Western Death Ballads Live at Blakbar February 15th 2026

 

 A few weeks ago my buddies A-Bomb, Buzzard and I went to the Sunday afternoon Western Death Ballads show at the Blakbar on Whyte Avenue here in Edmonton.

 I've always said that afternoon shows would be a cool thing. You get the people that are still drunk from the night before and those that have started early and then there are the older folks that like an early start and don't want to be up late. Not on a Sunday though, unless of course it's a long weekend, like this show was. Monday was Family Day here in Alberta, so this show worked for us. That, and we are all big fans of local band Western Death Ballads. For a 1pm start the venue was full, so ya, afternoon shows do work.

 There were a whole bunch of local artists on the bill with each artist doing two rotating 15 minute sets. The only artist/band that really did anything for me was the band we were there to see and that was Western Death Ballads. This would be the 4th time seeing them play. It made for a long afternoon waiting to see WDB do there two, too short sets, but it did make for an afternoon of a whole bunch of beers drank. Western Death Ballads were great as usual. Can't wait to see them play an actual headlining set. A fun way to make the best of a Sunday afternoon. I know it's not much of a review, but the show was a few weeks ago, so I'm just summing things up. 

Western Death Ballads.

Yuletide Bonanza 8 at The Starlite Room in Edmonton December 13th 2025

  Last Saturday my buddy A-Bomb and I made our way to the Starlite Room to take in the Yuletide Bonanza. This was the 8th edition of this festival, but the first time I have gone. A show featuring 16 mostly local bands and raising money and food donations for the food bank, so all for a good cause. The main reason we went, was to see Western Death Ballads, and I really wanted to see the band Barb Wire Choker. Being my first time to this event, I wasn't sure how this would work, what were the set times, who was playing when and such. Well, it starts with the hosts putting all the band names in a hat and then picking eight names, and the bands playing in the order they were picked, then a half hour intermission and doing the same for the rest of the bands on the bill. So if you weren't there early, you may miss the band you really wanted to see. In all there were 16 bands that played, with bands being added at the last minute. So it was going to be a long night of music with each band playing a 15 minute set. This is a great way to see a bunch of bands that you may not have seen before, and for me this would be my first time seeing most of them.

 The first band to get things started was The Unwashed a skate punk band. They were alright, I believe the guys in the band were the hosts.

The Unwashed.

 Next up was the Calgary band Citizen Rage. I've seen their name around for years and heard good things about them but had never seen them before. So I was looking forward to checking them out, and early in the night too. I thought they were great, a mix of thrash, skate punk and hardcore, reminded me a bit of Suicidal tendencies at times.

Citizen Rage.

 Next up was Edmonton's punk, rockabilly band The Devil's Sons. A band I have seen before, but not really a fan of. They're good at what they do,just not my taste in music.

The Devil's Sons.

 Next up was locals Livin Filth. A punk band leaning to hardcore style music. I had to laugh when my buddy said the lead singer looked like the rapper Ali G. Didn't much care for this band.

Livin Filth.

 The fifth band of the night was the Edmonton punkers 20/20s. This band has been around a while, I've seen the name around lots but don't believe I had seen them before. I enjoyed their straight up punk rock.

20/20s.

 The next band of the evening was another band I had never heard of or seen before. An Edmonton band called Messor, with a name like that, I wasn't sure what to expect. Well they were a death metal band, not my kind of music.

Messor.

 Next up was Barb Wire Choker. This was one of the bands I was looking forward to seeing. Lead singer Lacy Machell used to front a band called Dolly Rotten that I really liked, this is her new project that I had yet to see. And I wasn't disappointed, straight up rock n' roll with a twinge of country influence. Makes me think of a Supersuckers influence with female vocals. A great but short set by barb Wire Choker. Hopefully an album release from the band soon.

Barb Wire Choker.

 The eighth band of the night was Calgary's Sick Ritual. A fast paced hardcore band, short in your face songs with lots of energy.

Sick Ritual.

 After a half hour intermission, some time to catch your breath, get some fresh air, have a smoke or two and it was on to the second half of the show. Another draw for the rest of the bands on the bill, so another eight bands drawn.

 The first band of the second half was a three piece band from Fort McMurray called Supermodel Taxidermy. Great name for a band. They played a thrash/hardcore style of music.

Supermodel Taxidermy.

 Next up was Edmonton's Western Death Ballads. This was the band I most wanted to see and the third time I have seen them play live. After all the heavy music of the night, i was wondering how this three piece country/punk band would go over. And from what I could tell, they went over very well. Like the band name, some western death ballad music ending their set with a metal classic by Iron Maiden "Run To The Hills" done country style. Love this band!

Western Death Ballads.

 The eleventh band of the night was Edmonton band Culled. Their music would be described as sludge death metal music. Not to my liking.

Culled.

 It was after this band that my buddy and I called it a night. I had seen the bands I wanted to see, and after eleven bands and lots of heavy music, I'd had enough. I'm just not the fan of the heavy stuff as I once was. All and all though, this was a great event. It was run very well, one band after another, a great turnout attendance wise, with everyone in great spirits. And a great way to catch a bunch of bands you may not know, short sets, so if you didn't like the band, you didn't have to wait long for the next band. To the organizers of this event and the Starlite Room, awesome job! Good times!!!

 

Western Death Ballads Live at Bunkers in Edmonton Sept.26th 2025

  My buddies A-Bomb, Buzzard and I made our way to Bunkers Live a venue I had never been to before way the hell on the north east side of Edmonton to see the local Edmonton band Western Death Ballads.

 We got there plenty early to checkout the three opening bands. Let's just say there is nothing to write about the openers. It did give us plenty of time to drink our fair share of beers though before the headliner.

 It was almost midnight by the time Western Death Ballads hit the stage. This would be my second time seeing them live in as many months. This time with them headlining we got an hour plus show and damn were they ever good. Western Death Ballads play a mix of country, folk, punk with some twisted lyrics. With Cam McDonnell on guitar and vocals sounding amazing, on stand up bass Christi Mac and rounding out the band James Mullet on mandolin, so sound issued this time around. The band played a great set with mostly originals with an Iron Maiden cover thrown in for good measure playing a fucked up version of "Run To The Hills" that sounded great and a lot of fun. Those that were still in the audience seemed to be getting into the music big time. This show was a hell of a lot of fun. The band has 2 EP's and a full length album under their belts all available on Spotify they have a great catalog of songs to choose from. What songs they played that night, good question, the show was a month ago now, and with all the beers drank that night, I don't recall, I do know that is a great fucking show. I highly recommend checking out their tunes and catching them live of you get the chance. Good times!!!

Western Death Ballads.

T-shirt.

Dad Religion Live at The Temple in Edmonton August 23rd 2025

 This was a super fun show to see with my buddy A-Bomb and Buzzard. An all local act show featuring headliner Dad Religion. This would be my second time seeing them. The show was a release party for the Spartan's Club Comics SNFU inspired comic book (Come With Me, I'm On My Way: Four Tales Of Misfortune Inspired By SNFU) and the accompanying seven inch single release by Dad Religion.

 The first band of the evening was The Uninvited Guests. A group of musicians doing a bunch of punk/metal covers. It was a good start to the evening, my favourite part of their set was seeing Steve, the drummer from dad Religion get on stage with the band and do some Ramones covers, with Steve doing his great impression of Joey Ramone.

The Uninvited Guests.

 Next up was a band called The Strand. They too did a bunch of cover songs from old school rock like The Who and some punk classics. One such cover song they did was by the old Edmonton band Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra. Another fun set.

The Strand.

 Next up was the band Western Death Ballads. This was one of the main reasons I came to the show. My brother introduced me to this Edmonton band a while ago and I finally got out to see them. I had been listening to them for a while now thanks to Spotify. They have three releases, two EP's and a full length album, only available digitally at this time (check your favourite streaming service). Really hope they release some physical copies of these. Their music is a mix of folk, punk and country. they're a three piece band with Cam McDonnell on guitar and lead vocals, Christi Mac on bass and James Mullet on mandolin. They were the only group of the evening that played all originals. And holy fuck were they good. Despite some sound issues at the start, Cam and the band kept it professional. All three members are great musicians and write some awesome lyrics. I highly recommend checking them out. can't wait to see them live again. Oh ya, I got to talk with cam after the show, and what a super nice gentleman he is. If you are a fan of Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and such, you will love this band.

Western Death Ballads.

 Headliner of the evening Dad Religion was up next performing the debut SNFU album ...And No One Else Wanted To Play in its entirety, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the album. And what an amazing job the band did playing this album. Lead singer Kristian Basaraba fucking nailed the vocals on this. The whole band was excellent. Joining the band on some songs was bassist Dave Bacon (1985-1987 / 2014-2018) who had two stints in the band SNFU, so that was super cool to see as well. All and all a great set and such a fun night, ran into a bunch of old friends I hadn't seen in a while and made some new friends too. Good times!!!

Oh ya, Kristian also is one of the guys that runs the Rad Dads Edmonton Chapter also has a cool podcast that is well worth checking out.

Dad Religion.

Comic book.

Seven inch single.