The 2017 Uniter Fiver

Choosing just five new local bands to showcase in our annual Uniter Fiver contest is a pretty tall order. This year, we started with 16 amazing submissions and put them to readers and local music lovers to choose the final five.

The final result is a wide range of sounds spanning some of Winnipeg’s favourite genres. The grand winner of this year’s contest (chosen by an industry panel), Kakagi blends Wilco-influenced guitar lines with distinctly Manitoban echoes. June Killing Stones mix their melodies up with playful instrumentation. Tusk veers towards a more experimental, post-grunge sound. Rosebud’s deceptively simple, reflective indie sound tugs at heartstrings, and Awaiting the Answer keep the double-kick steady under soaring metal riffs.

All in all, we’ve got quite a fun mix of bands to discover or further explore at our annual Uniter Fiver showcase (Jan. 19 at The Good Will Social Club - see page 3 for more details). And before the show, take a minute to get to know these guys and hear what they’ve been up to in the early stages of their careers.

Last year’s Fiver winners have also been keeping busy recording, writing, playing and touring since last January. Catch up with The Middle Coast, Deep Dark Cave, Adam Hanney & Co., Fox Lake and Ashley Bieniarz here.

Kakagi
Awaiting the Answer
June Killing Stones
Rosebud
Tusk

Published in Volume 71, Number 16 of The Uniter (January 19, 2017)

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