ADIEU TO INTERSTELLAR RODEO.
Created by music fans and for music fans, Interstellar Rodeo was a one-of-a-kind festival built from scratch in Winnipeg and Edmonton. Festival founders, Six Shooter Records owners and artist managers Shauna de Cartier and Helen Britton, dreamed big and drilled down into the tiniest details to design an experience worthy of both artists and audiences. The mission: to offer a premium, relaxed, respectful and fun experience from start to finish. Also, the wine needed to be good.From 2012-2019, Interstellar Rodeo presented a dizzying range of sound and stories, all united under the sails by a common thread of artistic excellence. From Beck to Rhiannon Giddens, Wilco to Whitehorse, Tanya Tagaq to St. Vincent to Sharon Van Etten to Sheila E., Interstellar Rodeo’s commitment to showcasing musical greatness in all its many forms created an experience that immediately struck a chord with fans, particularly for the festival’s element of discovery. Interstellar Rodeo brought dozens of artists to both locales for the first time, a selling point for adventurous and appreciative music lovers. Interstellar was proud to present artists such as Alabama Shakes, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Margo Price, Courtney Barnett, Father John Misty, Adia Victoria, and Perfume Genius for their Edmonton or Winnipeg debuts.
From 2012-2019, Interstellar Rodeo presented a dizzying range of sound and stories, all united under the sails by a common thread of artistic excellence. From Beck to Rhiannon Giddens, Wilco to Whitehorse, Tanya Tagaq to St. Vincent to Sharon Van Etten to Sheila E., Interstellar Rodeo’s commitment to showcasing musical greatness in all its many forms created an experience that immediately struck a chord with fans, particularly for the festival’s element of discovery. Interstellar Rodeo brought dozens of artists to both locales for the first time, a selling point for adventurous and appreciative music lovers. Interstellar was proud to present artists such as Alabama Shakes, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Margo Price, Courtney Barnett, Father John Misty, Adia Victoria, and Perfume Genius for their Edmonton or Winnipeg debuts.
From the first edition in 2012, Interstellar Rodeo’s lineup was built on parity and representative of many voices and communities. Interstellar became a model of art-forward, inclusive programming. With the introduction of side stages to showcase community dance groups and spoken word artists to a strong contingent of artists from northern territories including Yukon and Nunavut, Interstellar Rodeo welcomed and celebrated artists from all over the country and all over the world. This approach to music curation in Interstellar Rodeo’s culture and mandate embodied the core values of Six Shooter’s spirit and ethos. An emphasis on quality of experience drove Interstellar’s philosophy from top to bottom. On the ground, Interstellar Rodeo’s Here To Help team and Code of Care put its mission to create a welcoming and positive environment into action. As its roots grew deeper, Interstellar Rodeo shone the spotlight on community creators and activists through programming and outreach.
Along the way, the festival team learned many lessons, made many friends, and ultimately created a community of people committed to building the festival together. Interstellar Rodeo proudly and fiercely embraced the challenges, roadblocks and surprises that came along the way, a reflection of the grit, determination and enthusiasm of its producers. From Corb Lund Day, by city decree, to opening Interstellar Rodeo 2019 with Jesse Jamz and the Flams, a hometown artist who was rained out the year before, Interstellar Rodeo did everything it could to make sure everyone – from headliners to brand new performers, from those who never missed a year to those who came to see just one artist – felt valued.
No Interstellar Rodeo was like the other, but all Interstellar Rodeos were these things.
Thank you to our volunteers, our sponsors, supporters and partners, our families, the artists, their agents and managers, and most of all, the fans in Edmonton and Winnipeg for making this a truly memorable experience each and every time.