Purple City Music Festival

'Purple City Music Festival is a multi-day music festival and showcase for all ages, held in various live music venues and other locations in downtown Edmonton, the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta.[1]

Purple City Music Festival
Purple City mascot Nurple joins the hardcore band Vibes on stage at Temple, 25 August 2023.
GenreRock, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Punk rock, Psychedelic rock, Post-punk, Shoegaze
DatesFall
Location(s)Edmonton, Canada
Years active2012 - present
WebsitePurple City Music Festival

Festival History

The festival started out -- or grew out of -- the Up + Downtown Music Festival, which ran annually from 2013 to 2019.[2] In 2020, Ryan Rathjen, a radio host on CJSR-FM, became executive director of the festival, and led its rebranding in an attempt to make the festival more inclusive and collaborative.[3]

Purple City 2021 was held outdoors in William Hawrelak Park.

The following year, amid the easing of pandemic restrictions, the festival was held in various locations across the city, including Hawrelak Park and the Garneau Theatre.[4][5]

Its 2023 edition was held 25-27 August, featuring over 60 acts at eight stages within a two-block radius.[6] The venues included The Starlite Room, the Freemasons Hall of Edmonton,[7] McDougall United Church, and Downtown Edmonton Community League, as well as the Purple City Block Party, an outdoor stage on 102 Street NW which was closed to car traffic for the day.[8]

The headliners included Los Angeles hardcore punk supergroup Off! fronted by Keith Morris of Black Flag/Circle Jerks fame, LA garage rock band Death Valley Girls, Hand Habits, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Light Asylum, and Austin shoegaze band Ringo Deathstarr.[9]

A highlight of the festival was BatScratch, fronted by a 7-year-old boy.[10] Their presence on the lineup reportedly helped convince Off! to join the festival.[11][12]

The festival has been praised for taking place in one central area, as well as for allowing underage people to enter all the venues, plus the inclusion of a high number of female-fronted acts.[13]

Meaning of Name

The name Purple City comes from a ritualistic tradition of the local youth culture. People visit the Alberta Legislature Building at night to stare into the floodlights. After about a minute of exposure, the light makes all the surroundings appear purple.[14]

References
  1. "Purple City Music Festival". ToDo Canada. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. Gallant, Colin (22 June 2023). "Purple City renews focus on downtown Edmonton". Taproot Edmonton. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. Boissonneault, Stephan (16 August 2023). "The Return of Edmonton's Purple City Music Festival". Range. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  4. Edmonton's Purple City Festival Announces Lineup (23 April 2022). "Edmonton's Purple City Festival Announces Lineup". Cups N Cakes Network. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  5. Cox, Drew (12 September 2022). "Live, In Review: Purple City Music Festival". Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  6. Stephen, Allison (16 August 2023). "Massive music festival about to take over parts of downtown Edmonton". Daily Hive. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  7. "Capital Foundations: A peek inside Edmonton's secretive Masonic hall". CBC. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  8. LaPierre, Megan (5 June 2023). "Edmonton's Purple City Music Festival Gets OFF!, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Bonnie Trash, Hot Garbage for 2023 Edition". Exclaim. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  9. "OFF!, Death Valley Girls, more to play Purple City Music Festival". Punk News. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. Ruggles, Marissa (19 May 2023). "A Day in the Life of Seven-Year-Old Hardcore Frontman Robbie Andrew". Range. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  11. Murray, Tom (5 June 2023). "Purple City Music Festival has taken a turn for the punk". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. Griwkowsky, Fish (26 August 2023). "REVIEW: Musical romps with Off!, Patriarchy, BatScratch and more at Purple City". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. Griwkowsky, Fish (23 August 2023). "Purple City's spectacular lineup in two-block downtown radius this weekend". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. Drinkwater, Rob (21 July 2014). "Purple City: An Edmonton Tradition". Edmonton City as Museum Project (ECAMP). Edmonton Heritage Council. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
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