Curating a music festival isn’t an exact science. Just ask Brent Oliver, the president and producer of Winterruption, the annual downtown music festival. With three decades of experience as a music promoter, it’s safe to say that he knows how to spot talent. But this year, even he was caught off guard by Winterruption’s fastest-selling act.
“This band, Stomach Book, is playing on the Friday night of the festival,” he says. “It’s hyper-pop. Thank God I have teenage kids. One of them said, ‘Oh yeah, Stomach Book. They’re really popular.’ It’s almost like video game music. It’s just very ADHD, computer-oriented electro — and it’s selling like crazy. ”
The festival, which runs from Jan. 21 to 25 at venues around the city, will host more than 90 artists and bands. You’re in good company if you don’t recognize some of them. While the wildly varying headliners include veteran L.A. punks Fear, rapper Talib Kweli and folk band Hiss Golden Messenger, part of the goal is to highlight lesser-known, surprising acts too.
As Oliver explains, finding and booking those bands is “an interesting little puzzle.”
“A lot of American agents just laugh me off,” he says.
The reason: well, January is typically pretty cold in Canada. To make the prospect a little more appealing — and financially viable — a series of Western Canadian festivals ferry artists from one city to the next. Saskatoon started the first Winterruption, with Winnipeg and Edmonton following suit. Calgary and Vancouver also host partnering festivals under different names.
In Edmonton, festival-goers can jet to a mix of DIY spaces (Freemason’s Hall) and established venues (Starlite Room) within a 20-block radius downtown throughout the five days.
“We always had a mandate to keep it downtown,” Oliver says. “I love downtowns in cities. I wish Edmonton would love our downtown a little bit more, if you know what I mean. So, I’m trying to do our part . The core of it — nine or 10 venues — are in a three-block radius, which was important to me, for walkability.”
Coaxing people to walk anywhere outside in January might seem like a tall order, but part of the festival’s mandate is to breathe a little life into the mid-winter slump. It all began with original Winterruption founder Kirby Wirchenko.
“His philosophy was, nothing happens in January, so we have to make something,” Oliver says. He and his crew of volunteers have been doing just that since Winterruption Edmonton’s first iteration in 2020.
“We’ve had pretty much the same core people since the beginning,” he says. “In fact, we’ve added a couple who have come to us to say, ‘I want to help.’ I take a lot of pride in that.”
With their volunteer labour ready to hit the ground running, Oliver has a few acts he’s particularly looking forward to: Open Mike Eagle, Thumpasaurus, and Annie-Claude Deschênes, to name just a few. As for Stomach Book, as the kids say, IYKYK.
Winterruption takes place at venues across the city from Jan. 21 – 25, 2026.
