Sled Island Day 3: With friends like these, it makes for a special night for music 

By Matthew Johnson, June 20 2026—

When it’s your first time “sledding” (the common parlance for those attending the Sled Island festival), it’s the friends that make the experience truly one of a kind.

At the Palace Theatre, friendship was a recurring theme from both bands and attendees alike.

Eye of Newt opened the show at the Palace Theatre, The arty pop project that is Calgary based, playing tracks that swung in various different directions both tonally and in length. The performance gave an exciting opening to the nights performances at the venue, while Eye of Newt is led by multi-instrumentalist Nate Waters, he is accompanied by Brock Geiger, Samantha Savage, and Chris Dadge. 

The band playing so effortlessly together, it becomes clear they are great collaborators when bringing this project to life. 

The band spoke joyfully about the experience of Sled Island and what it meant for them as a band to perform there, but also for audience members, and how it’s a great way to bring this tight-knit community of music lovers in Calgary together. 

Whether it’s listening to your favourite artists play or discover new favourites, Sled Island has certainly been a one of a kind experience in that regard. 

Next up to the stage was Chrome Harvest, the second opening act at the Palace. This multi-instrument band, that describes themselves as “folks songs for prairie goths” 

From the warm textures of the acoustic guitar and banjo, that sounded beautiful in that close venue, to the vocals of lead singer Chris Jerwin, it was a captivating performance before the headliners. 

What was striking more than anything was the moments between Chris Jerwin and Ben Wellman on stage. The two performed at times to each other on stage, which makes perfect sense as they both started the band together, becoming close friends in the process as reported by CKXU (the campus and community radio station for Lethbridge). 

If Chrome Harvest was not on your radar before Sled Island, they definitely should be now. 

As the audience prepared for Black Country, New Road, one of the largest headliners at this year’s festival, the audience began to inch closer and closer to the front, the entire venue beginning to pack in. It was hard not to notice the large smiles on people’s faces, excited to see them in their first ever performance in Calgary. 

The English art rock band that formed originally in Cambridge took to the stage to a massive applause line from the audience. 

It has been four years since lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood left the band, citing struggles with Mental Health before the release of their sophomore album Ants From Up There. 

However, in short order, the band created and has been performing from an impressive array of tracks from their albums Forever Howlong and their live album Live at Bush Hall. 

Their performance at the Palace was nothing short of electrifying, hearing tracks from Forever Howlong that centre around friendship and love, it felt perfectly fitting for a concert at this festival. 

Hearing the lovely blend of the mandolin and piano, with the saxophone, drums, and the guitar, a sense of euphoria and whimsy that comes from this new era of Black Country, New Road that makes it so special. 

It is increasingly clear that despite everything, this band, centered around a group of friends who clearly love making music together, ended the night in a spectacular way that made it special for everyone attending. 

Overall, day three of Sled Island was certainly one for the books, just showing exactly what makes this festival so special. 

Information about the performances, venues and ticket pricing for Sled Island 2026 can be found here.