Purple City brings the noise with first-wave lineup

Purple City Music Festival's first lineup drop has been "very well curated" to include emerging artists who are ready for the professional stage, says one performer and festival sound tech. "Sometimes you look at the lineup and say to yourself, 'Who are these people?'" Bad Buddy's Emily Bachynski told Taproot. "It's exciting to go and get to see something new from people who are the best at what they do." Bad Buddy will be one of many local bands at the festival, including fellow vets Calvin Love and The Wet Secrets. They'll perform alongside international headliners from Sept. 11 to 13 in downtown Edmonton.

"What I really like about what they do is it's heavy, but not pigeonholed — it's not like a metal fest," said Craig Martell of Double Lunch, which curates and promotes live music and offers guidance to artists. That means Purple City attendees can dance, thrash, or both. On the dance side, synth-pop band Desire, whose song Under Your Spell brought the band to fame upon its inclusion in the 2011 Ryan Gosling vehicle Drive, has top billing at the festival. The band is on a cult label called Italians Do it Better, which is led by fellow Purple City performer and Desire-member Johnny Jewel. Attendees can also doo-wop to Shannon Shaw, whose Shannon and the Clams project has had multiple packed shows in Edmonton. Plus, multi-hyphenate Canadian legend Sook-Yin Lee will perform in support of her 2026 album 72RHR. (Lee's tenure hosting The Wedge on MuchMusic should be proof enough that she'll make for a perfectly purple fit.)

On the guitar-driven side, Purple City is bringing in international acts such as Bambara, Iguana Death Cult, and Initiate. Tier 1 wristbands are already sold out, but the next tier is now on sale, and individual tickets for shows have yet to be posted.