Badlands Music Festival 2021

By alantvuong on March 26, 2022

Back in 2019, Blueprint Events acquired Knoxville’s Tavern and relaunched Badlands Music Festival into a 10 day party during Calgary’s Stampede week in July. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic but in 2021 with events starting to happen in the summer, the music festival was back on during the Stampede dates of July 8 to 18, 2021. Located in a giant covered tent with the stage set up in the parking lot of Knoxville’s.

The one unique thing that Badlands is doing this year is that the entire lineup of artists will be all Canadian. This is because of travel restrictions and vaccine requirements and testings. It was great to see what mix of great Canadian artists they would bring from different genres of music like country, rock, hip hop and EDM. Some of the artists this year include: Felix Cartel, Loud Luxury, Chad Brownlee, Manila Grey, Rezz and more.

promo banner

The festival takes place every day for 11 days straight during The Stampede week. Doors open at 4 PM with the opening artists starting at 6 PM. The main headliners come on anywhere between 10.30 and 11 PM and finishes at midnight because of noise laws with surrounding residents. At midnight, the music volume is lowered and kept going by a local DJ but people can still stay until 2 AM to drink and hang out.

Getting There

Knoxville’s tent is downtown and located at 840 9 ave SW. The closest ctrain station to it is either the 7th street SW or the 8th street SW station depending on which line you are on. The tent is only a block or 2 from either station and is only a few minutes walk/stroll away. The ride is free all downtown on 7 ave.

using the ctrain back and forth is a convenient way to get to/from the festival

I could easily just wheel from my place to Knoxville’s in about 20 minutes in my powerchair when going alone, or take the ctrain a few stops to get to the festival. Since the festival ends around midnight each night, it is very convenient to just hop on the ctrain to get home.

arrive early to avoid long lines

Good To Know

no re-entry to the festival

Similar to a lot of other music festivals, Badlands Music Festival does not allow re-entry once we leave for any reason. This means, I bring my medications for the night and a jacket or extra hoodie. Especially on free nights, when they want you in the doors early and you’re stuck for the night to buy expensive drinks and food.

free water refill station

The best options to get tickets to this festival is to get the 11 Day Outlaw Pass. This gets 1 person priority entry to all 11 shows during the festival. For only $200 plus taxes and fees, this is a great deal if you plan on going to 3 or more ticketed events which are normally around $100 each plus taxes and fees. This also means you don’t have to arrive really early during a free night day.

Accessibility

easy to get around the venue including these cable protectors

Badlands takes place at Knoxville’s tent so it is not a big venue. Besides the big tent, there is a few food vendors, drink booths, bathrooms, and few seats, tables, and an area where people can hang out and socialize a bit without the loud speakers inside the large open tent.

there are few food options to choose from

There is a large accessible porta potty behind an employees only area that is right by the VIP viewing area. This is where I have to go to use the bathroom. When the night gets closer to headliner’s set times, the whole venue gets so packed, it is very to move around to anywhere, so I make sure to use the bathroom before it gets too crazy.

the one accessible porta potty behind an employees only area

Stage

There is only one stage at this festival and no designated wheelchair spot or raised viewing platform. It does get really crowded in front of the stage, but sometimes I am still up close to the stage and people try not to hover too close to my powerchair. There are times when I also hang out at one side of the tent to watch the stage.

view of the stage

I went with various friends and planned on going to the festival multiple times, so I bought the Outlaw Pass and went 5 nights out of the 11 night festival. 4 of the nights were a paid ticketed event so it was worth it. I saw BTSM, Loud Luxury, Whipped Cream, Rezz, and Deadmau5. All 5 nights were amazing and I got see a bunch of friends.

backstage with Whipped Cream

Final Thoughts

I had a lot of fun at the all Canadian Badlands Music Festival 2021. The accessibility at Knoxville’s tent was fine and it definitely worth going. A 2022 edition of Badlands Music Festival has just been announced with The Chainsmokers as one of the main headliners, and I may have to return with another Outlaw Pass.