Montreal’s Igloofest is coming to Edmonton

Montreal’s outdoor winter music festival, Igloofest, has come out west. Edmonton is set to be the first anglophone city to host the festival. Two years in the making, Igloofest Edmonton is hitting the ICE District from March 12 to 14. Ahead of the festival, The Gateway, chatted with Tasha Prentice, Igloofest’s brand and market expansion director.

On choosing Edmonton for the expansion, it was in part because of Edmonton being “culturally similar. Edmonton embraces the cold as much as we do in Montreal. Everything being related to winter sports and hockey is something we both share. And, it’s also a good opportunity because there’s not as many things going on in winter,” Prentice explained. 

Considering the last outdoor dance music festival, DSTRKT25 was in September, Igloofest is gearing up to be the city’s only outdoor music festival in the middle of winter. And this is a part of the festival. For 18 years, Igloofest Montreal has been having folks dressed in colourful winter clothes. And, Prentice is hoping Edmonton does the same here as well. 

Between all four Igloofest festivals in Montreal, Gatineau, Quebec, and Edmonton, while some artists cross over between festivals, each one “usually has original programming. There’s different music styles for different crowds. In Montreal, we’re playing a lot with hyperpop and having a bit more of an edge, but also Belgian hip-hop. In Quebec City, we’re seeing what reflects more is EDM, and same thing for Gatineau. And for Edmonton, we’re testing out new things this year,” Prentice said. 

For Edmonton, Alison Wonderland, Disclosure, and Deadmau5 are headlining. Prentice said that while Alison Wonderland and Disclosure are more of a test on the market, Deadmau5, since he’s Canadian, was a “no brainer.” Deadmau5, Joel Zimmerman’s DJ project, is widely regarded as the best, most well known, and most successful DJ in Canadian EDM history. He has an extensive show history in Alberta, but mainly in Calgary. He hasn’t played here in Edmonton since 2013.

But aside from the artists, Prentice said one of their goals is keeping the experience similar across the different cities. “We want to have an experience that is reflective of what we started in Montreal,” Prentice explained.

Prentice said that students are a market they consider, often working with student groups to get cheaper tickets and allow for giveaways. And the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) is in on it too, giving students the chance to use the code UAIGLOO when buying tickets for 15 per cent off.