Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

These bands will play for free this week

Skier's plaza gets ready to rock every afternoon

ASH GRUNWALD

arts_music1-10

Wednesday April 18, 2:30pm

One man, a slide guitar and a fuzz peddle. Welcome to the world of Ash Grunwald, the Byron Bay-based crusher of the blues who can't seem to stay away from Whistler, which is all-good because Whistler loves him too. Welcome back, you dreadlocked blues fiend. Welcome back.

Also playing the Kokanee Freeride Club Series at the GLC on Tuesday, April 17, 9 p.m.

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS

arts_music1-11

Wednesday April 18, 4pm

Hammering the vibe of the festival more than any other, Australia's The Beautiful Girls return to Whistler with their pop-inspired, organ-inflicted roots music back to Whistler, touring in support of frontman Mat McHugh's latest album Love Come Save Me, available now for free through his website.

Also playing the Kokanee Freeride Club Series at Moe Joe's.

ERIC SOLOMON

arts_music1-12

Thursday April 19, 2:30pm

Daytime dance parties are wildly underrated. The fine people behind this TWSSF 2012 understand this and are presenting you with L.A.-based Eric Solomon. His brand of danceable, digestible electro-pop will have you shaking in your skivvies under the midday sun two minutes into his set. That's a promise.

DRAGONETTE

arts_music1-13

Thursday April 19, 4pm

Come see the group that broke Deadmau5's four-year JUNO winning streak. Come hear the song, "Hello," which they recorded with Martin Solveig, which makes Little Dragon and La Roux seem like mere slouches in the electro-pop department. And then come see who is poised to become one of Canada's newest indie darlings, if the world is fair and just in any way.

THE DUDES

arts_music1-1

Friday April 13, 4pm

Jackie DeShannon had it all wrong. The world doesn't need more love, it needs more rock and roll!

And so Calgary's The Dudes are starting the festival off right — that is, with some beer-soaked party rock.

"I mean, I know life is a lot deeper than that but, you know, not for us," laughs lead Dude Dan Vacon.

Now free from "horrible mismanagement" by their previous label, The Dudes are touring in support of their upcoming fourth album Barbers, Thieves and Bartenders. Vacon says the tunes deal with the typical issues dudes worldwide know so well — living the "good life," dealing with girlfriends and generally having a good time whenever possible.

"I do need to have a good time," Vacon says. "It could be just me and a sandwich having a good time."

Also playing the Kokanee Freeride club Series at Dubh Linn Gate at 9 p.m.

TROUBLE ANDREW

arts_music1-2

Saturday April 14, 9:45pm

Former pro-boarder/Whistlerite Trevor Andrew, a.k.a. Trouble Andrew now lives in Brooklyn, part of the "urban couple" life with left-brain-lovin' pop star Santigold. His music also has all the bite of a power-punk trio infused with old-school NY hip hop, infusing the naughtiest aspects of both and making most of us jealous that this guy even exists.

SWOLLEN MEMBERS

arts_music1-3

Saturday April 14, 6 pm

This Vancouver hip hop duo have kept busy with the release of two albums in 2011 and a string of solo projects, which have reminded Canadians that, yes, they're still around and, yes, they would still like for y'all to sway your middle fingers in the air. Like you just don't care. So come show them how much you don't (or do) care.

TINPAN ORANGE

arts_music1-7

Sunday April 15, 2:30pm

Have you ever wondered what kind of music leaves make in autumn as they drift helplessly toward the ground? Of course you haven't. It's a weird thing to think about, but Tinpan Orange has made beautiful music that (likely unintentionally) speaks to the plight of falling leaves more than anyone else out there today. They're also wonderfully talented, in case you're wondering.

THE CAT EMPIRE

arts_music1-4

Sunday April 15, 4pm

Somebody called The Cat Empire a ska band once, back in 2001, and the description stuck, much to the bemusement of bassist Ryan Monro.

"The reviews of our first album in Australia said things like, 'These guys are obviously big fans of Madness.' And we're like, 'Who's Madness?'" he says with a laugh, on the phone from a tour stop in Winnipeg.

Perhaps they were picking up on the massive horn sections featured so prominently in their work. Or it could be the high energy of their live show.

But the influences lie well beyond the "ska" and "jazz" critics have branded them with. Over the past half-decade, they've evolved into a solid pop band brandishing influences ranging from alternative rock, funk and Latin.

Their songwriting may has tightened up over their previous two albums, but these songs are often open-ended beasts when brought to life, smattered with horns and jazz-afflicted instrumentation.

TEA LEAF GREEN

arts_music1-5

Monday April 16, 4pm

Yes, these guys have beards, hail from San Francisco and play jam-rock inspired by hometown legends the Grateful Dead but do not call them hippies.

"Hippie is so derogatory at this point, you know what I mean?" laughs vocalist/keyboardist Trevor Garrod. "How often do you hear hippie by itself? It's usually like, 'Ah, f---ing dirty hippie!' or a phrase like that. It denotes an irresponsible slacker with poor hygiene."

They'll have you know that they have quite agreeable hygiene, thank you, and work rather hard as well. In 2011, they released their album Radio Tragedy!, a rebirth of sorts for the band that now includes the most stable lineup yet. Afflicted with Southern-rock tendencies, folk-tinged psychedelia and beachside harmonies similar to the Mamas & Papas, it's an unpretentious ode to the classic San Francisco rock of days gone by.

Now, they're prepping another album with a potential release date later this fall.

"This is the most egalitarian record we've ever done. Everybody's writing, everybody's got songs, everything's mixed up in this pot and we're just trying to figure out who we are," says Garrod.

The band will also be playing a free concert at the GLC starting at 9 p.m.

LOUDER THAN LOVE

arts_music1-6

Tuesday April 17, 2:30pm

It's a CFOX Seeds double-header. Vancouver's Louder Than Love were one of three bands picked for the annual contest, winning fans and radio station staff with the brand of muscular alt-rock one might expect from a band named after a Soundgarden album.

HALFMOON RUN

arts_music1-8

Monday April 16, 2:30pm

Whether it's the spacey folk jam "Full Circle" or the amped-up indie fare "Call Me in the Afternoon," Montreal's Halfmoon Run are a little difficult to get a handle on. The tunes music seems culled from the dark recesses of the imagination with nightmarishly captivating indie folk. They're also one of the most promising acts featured at the TWSSF lineup this year.

The band will also be playing a free concert at the GLC starting at 9 p.m.

HEAD OF THE HERD

arts_music1-9

Tuesday April 17, 4pm

Vancouver's Head of the Herd have had a great year. The blues-rockers were named one of three winners in CFOX's Seeds competition, which was like an automatic boost in profile. Suddenly, Neuman Mannas and Clay Frank went from having friends of friends in the show to actual fans. They were opening for The Sheepdogs and the Trews. They played the Grey Cup. Suddenly, people knew who Head of the Herd was.

"It was a shift in that people were taking us more seriously. We were starting to meet more fans at the shows," Mannas says. "There was proper growth after that."

Now, they're working on music for their follow-up to 2011's On The House (available as a free download through their website) and will be previewing some of these songs at their TWSSF set.

"They're definitely more representative of how we sound live," Frank says. So, stay tuned for that.