By Scott Roos
It’s official! MooseFest is returning this year. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody within the Funky Moose Podcast’s ever growing sphere of influence. But, to the non-believers, you best start believing now that August 6th, in the town of Bellevue, there’s gonna be one hell of a party going on.
Organized by Mark Poppen and Joel Gaudet of the Funky Moose Podcast fame, the festival lineup this year is once again geared towards rock n’ roll. Featuring the Northern Royals and Ex Omerta from Winnipeg, as well as Sask acts The Hourhand, Traitors’ Gate, W3apons, and recent additions, The Radiant.
Left to right: The Hourhand, Traitors' Gate, W3apons (Pics by Scott and Deanna Roos)
"I think it'll be fun,” remarked Radiant vocalist Mikhaila Anderson in a recent chat with NSMZ.
Originally from Kindersley but now mostly based in Saskatoon, the Radiant cite bands like Deftones, Incubus and Puscifer as key influences of their sound but slapping the Nu Metal tag on them might be pigeonholing a band that has many layers to it. Vocally, Anderson has a swagger in her voice that's almost Morrison-esque in nature. Before you start referring to her as the “lizard queen”, however, there’s also a bit of that Florence and the Machine, electro-pop in the Radiant’s overall mystique both musically and vocally. Throw in a noise-rock band or two for good measure and maybe now you’re scratching the surface of The Radiant's vibe. Part of the reason for the many facets to the band likely boils down to their democratic approach to songwriting.
“We’re a group who works together. We open the door for a lot of influences to come in. No one is really ever shut down if they have an idea. We're a really supportive group which allows for a lot of room to have a lot of good creativity,” explains Anderson.
Any way you look at it, The Radiant are a very exciting live band. They are definitely poised to be a “band to watch” in the province now that festivals and gigs are returning in earnest.
"We just try to tailor each set and each performance I guess to the type of show it is. If it's a big festival, we think about the stage presence a bit more. If it's a smaller venue, tailor it back to something like that keeping in mind the type of show it is and hyping it up in the necessary way," says Anderson of their strategy for preparing for live shows.
You can see the Radiant at MooseFest August 6th. Tickets can be purchased on the festival’s website here: https://www.moosefestsk.ca/
It’s an outdoor festival this year with the festivities moving out of the Bellevue Hall and onto the Bellevue Recreational grounds. Bellevue (St. Isidore de Bellevue) is located on highway 225. It’s approximately 40 minutes south of Prince Albert, an hour north of Saskatoon, 15 minutes east of Batoche and 11 minutes and 53 seconds west of Domremy.