Sled Island Day One Recap: Sled Island x The Gauntlet present a night of hip hop melodies and charm
By Daman Singh, June 21 2024—
On June 19, at Commonwealth bar and stage, the Gauntlet co-presented an array of talented hip-hop musicians. From the collaborative magic of Tea Fannie and the Collective to the magical vocals and stage presence of Planet Giza, the lineups had everyone engaged and wanting more. The lineup looked promising for a night of great times, and the lineup delivered.
The night began on the main floor with local icons Tea Fannie and the Collective opening the show with her charming stage performance. The Commonwealth stage was lit in beautiful neon lights and covered in smoke, creating an almost dream-like illusion which made the venue feel beautifully eerie and intimate.
Tea Fannie had a lineup of talented live musicians backing her on the stage with Catfishthewizard on DJ and Gabriela on the drums, ensuring live backing tracks to Tea Fannie’s melodic raw verses. She took on the stage like a natural and was unapologetically herself through the entire set. Sharing the stage with her friends Easy G, Toby Sinclaire, K-Riz and Aliza for some special unreleased featured songs, she brought the spotlight on even more local talent showcasing where her roots lie.
As Tea Fannie and the Collective wrapped up their set upstairs with her song “BYE”, the downstairs show was just beginning where Gremlyn went on to show how talented the musicians of Calgary are. With their short-yet-fun DJ set, Gremlyn set the energy right for the downstairs venue for Tanajah to begin her first performance in Canada ever. She touched on harsher realities of life with her charismatic vocal delivery and powerful beats.
If you couldn’t get enough of Tanajah, because we certainly could not, catch her at Ship Hop tomorrow at 4:30 pm at Ship and Anchor. As Tanajah continued her set, Banggz had taken over the main floor stage. Bringing lyrical narratives through his funky afrobeats, Banggz took the audience on a journey through Nigerian culture. As he moved through the stage, the crowd moved with him. Banggz brought an aura of a veterened performer with him. He taught the audience how to dance with him and with him the whole crowd cheered “One, Two, Three— Step.” Banggz performed music from his recent project ttyl, but also performed unreleased music from his upcoming album 4 THE BANGGERZ later in the year.
Maky Lavender and Boy Wonder took on the main floor stage and downstairs stage respectively shortly after. Where Montreal’s Maky Lavender had an eerie, almost trap beats driven set upstairs, Calgary’s own Boy Wonder was having an almost freestyle rap cipher like set downstairs. Both the performers kept the energy going from the openers, with not a single let down during the showcase. Maky Lavender returns to the sled island stage with the release of his new collection, ACOUSTIC, in February. Lavender brought a new energy to his work that makes you fall in love with his work over again. Boy Wonder’s set embodied what it would be like to be at a rap show in a small DIY venue but with professional performance skill.
As it hit midnight, the main attraction of the night — Montreal’s Planet Giza — took the stage. Being one of the first headlining acts of the festival, Giza had a lot to deliver and from the first step they took on stage to the end of their set, frontman Tony Stone delivered everything you would expect. The band introduced themselves mentioning that this was their first performance in this city. While Stone charmed the audience with his swagger, the rhythmic minds of the trio ensured everything sounded tight and well done. Rami B and Doom X may not have been in the spotlight but their work surely was.
The trio performed stuff from their debut, giving a treat to their long term fans. A fan in the audience was seen giving out Planet Giza friendship bracelets that Stone picked up for all the members.
As Planet Giza finished their powerful set, it went to show how much the crowd has in store for the coming days of Sled Island.