Updates: What happened next in the arts

Looking back on 2025 in Edmonton's arts scene, we saw festivals seeking new sources of funding, candidates and voters indicating their stances on arts funding, and an artist making the most of time spent at the airport's Chili's. Here's what happened next and what to expect on some of the other arts stories Taproot brought you:

Martin Kerr is reworking American hits to change American minds (Sept. 9, 2025)

The original story: Singer-songwriter Martin Kerr's new album aimed his protest folk at the growing number of Americans who are tired of the status quo and want to commune with people who feel the same. Overdue for a Revolution features a blend of original songs and reinterpretations. For example, Banned from the USA reworked Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. to address controversial border practices, and Hey There Luigi rejigged Hey There Delilah to be about accused killer Luigi Mangione. Kerr said his audience in the U.S. was growing fast as he released songs from the record, and he was crowdfunding to tour the country — which he is not in fact banned from.

Then what? In October, a fundraiser was launched for Kerr's family, following his wife Tara Rout's unexpected diagnosis of Stage 4 breast cancer with bone metastases. Rout, a child welfare lawyer for 15 years and published author, also created community events such as the Pride and Prejudice Ball. Kerr postponed his European dates behind Revolution to focus on his family. He has continued to comment on U.S. politics online, including the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, and has posted clips of reinterpretations of Christmas songs.

What's next? Kerr has rescheduled his European tour to June. He will add any plans to perform locally to his shows page. Meanwhile, the fundraiser for his family sits just over $83,000 of its $100,000 goal.

How an Edmonton comedian took his film to a global stage and screens (Aug. 7, 2025)

The original story: Comedian and cartoonist Simon Glassman secured a distribution deal for his first feature film ahead of its premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in August. Buffet Infinity, shot entirely in Edmonton, is about an escalating rivalry between restaurant owners in a fictional small town. It is told through a series of fake, grainy, low-budget commercials. The film received a special jury mention at Fantasia, and made its local premiere during the Edmonton International Film Festival in September.

Then what? More local filmmakers released narrative features in 2025. Alex Janvier's Last Stop Video Rentals premiered at EIFF. Then, Heat Score, a raunchy movie by the Burkosky brothers, premiered at the Garneau on Oct. 25. Lastly, horror flick Contamination from Brimstone Pictures premiered at the downtown Landmark Cinemas on Nov. 14.

What's next? Two Edmonton-made features are highly anticipated in 2026. Smudge the Blades, Cody Lightning's follow-up to Hey, Viktor!, is coming to theatres this year. Starring Ed Helms, the film is to hit the festival circuit before year's end. As well, Kyle Edward Ball follows up the independent hit Skinamarink with his first effort for A24, called The Land of Nod. No release schedule has been announced for the film. For more, Heather Noel, the programming manager for Metro Cinema, keeps a list of Edmonton- and Alberta-made films on Letterboxd.

ETS begins adding small surcharge for big-name concert tickets at Commonwealth (July 25, 2025)

The original story: For The Weeknd's July 19 show at Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Transit Service collected a new $1.50 surcharge on concert tickets. This allowed concertgoers to take ETS to and from Commonwealth without having to pay a standard fare, which otherwise would have cost them up to $7.50 for a round trip. ETS did not track how many ticket holders took advantage of the deal, but about half of Commonwealth concertgoers use transit, said Sarah Feldman, the director of transit planning, ridership, and revenue for the City of Edmonton. The concert ticket-as-fare system freed up transit peace officers to focus on other duties, Feldman said, plus it allowed ETS to forward its non-financial goals. "I think it matters to do this for lots of reasons," she said. "Of course, the most important is reducing traffic congestion, (but there's also) reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supporting our goals around climate, and also social inclusion."

Then what? The transit agency also collected the surcharge for a two-night run by Morgan Wallen at Commonwealth on Sept. 12 and 13. The estimated 114,000 tickets sold would have yielded $171,000 in surcharge revenue. The massive influx of Wallen fans resulted in surging hotel rates around the region, with some rooms going for more than $1,200 per night.

What's next? Commonwealth has several big concerts on the books for 2026, which presumably will be subject to the surcharge. AC/DC performs on Aug. 9, Guns N' Roses performs on Aug. 26, and Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and Mannequin Pussy perform on Sept. 17.

Documentary about Chinatown mural to screen at inaugural Edmonton edition of FascinAsian (April 29, 2025)

The original story: Jordon Hon and Busyrawk collaborated on a short documentary about the latter's mural, Azure Dragon of the East, and premiered it at the debut FascinAsian Film Festival in Edmonton.

Then what? New Wave, a documentary that had a sold-out screening during FascinAsian, returned to the city on Nov. 17. It was presented by Chúng Ta Cùng Nhau, a new venture by Linda Hoang and Jessica Truong that celebrates Vietnamese culture in Edmonton. Hon took new photos of now-mayor Andrew Knack and other candidates ahead of the 2025 municipal election and was the documentarian for the Animating Archives project.

What's next? What isn't? Busyrawk, Hon, and FascinAsian regularly post about their goings-on on Instagram. Busyrawk is still teasing the completion of the Black Tortoise mural, for which he is planning another documentary. Submissions are open until Jan. 18 for FascinAsian, which returns to Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg in May. And Hon continues to work in his new studio, around Chinatown, and beyond.

Fringe Festival marks fundraising milestone but eyes monetizing portable toilets (April 9, 2025)

The original story: In an effort to drum up operating funds, the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival went so far as to sell naming rights to its portable toilets for $250 each, while also encouraging a greater proportion of its 750,000 attendees to become monthly donors. As of April, the Sustain Fringe campaign had increased the number of monthly donors from 34 to 535, and it had sold three sponsorships of its biffies.

Then what? All 35 porta-potties were adopted, and the monthly donors roll grew to more than 850. North America's largest Fringe theatre festival sold a record-breaking 138,500 tickets in 2025, returning nearly $1.5 million in ticket sales to artists.

What's next? The Fringe is set to return to Old Strathcona from Aug. 13 to 23. A now annual fundraising event, A Fringe Benefit, will take place on April 10, a little earlier than last year. Meanwhile, Fringe Theatre produces its own season of shows. The next one, Countries Shaped Like Stars, runs from Feb. 17 to 28 at Backstage Theatre.

Walkthrough aims to create healthier game-building culture in Edmonton (Jan. 30, 2025)

The original story: After a rough year for gaming in 2024 that saw layoffs at Inflexion Games and the shutdown of former BioWare exec Casey Hudson's Humanoid Origin, Interactive Arts Alberta kicked off the year with the opening of the Walkthrough Collaborative Centre — a coworking style space for indie game developers at 10345 82 Avenue NW — to focus on sustainable growth in the gaming industry.

Then what? In August, Interactive Arts Alberta opened applications for Baby Ghosts Alberta, an accelerator program for marginalized game developers pursuing worker-led cooperative models. In November, Crimson Herring Studios founder Isaac Otway told Taproot about his studio's new game, Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure, and how the absence of a provincial tax credit for interactive digital media is holding the Alberta games industry back. "There were a ton of media articles about how great it was to get the The Last of Us TV series in Alberta, but the TV series is based on (an estimated US$200 million budget) video game from Sony that was made down in the United States," Otway said. "So, everybody wants the film and television, but nobody wants the game that it was based on?"

What's next? Interactive Arts Alberta selected Pith Games, Ode Software, Area 42 Games, and Dream Pierrot for the inaugural cohort of Baby Ghosts Alberta. Their six-month intensive ends on April 24. Madison Côté, the executive director of IAA, told Taproot that her organization will operate a Prairies hub for the accelerator. IAA's next Games Discovery Exhibition, a conference and expo, returns for its ninth year on July 15 and 16. Meanwhile, Casey Hudson announced the formation of a new venture called Arcanaut Studios that will pick up his past work on Star Wars with a new game called Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic.

Curious about the sequel to other arts stories Taproot has covered? Send us a note at hello@taprootedmonton.ca and we'll look into it.