Career Suicide, Destruction Unit to Play Calgary's Garbage Daze Fest

BY Josiah HughesPublished Feb 17, 2016

This year, the city of Calgary has decided that it's the "Year of Music" with the official opening of the National Music Centre, the return of the Juno Awards and the 60th anniversary of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, among other milestones. Working entirely outside of that spectrum, the staunchly DIY Garbage Daze festival will bring its most diverse lineup yet to town.

Originally conceived as a hardcore punk festival by local promoters Elijah Carnat-Gronnerud and Jason Scharf, this year sees the festival expanding its reach into techno, psych rock and other outsider genres.

"We care more about DIY and punk being a blueprint for different sounds," Scharf tells Exclaim! "We want to be progressive and different. The format for the standard festival honestly bores us and we really wanted to push our own envelope.

"We are different then other festivals in Calgary since we much smaller than most. It gives us a chance to uniquely curate our lineup. We are the only festival to my knowledge that strives to stay 100 percent DIY and subculture focused."

Headliners at this year's fest include post-punk act Destruction Unit, Toronto hardcore blasters Career Suicide, Berlin-based techno producer Shifted, outsider psych outfit LSD and the Search for God and Northern Electronics head Varg, among others.

The lineup is rounded out with appearances from Damien Dubrovnik, Marshstepper, The Empire Line, Jock Club, Encapsulate, Croation Amor, Dismal Light, JS Aurelius, Rhythm of Cruelty, No Problem, Corinthian, Moss Harvest, Desgraciados, Boothman, Bong Sample, Janitor Scum, the Strap, Bog Bodies, Tiny Shrine, Flattered, Focus Formula and Liam Zanin.

Garbage Daze IV has been dubbed "The Digital Age." It'll take place at various venues around Calgary from June 3 to 5. Many more artists are expected to be added in the coming weeks. For more information, visit the fest's official event page here.

Watch highlights from last year's Garbage Daze in the embedded playlist below.

 

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