Looks like this year's SOS Fest will not happen, which is a shame, the last two years they had a good thing going. SOS (Sounds Of Old Strathcona) was an all day music fest they held on Whyte Avenue here in Edmonton. They would shut down the most popular block in the city to traffic and set up two stages and have local and out of town bands play all day. Well this year there will be no SOS Fest, but it looks like there will be a street party nonehteless, with The Commercial Hotel celebrating their Centenial year (100 years in business). For those who aren't from Edmonton, or have never been here, the Commercial is a hotel on Whyte Ave with a bar called Blues On Whyte that has blues bands playing there 7 days a week, as well as having the famous Saturday afternoon jam sessions. Damn near anyone who has been to the Commie has a story to tell about this venue. Always a mixed crowd and a good time. Well, on Sunday July 8th, Whyte Avenue will be shut down between 103rd street and 104th street from 10am til 10pm with two stages of live music, starting with a pancake breakfast first thing in the morning, then followed by live music, face painting for the kids, street performers, vendors of all sorts from the avenue and the best part, a beer garden, which is something the SOS Fest never had.
Sounds like there is going to be 14 bands in all playing that day, some of the bands performing are King Muskafa (Edmonton), Funkafeelya (Edmonton), Boogie Patrol (Edmonton), JK and the Statics, Big Hank and a Fist Full of the Blues (Edmonton), Tim Vaughn (Saskatoon), EC Scott (Oakland,California) and headlined by Wild T & The Spirit (Toronto,Ontario).This is shaping up to be a really fun Sunday. Hmmm, me thinks it might be a good idea to book Monday off from work. Get out and support live music and come down to the ave and have a good time. This is the kind of thing Edmonton should have been doing for a long time ago. With great support and turn out, maybe this too, could be a yearly thing.
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