Scott Roos
Special to the Herald
The third annual edition of the Moosefest music festival is slated to take place on the Bellevue Recreational Grounds, on Saturday, Aug. 5, this year. The festival will feature ten different artists including two curious acts from Edmonton: King of Foxes and Electric Religious. #music #moosefest
What’s curious about them you ask? Each band will feature the exact same lineup but have completely different sonic vibes. How is this possible? Well it’s a husband wife team behind each of the bands. King of Foxes is fronted by Olivia Street whilst her husband Brandon Baker fronts his own project, Electric Religious.
“We are the world’s most efficient pair of bands at the moment,” quipped Street in a recent telephone interview with the Herald, “We have the same backing bands, so we’re really shuffling instruments a bit when we flip over but we basically find our best friends and make them learn 60 songs and then we’ve got two bands locked and loaded.”
“It’s a lot of fun to be a side person at a show,” Street continues, “It’s a nice stress reliever in a way to support somebody else’s project rather than your own.”
“I feel the exact same way.Being on stage with King of Foxes is a blast,” Baker concurs.
For Baker, returning to the area will be a kind of homecoming for him. He grew up in Prince Albert, attending Holy Cross and St. Mary’s schools respectively. It was here in P.A. that he made the decision to pick up a guitar and he has not looked back ever since.
He credits local music camp offerings in Saskatoon and Candle Lake for peaking his interest. After that, several local teachers continued to shepherd his talent including Rich McFarlane who Baker says helped him with his entrance requirements to Grant MacEwan University.
“It was all because of my time in Prince Albert and the music community there,” Baker says.
On the flip side, Street’s King of Foxes has received critical acclaim in the last few years with a Western Canadian Music Award nomination and a local Edmonton Music Prize. Street describes herself as a “creative person at heart who loves to connect with people through music and through art”. She’s looking forward to her time at Moosefest this year.
Baker sees his role as a Metis recording artist as an important one. He is a talented guitar player and singer. His songwriting is next level. Electric Religious will be a highlight of the festival for sure. So will King of Foxes for that matter.
“I think that being a Metis person allows me to share stories from a unique perspective. I play modern music. So sharing my perspective as a modern, urban, indigenous, person is an important one for people to listen to and for other indigenous artists to hear it and for perhaps the younger generation to see people like them making music,” Baker says.
“I’m going to be performing a set of basically entirely new material off of my new album,” Baker continues, “We’ve got an entirely new sound for Electric Religious coming through the pipeline in early 2024 and it’s gonna be really exciting. It’s a lot more disco and pop than my previous stuff which is a little bit more blues and rock.”
Tickets are available on the MooseFest website at moosefestsk.ca. Cost is $80 per ticket including fees and taxes. Additionally, 28 Campsites will be available on the festival grounds. They have power. Sites are affordable at $30 per night and are first-come, first-served.
Photos by Scott Roos.
The husband and wife duo of Brandon Baker (left) and Olivia Street (right) will perform at Moosefest on Saturday with their respective bands Electric Religious, and King of Foxes.
