Posted
By Quentin Randall
Medicine Hat, AB – Burrr. January can be so cold. It’s impossible to just chill (yes, pun intended) and listen to some sweet tunes when it’s so dang cold. Tongue on the Post Music Festival feels your pain and has come to the rescue. So, drop the skis and snowboard for six days and come in to warm up. Medalta Potteries and a bunch of cafés and restaurants throughout Medicine Hat bring you in from the cold with live music put on by some of the finest artists around.
Editor's note: 2019 Tongue on the Post fest is runs Jan. 21 to 26 and tix are still available.
Different shows highlight the week of activities. Check out the artists in the intimate setting of a café at Verve Café and Zucchini Blossom. But make sure you find time to visit Medalta Potteries for some shows that are completely influenced by the surroundings. When was the last time you sat and listened to a musician strum in a kiln? Or danced in a pottery room?
Crazy? No. Acoustically interesting? Totally.
The best part is you can purchase passes for the afternoon side stages and the closing concert, an event and special features like the Supper and Song in Medalta Potteries.
Picture this: The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra has you dancing, swinging your partner around, stomping your feet. Surrounding the dance floor are dozens of pieces of pottery, some under glass. Some even returned from the Emperor of Ethiopia’s collection.
The visuals are reminders that you’re in a pottery-factory-turned-museum, and a National Historic Site. Don’t worry though, no one’s telling you to sit down. You’re not a bull in a china shop. Today you’re on the dance floor, surrounded by friends, feeding off the energy present in the room. Keep dancing.
An intimate venue on the north side of the South Saskatchewan River, and a Medicine Hat institution. Zucchini Blossom kicked off Medicine Hat’s love affair with quality food and eclectic atmospheres. From the Zucchini Blossom, independent cafes have bloomed across Canada’s sunniest city, with four in the downtown core alone.
Order the Bomba Panini, The Goat Salad and sit back with some Tongue on the Post acoustic sets. And remember, it all started with one blossom along the river.
From the Zucchini Blossom sprung Verve Café. Proving that excellent coffee is needed outside the downtown core, Verve set up its art deco-inspired café outside Medicine Hat’s badlands river valley, spreading the gospel of Medicine Hat’s independent café scene.
These are the new kids on the block, but they’re no stranger to the scene. Eager to plug in to the city’s independent culture, they provide a fourth venue for Tongue on the Post, and bring their own flair. They’re the first Medicine Hat café to offer nitrous-infused coffee. Drink one of those while listening to a Tongue on the Post set and you’ll surely be dancing.
There’s no doubt, when Tequila Mockingbird talks about friendship, good vibes and cool venues, they have an eye towards Medicine Hat.
Additional Information
Check out this video we shot in the summer and get a feel for the Medalta and Medicine Hat
- Visit the official Tongue on the Post website for a list of the 2019 performers.
- Purchase your tickets for the Tongue on the Post festival here.
- Discover more about Medicine Hat. Check out Tourism Medicine Hat's official website and start planning your trip to the Tongue on the Post Festival.
- Take in some great live music, and be powered up for all the other adventures in one of Canada’s sunniest cities, head out for their Coffee Tour
- #BucketlistAB is a SnowSeekers Expedition showcasing what’s in store for those exploring Southern Alberta
Are you taking in the Tongue on the Post Fest this year? Share this page with your folk-music loving friends and start planning.
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