May 26, 2016 BACKGROUNDER 2016 Coca-Cola Stage lineup Christian Hudson Appearing Thursday, July 7, 7 p.m. Website: http://www.christianhudsonmusic.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianHudsonMusic Twitter: www.twitter.com/CHsongs While most may know Christian Hudson by his unique and memorable performances at numerous venues across Western Canada, others seem to know him by his philanthropy. This talented young man won the prestigious Calgary Stampede Talent Show last summer but what was surprising to many was he took his prize money of $10,000 and donated it all to the local drop-in centre. He was touched by the stories he was told by a few people experiencing homelessness he had met one night prior to the contest’s finale. His infectious originals have caught the ears of many in the industry that are now assisting his career. He was honoured to receive 'The Spirit of Calgary' Award at the inaugural Vigor Awards for his generosity. Hudson will soon be touring Canada upon the release of his first single on national radio. JJ Shiplett Appearing Thursday, July 7, 8 p.m. Website: http://www.jjshiplettmusic.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jjshiplettmusic/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/jjshiplettmusic Rugged, raspy and reserved, JJ Shiplett is a true artist in every sense of the word. Unapologetically himself, the Alberta born singer-songwriter and performer is both bold in range and musical creativity and has a passion and reverence for the art of music and performance that has captured the attention of music fans across the country. He spent the major part of early 2016 as one of the opening acts on the Johnny Reid tour and is also signed to Johnny Reid’s company. Shiplett is currently putting the finishing touches on his self-penned and produced debut album, which will be arriving later in 2016. The Dudes Appearing Thursday, July 7, 9:15 p.m. Website: http://www.wearethedudes.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wearethedudes Twitter: https://twitter.com/weareTheDudes Video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRAeVqlRQNhTWuV_mQW85Q The Dudes are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1996 in Calgary, comprised of singer Dan Vacon, guitarist Bob Quaschnick, bassist Brock Geiger and newest member Matt Doherty. Their song "Dropkick Queen of the Weekend" was heard across Canada in 2006, having been featured in a Rogers Wireless advertising campaign. In June 2009 their album Blood Guts Bruises Cuts was released in Canada. "The Girl Police," released in 2009, was featured in Season 1 of Rookie Blue. 2012 saw the release of a third album Barbers, Thieves, and Bartenders. They recently played at the JUNO Fan Fest this past April. Walk Off The Earth Appearing Friday, July 8, 9 p.m. Website: http://www.walkofftheearth.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walkofftheearth Twitter: https://twitter.com/walkofftheearth Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/WalkOffTheEarthVEVO 2016 has been a big year for Walk Off The Earth. The band picked up their first JUNO Award, winning Group of the Year honours. Based in Burlington, Ontario, their brilliant five-people-playing-one-guitar interpretation of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” exploded on YouTube, garnering more than 35 million views in under two weeks. The massive fan response quickly drew attention to their collection of innovative songs and videos spanning their last eight years and generated an unprecedented flood of media interest. The band has released seven albums including their latest, Sing It All Away, a 2016 JUNO nominee for Album of the Year. Coleman Hell Appearing Saturday, July 9, 9 p.m. Website: http://www.colemanhell.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colemanhell Twitter: https://twitter.com/colemanhell Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/colemanhellVEVO Coleman Hell has crafted a genre-defying monster of a hit with his affecting single “2 Heads.” The mesmerizing track passed the 13 million global streams milestone on Spotify and topped music aggregators Hype Machine and Indie Shuffle soon after its release. Hell comes from the Toronto artist collective sideways, a venturesome song writing, production, video and design that features himself and long-time friends/collaborators. The tight-knit creative consortium has paid their dues the past few years, offering genre-busting songs and videos that always seem to break new ground. Hell will be releasing his debut album this summer, which will include his latest single, “Fireproof.” Classified Appearing Sunday, July 10, 9 p.m. Website: http://www.classifiedofficial.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/classifiedmusic Twitter: https://twitter.com/classified Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/classifiedmusic Over the course of his career, Classified has released 16 albums, dating back to his first full length LP in 1995, Times Up, Kid. At the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards, Classified won the MuchVibe "Best Hip-Hop Video of the Year" award for "Anybody Listening." In early 2010, Classified received three JUNO Award nominations for Rap Recording of the Year, Single of the Year and Video of the Year. In early 2011, "Oh...Canada" received a JUNO nomination for "Single of the Year." The album Classified debuted on the Canadian charts at No. 1 and the first single off the album, "Inner Ninja" reached No. 5 on the Canadian Hot 100, earning Classified his first top ten hit and highest charting song. In April 2013, Classified won "Rap Recording of the Year" for his song "Inner Ninja," at the JUNOs. His latest album, released in January of this year, is Greatful which had the hit “No Pressure” featuring Snoop Dogg. X Ambassadors Appearing Monday, July 11, 9 p.m. Website: https://www.xambassadors.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XAmbassadors Twitter: https://twitter.com/xambassadors Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/XAmbassadorsvevo And after years of hustling and overcoming personal challenges, rock stardom felt imminent for X Ambassadors. But something was missing. 2015 was the turning point. X Ambassadors’ stomping, syncopated full-length debut, VHS, is all about that exploration. The album features the top five Alternative radio hit “Renegades” — a bouncing folk-rock ode to the misfits and adventurers, a staple on radio and television commercials. X Ambassadors consists of four band members: brothers Sam Harris (lead vocals, guitar, saxophone) and Casey Harris (keyboard), Noah Feldshuh (guitar), and Adam Levin (drums). The brothers have been friends with Feldshuh since kindergarten in Ithaca. Sam met Levin while attending the New School in New York City in 2010. The Sheepdogs Appearing Tuesday, July 12, 9 p.m. Website: http://www.thesheepdogs.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesheepdogs Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesheepdogs Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/sheepdogsvideo Future Nostalgia, the latest album from The Sheepdogs, is the middle ground between the JUNO-winning, platinum-certified Learn & Burn, which spawned the rock radio staple “I Don’t Know,” and its equally successful follow-up, 2012’s The Sheepdogs, featuring the instantly-recognizable, Gold-certified singles “Feeling Good” and “The Way It Is.” Future Nostalgia builds upon The Sheepdogs’ foundation of feel-good vocal harmonizing and nasty guitar jamming. That’s made immediately clear from the opening riff of “Downtown,” an undeniable straight-up rocker that sparkles with the warmth of summer. Down at the other end of the street is “Bad Lieutenant,” which walks a dark and sexy strut courtesy of bassist Ryan Gullen and drummer Sam Corbett, who also tear up the furious “I Really Wanna Be Your Man.” Jocelyn Alice Appearing Wednesday, July 13, 8:30 p.m. Website: http://jocelynalice.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamjocelynalice/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamjocelynalice Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/JocelynAliceVideo Jocelyn Alice is a Calgarian singer and songwriter with a fiercely powerful voice, heartfelt lyrics and magnetic style. Her debut single as a solo artist, ‘Jackpot,’ was certified Gold and reached the top 15 on Canadian commercial radio charts. Jackpot also reached No. 12 on the Shazam Canada Top 100 and No. 13 on the iTunes Canada Top 200 Pop Songs. She also received Canadian Music Week Indie Awards nominations in 2016 for Pop Artist of the Year and Single of the Year. Alice has co-written music featured in the hit TV shows One Tree Hill and Pretty Little Liars, the movie Dear Santa, and a television commercial in Canada for Shaw TV. She is currently recording new material and will be releasing her debut EP in 2016. Shawn Hook Appearing Wednesday, July 13, 9 p.m. Website: http://www.shawnhook.com/ca/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawnhookmusic Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShawnHook Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/shawnhookVEVO Shawn Hook is an incredibly talented artist who played piano, bass, guitar and jazz trombone before expanding with studies in vocals and audio engineering. After his schooling, Hook expanded his songwriting career as a signed composer for ABC studios. His original songs were featured on shows such as “Eli Stone,” “Kyle XY” and “Greek.” In 2012, Hook released his official debut album, Cosmonaut and the Girl which featured the songs, “So Close” and “Every Red Light.” His sophomore album, Analog Love, was released in June 2015 via Universal Music Canada. On the heels of the release, Hook celebrated “Sound Of Your Heart” a standout track on the record, being certified Platinum in Canada. The track has now accumulated more than 17 million streams on Spotify worldwide and has peaked at Canadian radio Top 10 CHR, Top 10 Hot AC, Top 15 AC, and hit Top 10 on the iTunes Canada overall chart. His latest big song is “Relapse” which has been shooting up Canadian charts since its debut. Mother Mother Appearing Thursday, July 14, 9 p.m. Website: http://www.mothermothersite.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotherMotherBook Twitter: https://twitter.com/mothermother Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/mothermothermusic The band, originally formed in 2005 as Mother, added an extra “Mother” onto their name in 2007 and re- released its debut album under the new name of Mother Mother, re-naming the album Touch Up.