Sunday afternoon brings us to the new spot for our Headliner event. Tickets for this event are $50 and include all 3 headliner performances at Medciien Hat College in the Eresman Theatre.
This year will host 3 amazing acts that you absolutely do not wish to miss and with a start time of 2 pm, you'll be home in time for supper!
Brand new to TOPFEST, Mallory Chipman will kick off the afternoon with some of the most soul-soothing and heart inspring vocals and lyrics you have heard in a very long time!
Award-winning singer-songwriter, Mallory Chipman, is fresh off the heels of her fifth studio album release and is turning heads across the international folk-roots scene. Her latest record, Songs to a Wild God, hit #1 on CKUA upon its release and was one of the only indie albums to debut in the National Radio Top 50.
Engineered by JUNO-nominee Scott Franchuk (Corb Lund, Del Barber) and featuring a line up of Western Canada’s top musicians, Songs to a Wild God boasts a sonic landscape that combines classic folk acoustic instruments, like banjos and tenor guitars, with modern units, like synthesizers and effects pedals, to create a sound that is definitively contemporary while proudly rooted in the folk tradition.
Songs to a Wild God displays Mallory’s vivid lyricism and acrobatic vocals atop a deft and dynamic rhythm section and has been met with a solid reviews and a sold out album release concert in Edmonton, with a forthcoming support tour slated for summer 2025.
In the past year alone, Chipman has toured across Canada, Europe, Korea, and Japan, turning heads at major showcases including Folk Alliance International, North by Northeast, Alberta Showcase, and BreakOut West; and drawing comparison to Kate Bush, Melissa Ethridge, and Joni Mitchell.
Next up, and no stranger to our stage or Medicine Hat.....The Amazing and multi-award-winning artist Kyle McKearney makes his return to the main stage and ensures an unbelievable afternoon of songs and storytelling but this time joined by his wife Sarah as they harmonize and transport everyone to faraway place that somehow hits you right in the feels.
In 2020, Kyle McKearney was restless and ready to start something new. After spending time in Nashville and being a part of many varied musical projects, he settled in Alberta and began posting YouTube videos of himself performing cover songs. It was the start of a creative reinvention, and two years later Kyle’s debut solo album Down-Home received a Canadian Country Music Association award nomination for Alternative Country Album of the Year.
Yet, that was only one of the accolades that have boosted Kyle McKearney’s status as Canada’s biggest breakthrough independent country/Americana artist of 2022. He also earned two Western Canadian Music Award nominations, was named a SiriusXM Top of the Country semi-finalist, placed second in Alberta Music’s Project Wild (for which he was awarded $75,000), shared stages with The Black Crowes, Kip Moore, Our Lady Peace and Dean Brody, all while racking up over one million global streams.
Kyle hasn’t wasted any time building on that momentum. Fans have been treated to new music over the past several months with the singles “Mercy,” “River Rain” and “Grandfather” displaying Kyle’s maturation as a songwriter, while still showing off his powerful voice and his evolving collaboration with Juno Award-winning producer/guitarist/songwriter Russell Broom. It’s all there as well on the latest single, “Whispering Pines,” a soaring duet between Kyle and his wife Sarah that immediately belongs in the conversation of songs at the cutting edge of country music’s current renaissance.
“I wrote ‘Whispering Pines’ while I was working a shift job,” Kyle explains. “It was two weeks away from home at a time in a place where I felt isolated. This song speaks to so many families’ situations; one parent working away while the other takes care of things at home. It can be very tough and can take its toll on any relationship.”
And to wrap up the afternoon on a high note, a local legend and an early contributor to shaping our beautiful festival........Phyllis Sinclair. Phyllis Sinclair, a Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated singer-songwriter weaves Indigenous realities with spirituality, astronomy, and mythology.
Having released six albums that include numerous Folk, and Indigenous chart-toppers, Phyllis Sinclair's discography stands as a tribute to her artistry, and testament to her authenticity.
With performances spanning Australia to the UK, Phyllis Sinclair captivates audiences through her dynamic story-telling and eclectic mix of pop and folk that seamlessly blends traditional wisdom with contemporary melodies.
