MUSIC LINEUP
Meet your new favourite acts taking the ANCHOR Fest stage in October. Stay tuned for more artist announcements coming soon.
SLASH NEED
A confrontational, camp and seductive dramaturge. Slash Need have earned a reputation for putting on high-energy theatrical live performances. Heralded as the most talked about touring act in Canada, their commanding style of propulsive techno and metallic EBM serve as the backdrop to an unpredictable, ever-changing, and communal performance piece. Their debut album, SIt & Grin, is a blistering industrial debut, as unapologetic and brash as it is groundbreaking.
Following a viral bout of unplanned, and gratifying, attention from right wing media in 2023 after their lore-making performance at Toronto Pride, the group has developed a cult following. (A widely-circulated video earned 2.3 million views with one comment calling the group ”nasty, filthy perverts”.) Conjuring the essence of cherry red lipstick smudged on the rim of a spilled energy drink, baby powder masquerading as Chanel perfume; pheromones, smoke machines, and crossed wires, Toronto’s Slash Need is an invitation to demand more.
HEAVENLY BLUE
Heavenly Blue nearly succeeds in hiding their hooky songs beneath the layers of hairy guitars, grunt-like vocals, and 60’s freak-out aesthetics, but not quite. Made up of Nova Scotian punk-rock mainstays, Heavenly Blue shares members with bands like Booji Boys, Black Dog, and about 100 others. Their latest release, “Knife EP” is available through Don’t Wanna Talk Records.
PENNY & THE PITS
The Pits as in bad times, shit luck, sweat stains… but also cherries. Penny & The Pits is the new project from Maritime stalwart, Motherhood’s Penelope Stevens. Liquid Compactor, their debut statement, is a gritty, adventurous punk-rock album that manifests feminist joy, rage and revenge, processing pain into power through the symbolic element of water. Baths come to a boil. Period blood is summoned as strength. Local bar chuds are haunted ‘til they sweat. But for every drop of darkness, there are corresponding sparks of levity. Penny & the Pits is a celebration of healing cloaked as a gnarly romp.
CAPTAINS OF EVERYTHING
A city skyline, an infinite day, the aftermath of a hurricane — these are the spaces that the Captains Of Everything inhabit, navigating the choppy waters of contemporary life with grace & gratitude. Their songs speak of movement, of kindness, and of finding solace in ordinary life. Musically, the Captains take the deep roots sound of Southern Ontario as their starting point and underpin it with sea shanties & swamp boogies. On their debut album, Avast & Belay, co-songwriters Andy Maize and Aaron Comeau take their role as artists seriously while retaining a necessary levity, donning various masks throughout yet leaving a treasure map behind. The band took up residence at the Cameron House in their Toronto hometown for the month of March to release the album, and will continue to perform this the year, with dates planned for both coasts of Canada.
MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED