exposéh: Alberta

Alberta is a province in western Canada bordered by British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and Montana. It was the eighth province to join the Confederation and is home to the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, major distribution and transportation hubs. Alberta is one of the prairie provinces but houses dozens of rivers and lakes. However it remains one of only two Canadian landlocked provinces.

Alberta's adventurous background, filled with much cowboy imagery, lends itself to the musical scene as variants of country and folk music are the predominence. 'Four Strong Winds', voted the greatest Canadian song of all time, was written by Albertan Ian Tyson for example.



Well-known Albertan musical acts include Nickelback, k.d. lang, Jann Arden, Paul Brandt, SNFU, and Social Code. Lesser-known Albertan musical acts include the twenty artists listed below:


CALL IN THE CALGARY

1. Champion, Alberta – The Fifth Wednesday Of The Super Month
2. Kara Keith – Kick This City
3. Chad VanGaalen – Echo Train
4. Corb Lund – Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier
5. The Wheat Pool – Geographic Centre Of Canada
6. Aaron Booth – Wrong Idea
7. Tegan And Sara – Underwater
8. Tim Gilbertson – Palm Trees And Postcards
9. Zuckerbaby – Overexposure
10. Reverie Sound Revue – One Marathon
11. Junior Bloomsday – Swans To Greet You
12. Jane Vain & The Dark Matter – C’mon Baby Say Bang Bang
13. Chow Chow – Suits Like Animals
14. Shout Out Out Out Out – Forever Indebted
15. Cadence Weapon – Sharks
16. Kinnie Starr – Super Clever
17. Faunts – Memories Of Places We’ve Never Been
18. AA Sound System – Laissez-Faire
19. Wendy McNeill feat. Ane Brun – Such A Common Bird
20. Feist – Let It Die


Download: [.zip file]




Links:

-Travel Alberta

-'Four Strong Winds', Canadian Encyclopedia entry

-The Edmonton Folk Music Festival, official website

-photos courtesy of Geoff Stickle photography



Look for the fourth entry in this series exploring the music of the Great White North, exposéh: Saskatchewan, coming May 2008.