As summer quickly approaches, so does the difficult task of choosing which festivals you’re going to attend followed by the tedious task of planning and preparing the funds and means of travel to get to them all. With this in mind, we thought we would help our western Canadian friends out and even our neighbours down south along the coast with our TOP 5 WESTERN CANADIAN MUSIC FESTIVALS series, showcasing some of our favourite festivals around the Canadian west coast. Coming in at number 5, although only in its second year is Bad Lands Music Festival. Located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and taking place on the weekend of July 4th-6th. Coinciding with the start of the Largest Outdoor Show On earth the Calgary Stampede, it’s guaranteed to be a very highly attended and energetic event with great people from all over the country. This three day party will take place rain, snow or shine as festivalgoers from last year will attest, no matter the conditions this show will go on. Last years event was Bad Lands Music Festival first year. With headlining acts such as Kaskade, Pretty Lights, Adventure Club, Steve Aoki and Excision too name a few they sure started off with a bang. The 3 day festival went off sending calgarians into a frenzy having never had a locally run and operated festival before. The Periods of massive downpours of rain and Muddy dance floors weren’t enough to slow down the show or energetic crowd which is what turned us onto this wonderful festival and has us super excited for this years event.

This year’s Badlands promises to be everything and more than last years event, as the whole team behind it has worked hard to bring you Calgary’s biggest and best outdoor festival to date. The main stage will consist of a 150, 000 Watt PK sound System which will see the likes of Glitch Mob, Dada Life, Bloody Beetroots, Borgore, Noisecontrollers, DVBBS, The Chain Smokers and Datsik grace it amongst many other international headlining acts. Ontop of the main stage they will also be introducing the: Heineken Future Stage. A new stage to show off the up and coming talents that are soon to take over festivals and headline events all over the world. Featuring acts such as Hot Since 82, Grandtheft, Knight Riderz, and Calgary Locals and top DJ Duo Smalltown Djs, just to name a few.

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The festival will take place at Canada Olympic Park, which was used in the 1988 winter olympic games for various winter events such as bobsledding, luge and ski jumping. The festival has capitalized on that this year and are offering up Adrenaline Packages which include a Summer Bobsleigh Ride where the rider and 3 friends will be driven down a professional bobsled track by a professional driver reaching speeds of 100kmh while experiencing 4 G forces as you twist and turn down the full Olympic Tack. For those who are craving to go faster they are also offering a Zip Lining experience where the traveler will reach speeds of 140kmh.

This year Bad Lands is improving everything With the main stage tucked near the bottom of the ski hill facing west, the view of the sunset at night is sure to generate an inspiring and memorable time for everyone and create a priceless background for photographers and sky gazers alike. The second stage is conveniently located in a tent near by making travelling from one stage to the other a breeze and keeping your options available. The festival has provided goers with a layout of the festival below.

The festival will also be offering a complimentary Bus service to all ticket holders. The pick up location is at the Crowfoot C-Train station ( 1860 Scurfield Drive N.W. ) You will be able to catch a ride from the ctrain everyday too the venue between 3pm-7pm and will be able to return to the station between 10pm-1am. (More info on the shuttle here https://www.facebook.com/notes/badlands-music-festival/shuttle-bus-info-badlands2014/792837997416622 ) This and is an 18+ event. Both 3day GA passes are available as well as Single Day GA passes and VIP Passes. To Buy tickets and for ticket pricing go here http://badlandsmusicfest.com/tickets/ ) The venue has on site parking for a daily fee of 20$ with no overnight parking allowed. so take advantage of the shuttles if possible.

Too kick off our TOP 5 WESTERN CANADIAN MUSIC FESTIVALS with a bang Aqua Audio has hooked us up with 2 General Admission tickets for a giveaway. If you would like to enter to win TWO FREE General Admission Passes sign up below. Ticket winners will be announce on Wednesday July 2nd. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the most chances to win.