our growing catalog of album reviews, artist interviews, festival coverage, and music discoveries from across Canada and beyond. The theme music for The Sonic Collective is Dust by Léger Gongtique from Calgary. Our thanks to the band for letting us use and feature their music. Be sure to check them out. Until next time, keep listening, keep discovering, and keep the conversation going. This is The Sonic Collective signing off