Supplied – Marc RimmerSaturday September 12th 8:00 p.m.
Denizen Hall 10311 103 ave
$25
Local talent, local culture and local venues are three integral elements that The Bermuda Music Festival regards as paramount; showcasing the eclectic music scene of Edmonton, Bermuda is an annual music festival located predominantly in Old Strathcona and Downtown from Sept. 10-13. Over three days, Bermuda hosts an array of live musical acts over multiple venues across the city, at well known places including Brixx, The Starlite Room, Buddy’s, Wunderbar and Denizen Hall. Furthermore, Bermuda hosts an impressive showcase of visual art pieces from local artists across Edmonton and area.
Bermuda’s mission for the three-day festival is to enrich the cultural scene and local businesses and attractions in the Old Strathcona Community by providing Edmonton audiences with emerging and acclaimed musicians in local, intimate spaces that are important to Edmonton’s growing music scene. Similar to Calgary’s Sled Island, music festivals of this nature evoke grassroots community within Edmonton and proudly showcase the talented and unapologetic sound of this prairie city.
Bermuda not only does an exceedingly exceptional job showcasing great, local band and visual artists, it hosts festival patrons to the eclectic sights and experience of Edmonton, and the vibrant culture that surrounds the Strathcona and Downtown areas.
At Bermuda Fest, over 40 musicians and visual artists are being participating in making the event as wide-reaching as possible. Everything from rap, to indie rock, to noise is present at Bermuda. VanGaalen believes that it is imperative that a wide range of genres are being represented, in festivals like this so attendees can experience art and music in in their city and around the globe
“[Festivals] better be able to broaden [their] scope in regards to what [they] can offer.” VanGaalen says. “I feel like a lot of these fests are stepping up. It’s a good change to see all sorts of weird stuff.”
In 2013, the city of Calgary was devastated when the Bow River flooded the majority of the surrounding neighborhoods, including the downtown area. The worst occurred during Sled Island, a multi-venue, local music and multi-medium festival located in downtown Calgary. VanGaalen mused that although the flood was horrible, “it was nice to see people coming together to help out” and that “it kind of changed the city in a lot of ways.” He claims that many musicians ended up not wanted to get paid and many patrons did not ask for refunds because they didn’t want to see Sled Island ultimately fall apart due to the festival being forced to end a full day early.
“The flood was horrible, don’t get me wrong, but it was nice to see everyone coming together to help out,” he says. “A lot of people consider Calgary to be kind of cold and conservative, which it is, but its always good to see people rally their resources for the flood relief. It kind of made us feel like a proper city. We have so much sprawl that happens here, a lot of people really feel alienated. Even visitors when they come here, they are always like ‘your downtown is like a ghost town at night, what happens?’ Like everybody just goes to their homes and watches Netflix.”
Apart from more than a decade of active musicianship, VanGaalen is a successful animator and illustrator. He has collaborated with bands such as Timber Timbre on “Beat the Drum Slowly” and animates all of his music videos, rather than staring in them. Although busy with animation projects, VanGaalen is ultimately looking forward to headlining this year’s Bermuda Festival.
“I love Edmonton though” he admits warmly, “Every time I come up it seems like Edmonton treats me so kindly. It’s definitely one of my favorite places to play in Canada for sure.”
