Winter may be in full swing, but an iconic local venue is hoping to pull Winnipeg music fans out of the late-January doldrums and into concert seats.
Beginning Tuesday, the West End Cultural Centre and Real Love Wpg are teaming up for the fifth annual Winterruption — a week-long series of concerts at six locations in the city, featuring 35 artists, both local and international.
The 17-concert extravaganza — held at the West End itself, plus the soon-to-be-shuttered Good Will Social Club, Bulldog Event Centre, Times Change(d), the Forks Market and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights — includes performers as diverse as French synth trio Meule, Los Angeles singer-songwriter Sunny War and Haitian Canadian rapper Waahli.
Local favourites including Greg MacPherson, Amos the Kid, Bicycle Face, Rayannah and Show Pony fill out the rest of the lineup.
The human rights museum will also host the second annual Winterruption Round Dance, in partnership with the Sākihiwē Festival, celebrating Indigenous culture with a pipe ceremony, feasts and guest singers at a free-of-charge event.
A full list of the events and performers is available on the Winterruption website.