Arts Roundup

Music

• The Edmonton Blues Festival has been permanently cancelled after running for 25 years. "Escalating production costs, weather uncertainties, changing of venues and declining attendance have all conspired to make it impossible to host another event," the festival posted.
• Edmonton Opera has announced its 2026/27 season, featuring The Barber of Seville on Nov. 5 and 7, and The Magic Flute on Feb. 4 and 6, 2027. The season will also see the return of the Rumbold Vocal Prize, Canada's premier award for rising opera stars, which will present a grand finale on Nov. 20.
• The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra will present Love Letters to Alberta on Feb. 20 at the Winspear Centre, featuring world premieres by first-year Young Composer Project participant Annika Schoenhardt and Cris Derksen, whose new piece is called Amiskkwacîwâskahikan. The concert also includes works by Zosha Di Castri, John Estacio, and Vivian Fung.
• CBC Edmonton's Radio Active highlighted Ukrainian War Requiem, a 2026 JUNO Award nominee for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble, composed by Benedict Sheehan and performed by Axios Men's Ensemble and the tenors and basses of Pro Coro Canada. Steven Brese of Axios and Michael Zaugg of Pro Coro appeared on the show to discuss the work.
• Edify compiled a guide to Edmonton dance clubs, that includes such nightlife venues as The Buckingham, Cook County Saloon, The Common, and more. The guide also features Latin and queer nightlife options across the city.
• The Downtown Defrost festival announced its 2026 lineup for April 3 and 4 at Churchill Square. Headliners include Moontricks, The Funk Hunters, and PARTIBOI69. The spring dance party will also include pop-up markets, food trucks, interactive art installations, and off-site after-parties.
• The first Edmonton edition of Boots and Hearts has added Max McNown, Tyler Joe Miller, Kalsey Kulyk, and others to its lineup. They join headliners Shaboozey and Russell Dickerson at the festival, which runs Aug. 28 and 29 at Fan Park.
• Musician and Edmonton poet laureate emeritus Cadence Weapon announced Forager, an album inspired by the history of fashion that will come out on April 24. Now based in Ontario, Cadence Weapon will return to Edmonton with a pop-up vintage clothing market at Strathcona Lodge's Orange Hall on May 9, with an exclusive vinyl edition of the record available for purchase.
• Punjabi singer and Bollywood star Diljit Dosanjh will return to Rogers Place on May 2 on his Aura World Tour, nearly two years after his last sold-out show in Edmonton.
• The Black Keys will bring their blues-rock to Rogers Place on June 3 as part of the Peaches 'n Kream Tour. The duo's album Peaches! comes out May 1.
• Post Malone, Jelly Roll, and Carter Faith have added a second show at Commonwealth Stadium on July 25, just days after a lone date was announced for July 24. Jelly Roll won three GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 1.

Visual arts

• The Strathearn Art Walk teased that it will launch a Patreon on Feb. 14. Membership tiers span $5 to $100 per month, with perks ranging from name recognition at the festival's beer garden for all tiers to access to exclusive digital content and in-person events for the top two tiers. The arts and music festival returns from Sept. 11 to 13.
• The Edmonton Arts Council shone a light on Robbin Deyo's Breathe I & II, a pair of murals at the new Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre. Montreal-based Deyo also has poolside mural work in the Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre, which is now part of the Coronation Park facilities.
• Northwest Territories artist Darrell Chocolate will showcase northern Indigenous art at the International Indigenous Tourism Conference at the Edmonton Convention Centre from Feb. 17 to 19. Chocolate focuses on wildlife and human portraiture, often created through commission work honouring loved ones and ancestors.
• The St. Albert Gazette previewed the opening of A Forest of Co-Existence, an exhibit at the Art Gallery of St. Albert by artist Eunna Oh, who mixes photography with stitching, embroidery, and painting. The gallery unveiled its 2026 exhibition season on Feb. 5.
• The Edmonton Arts Council announced two calls for artists. One is to create canopy artwork for six Valley Line West LRT stops, with a budget of $110,000 per location. Submissions are due Feb. 25. The other is to create a small sculpture series or installation in the 105 Avenue NW plaza area between 113 and 112 Streets, with a budget of $115,000. Submissions are due March 31.
• Strathcona County invites artists to submit works for its permanent collection, to be displayed in civic spaces. Submissions are open until April 26.
• Bleeding Heart Art Space's ninth annual Open Walls community art exhibition runs through March 7, with a "rolling submission" process to hang new works as space allows. The non-juried show features local artists of all backgrounds and experience levels.
• The Works Art & Design Festival is hiring five summer interns and has opened applications for food vendors, art market vendors, and live performers. The festival returns from June 19 to July 1.
• Sea Change Brewing is planning an art project inspired by Valentine's Day, in which guests are invited write down their feelings, to be incorporated into a mysterious final product. The brewery also has a new Valentine-inspired IPA and a sticker to give to a "sad boi."

Theatre and dance

• Liz Nicholls compiled a guide to theatre over the Valentine's Day weekend. It draws on her recent coverage of Death of a Salesman, Burning Mom, My Testimonial, Evie and Alfie: A Very British Love Story, One Night With Roy Orbison, and more.
• Lucy Haines also reviewed One Night With Roy Orbison, which runs at Mayfield Dinner Theatre through April 5. Haines praised the vocal work of star Matt Cage and the dexterity of the backing band, reminding readers that "a night, any night, at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre is a good one."
• Indigenous artist Matricia Bauer spoke to CFWE about her play I Am Eagle, which comes to the Walterdale Theatre as part of SkirtsAfire on March 6 and 7. The show explores her journey of self-acceptance, shaped by the Sixties Scoop, foster care, and reconnecting with her culture. "It's been a vision that I've had for close to 20 years," Bauer said. "Seeing my life story come to life on the stage, it's really a dream come true."
• Chancy Blackwater, Indigenous relations consultant for the City of Edmonton, told CFWE about the Nîcimos (Sweetheart) Round Dance in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives. "We're very honoured to be able to have resources and community connection to host a Nîcimos round dance," Blackwater said. The event takes place on Feb. 13 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre.

Books and publishing

• Chyana Marie Sage, a Cree, Métis, and Salish writer based in Edmonton, is among the 12 readers for the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize. Sage is the author of Soft as Bones, a memoir about overcoming generational trauma rooted in residential schools and the Sixties Scoop.
• Smeg by Diane Wishart was the top-selling fiction book on the Edmonton bestseller list from the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.
• Podcaster and editor Erika Ensign spoke about her passion for trivia and board games on Sandra SG Wong's We Contain Multitudes podcast.
• Lindsay Morey introduced herself as the new managing editor of the St. Albert Gazette and Town and Country Today. "Much of community reporting comes down to showing up, putting in the work, and proving that you care — that's how trust and community is built," she wrote. "I'm passionate about hyper-localized community reporting, following projects and initiatives that have a real impact on local residents and non-profit organizations, and having meaningful, working relationships with the who's-who."

Screen industries

• Metro Cinema is accepting applications for guest-programmed special events and series for the 2026-27 season. The cinema is seeking proposals for singular themed screenings or limited-run film series. Taproot has covered the community spirit of the program and guest-programmed series from the 2025-26 season.
• Sheena Rossiter, an assistant professor in the department of communications and head of media production at MacEwan University, discussed making a documentary called The Perfect Match on the Research Recast(ed) podcast. The documentary follows a father's quest to find a matching stem cell donor for his toddler.

More headlines

• Drag performer Melinda Verga is appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs The World, putting Edmonton on a larger stage after becoming the first drag queen from the city to appear on Canada's Drag Race in 2024.
• Hawrelak Park will reopen on March 13 after three years of rehabilitation work. The Freewill Shakespeare Festival will return to the park this summer.
• Four Indigenous businesswomen have launched the Settle Down podcast. Shani Gwin of pipikwan pêhtâkwan and wâsikan kisewâtisiwin hosts the show alongside Felicia Dewar of miskamâsowin foods, Mallory Yawnghwe of Indigenous Box, and Vanessa Marshall of Jack59. The first episode is about how the hosts found their entrepreneurial fire. "There's crying, there's laughing, but what it really is about is lifting others up," Gwin told the St. Albert Gazette.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• Feb. 12: Behind the Pages starting at 6pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Feb. 12: The Nightingale Spoken Word Series Open Mic and Burlesque starting at 7pm at The Kasbar
• Feb. 13: BCW Black History Month starting at 4:30pm at The Orange Hub
• Feb. 14: Sing With Love 2026 - Songs of Trans Solidarity starting at 2:30pm at Robertson-Wesley United Church
• Feb. 15: Bridgerton High Tea starting at 1pm at Lady Bea's English Tea House
• Feb. 15: Stroll of Poets Haven Reading Series starting at 2pm at Audreys Books
• Feb. 15: Grindstone Comedy Theatre Fundraiser Show starting at 6pm at Grindstone Theatre
• Feb. 15: Afflatus Hijab Fashion Show starting at 6:30pm at Pendennis Building
• Feb. 16: Family Day in the Arts District starting at 12pm at Churchill Square
• Feb. 18: Audreys Genre Book Club starting at 7pm at Audreys Books
• Feb. 18: Writers' Guild of Alberta Pub Night starting at 7pm at Rooster Cafe & Kitchen

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Feb. 26: Food as Memory: Honouring Black Roots And Resilience at Sinkunia Community Development Organization
• Feb. 27: 2026 Kreisel Lecture: 20th Anniversary Edition with Lise Gaboury-Diallo, Richard Van Camp, and Shani Mootoo at Timms Centre for the Arts
• Feb. 28: Liberian Roots, Black Histories at Royal Faith Tabernacle Ministries

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

Beyond Edmonton

• Purple City Music Festival will co-present a showcase with Calgary's Reverie Magazine at the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, ID, on March 28. Verttigo is among the performers at the event. Purple City returns to Edmonton from Sept. 11 to 13.
• Mac DeMarco is among the Canadian musicians backing a SOCAN petition asking the Government of Canada to limit how music can be used by generative AI companies without consent from copyright holders.