Area 506 is fast approaching, and if you were still on the fence about whether to attend Saint John’s biggest music festival, we’ve got 7 very good reasons for you to join us there for the New Brunswick Day weekend!
Uptown Saint John
This one is a given, but let’s not take it for granted! We tour festivals constantly and there is something to be said for the ease of accessibility having this one right in the heart of Saint John. The city is right there: the restaurants, the hotels and everything that makes this city beautiful, plus that wonderful harbour breeze! We can’t tell you can how many summer festivals WISH they had that little bit of natural air conditioning.
The Shipping Container Village
It’s practical, it’s iconically Saint John, and it’s a lot of fun. Something between a jungle gym, an art piece and a shopping mall, the Shipping Container Village is what happens when you scale up your LEGO village, let some artists at them, and then populate with over 50 vendors showcasing some amazing local products. The village will be open from 2 p.m. to midnight on August 4th and 5th.
Pre-Party at the E2L Jam
Kicking off the festival is the E2L Jam party. On August 3rd, the city will be closing off Grannan Lane between Germain Street and Canterbury Street so you can get your pre-party on with a surprise line-up of Area 506 performers. And, you can grab your wristbands early. Live performances run from 7:00 p.m. until midnight for a very special experience at Five & Dime, Churchill’s Bar & Pub and Port City Royal.
Seeing Big Wreck Live
Sure, we always get nostalgic when we hear that song, but aren’t we talking about a band that sounded cool on Big Shiny Tunes 3? Wasn’t that almost two decades ago? Well, guess who’s been touring since then and only getting better with age! Big Wreck have become one of the MUST-SEE live performers at Area 506, and their shows are amazing!
That WHOLE Line-up!
Arkells? New Pornographers? The Glorious Sons? We’re excited to see all of them. Area 506 is doing a fantastic job of bringing in the big bands this year, but we are REALLY excited to see a lot of the bands that’ll be performing that are basically hometown heroes! Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire made it onto our list of The Best Music of 2018 (so far) for “Microdosing” off of their concept album, Viens avec moi, Tomato/Tomato are still the reigning champs for adorable folksy duo in Saint John and Kill Chicago are about to release one of the most anticipated sophomore albums on the east coast.
Tampa – Eastern Coast’s Rising Stars
Yeah, we already mentioned all the amazing New Brunswick bands that’ll be playing at Area 506, but we had to give Tampa their own spot. There’s a reason Tampa got featured not once but twice on our list of The Best Music of 2018 (so far). Having just released their debut album Belated Love earlier this year, they are quickly growing a following and are one of the hottest bands on the east coast right now. We catch them every chance we get.
JULY TALK!
We can’t stress this one enough. If you missed July Talk absolutely killing it at the very first Area 506, we hope you learned your lesson. Saint John hasn’t stopped talking about that show, and lucky for you they’re doing it all over again. Come out and see what got us excited about Area 506 in the first place!
Area 506 kicks off on Friday, August 3rd, 2018 with an open-air preregistration event featuring a surprise lineup of New Brunswick talent and runs until Monday, August 6th, 2018. For more information on the full line-up, click here.
Tickets are available at AREA506.ca. Weekend passes are $119.00 + HST and applicable fees, and individual day passes are $79.00 + HST and applicable fees. VIP tickets will be a new addition to the festival this year. Priced at $249, they include preferred viewing area, preferred entry, washrooms and bar access.
