Live, In Review: Swamp Fest 2022
Live, In Review:
Swamp Fest 2022
The Ultimate Party for Regina’s Music Scene
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Swamp Fest gives the Regina underground angsty art scene a stage, making it an incredibly important weekend for the local music scene.
Picture this: After a stellar night of partying with the Regina arts community, you wake up and head over to the man-made dugout known as Wascana Lake. As you wait for the ferry to take you to Willow Island, Piper the Pirate rows by in his canoe asking how Night #1 of Swamp Fest was. Once you arrive at the island, you find a spot by the trees to munch on a Swamp Dog, listen to the sweet band that’s playing, and watch TAB (toxic algae blob) run around with all of the other swamp creatures. What an ideal way to experience a music festival – and the day has only just begun.
The entire weekend was exactly what it needed to be: chill, yet an ongoing party. Starting with an exciting Friday night, everyone got into festival mode pronto, setting the mood for the next two days. Saturday included some super awesome bands, both local and from out of town, as well as an entrancing fire performance from the Dar Wildfire duo. There were two bands in particular I need to mention who played on Saturday, but I will leave those for later. They need their own room to shine. Sunday was a super relaxed vibe full of laying on the grass with sweet bands serenading the audience, almost curing everyone’s hangover.
One of the highlights on Saturday was during local band, teedream’s set. After the punkgaze group had amped up the island for a few songs, they made an announcement, stating “teedream is dying tonight, but we’re not going anywhere.” Getting everyone’s attention, they debuted their new name, dogpile, and announced a fresh release, titled “stitches”. Burning the announcement into everyone’s brain, they held up a shirt stamped with the old band name and had Dar Wildfire put a flame to their past. The set was memorable and intense, which is exactly what this band is all about.
As the two sets I am writing about are local, I feel as if I should mention this music community as a whole. Regina’s music scene is a special place. It is super inviting and close-knit, meaning everyone is pumped to support everyone else. Artists perform to and for their community which creates an environment meant for everyone. Swamp Fest encompasses that greatly, and curates a weekend where the arts celebrate together, ending the summer as a group on Willow Island.
There was one performance that stood out to me as one folks are going to remember from Swamp Fest 2022. This set came from THINKTANK, another local band that aligns perfectly with Swamp Fest’s purpose. THINKTANK took to the YWCA stage Saturday night and did not leave anything behind. They opened with the title track off their most recent album, Dream State, and danced around the stage for the duration of the song. Moving across the space and hyping up the crowd broke the fourth wall and invited the audience to participate in the show. Their set was incredibly raw and emotive, making it quite unforgettable. For the latter half of the final song, THINKTANK invited anyone who wished to come on stage to take the mic, yet again creating a sense of community and acceptance. This band encompasses the supportive feel and encouragement of the Regina music scene – an absolutely wonderful addition to the Swamp Fest lineup.
Being the second weekend of September, Swamp Fest usually signifies the last “summer”, or outdoor festival for the year in Saskatchewan. The festival has not been around for long, but has made quite the stamp on the Regina arts community. I am very fortunate I had the opportunity to attend and am counting down the days until I can witness TAB wandering Willow Island at Swamp Fest 2023.
-Holly-Anne Gilroy