UPSIDE DOWNTOWN – POP UP, GET DOWN
Concerts + Art on Rotary Square, Casa
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 5pm: The Windbreakers, Hippodrome, The Boom Booms
Stage Sponsor: Westco Construction
Community Highlight: Honouring Traditions & Reconciliation + Nectar Fine Art Tattooing + Southern Alberta Art Gallery + Tourism Lethbridge + Lethbridge Food Bank
Food Truck Guest: Beau’s Birria + Bakari + La Gloria + Mangan (Let’s Eat) + Cookie Crimes + Macs N Custard + Pita Pit
Craft Night: Button Making + Silk Screening (bring a shirt or tote bag of your choice to be printed on!)
FREE
Join us once again for POP UP, GET DOWN, the encore music festival to cap off Upside Downtown’s 2026 season!
Get ready for MORE music, MORE art, and MORE food!
The AAC is once again closing down 8th Street to make room for an Art Market, Food Trucks, Craft Stations, Community Tables – all in addition to our amazing Musical Talent!
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Band Bio – The Windbreakers:
Formed from the ashes of two rival Christmas bands, this instrumental jazz-infused surf rock outfit proves that feuds really can bring people together. Made up of familiar local musicians, the band started writing original material after spending far too much time together during the festive season. The result? Reverb-drenched grooves, jazzy twists, surfy riffs, and enough musical chemistry to sound far more organized than they actually are.
Band Bio – Hippodrome:
Funk, soul, rhythm and blues, blues and even some Jazz are part and parcel of the repertoire of Lethbridge’s premier “rhythm and groove” band, Hippodrome. A rock-solid rhythm section, coupled with a dynamite horn section, all backed by a frontline of fantastic vocalists, makes this 11-piece group a truly exciting experience for any music lover! Based in Lethbridge, Alberta, Hippodrome features the talents of some of the finest musicians in southern Alberta. The group performs at a wide variety of venues–from stadiums to nightclubs. Outstanding musicianship, high-energy presentation, and lots of singable, danceable music make Hippodrome a terrific music treat for everyone!
Band Bio – The Boom Booms:
The Boom Booms debut album “Hot Rum” was conceived on a 6 month “on-the-fly” tour of Latin America in 2008. Their sunny blend of folk, rock, reggae, african, and latin music quickly connected with people on the west coast and soon they were selling out venues and playing festivals across their home province such as Squamish Live and Pemberton. Fan favourite “you know” blends rock and reggae and became a staple at the end of their sets, while reggae-influenced “Caroline”s longing lyrics and brilliant melodies tugs on heart strings in english AND spanish.
They had a song on the Much More Music countdown, won an award for “Best Roots Song”, as well as the Georgia Straight newspapers peoples choice award for “best unsigned band” 7 times. On their next record they worked with Grammy-winning producer Chin Injeti on a tight soul-pop record called “Love is Overdue” and later they co-produced a record with Sam Woywitka called “Million Miles”. In 2025 the lifelong friends and staple of the BC music scene return with a new album that harkens back to the original beachy-rootsiness of Hot Rum.
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Upside Downtown Concerts + Art 2026 Schedule
Weekly concerts on Rotary Square at Casa every Thursday night after work from 5pm – 7pm. Meet your friends, have a drink, grab a snack, and listen to local music in the downtown core. While you’re visiting, explore the galleries inside Casa.
JULY 2 – Skinny Dyck
JULY 9 – Monks on Call
JULY 16 – Lady Grime & the Prairie Scum, Sparkle Blood
JULY 23 – Moranz & Fremlin, Those Folk
JULY 30 – Joce Ryome, Paul Kype and Texas Flood
AUGUST 6 – Double Rider, Ekkohs
AUGUST 13 – Toni Vere, Mallory Chipman
AUGUST 20 – Midnight Channel
AUGUST 27 POP UP, GET DOWN 5pm until 10pm
The Windbreakers, Hippodrome, The Boom Booms
A summer dance party with three bands, an art market, and we’re closing 8 Street!
See all the arts events happening in Lethbridge here: http://yqlarts.ca
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The Allied Arts Council is thankful to the Upside Downtown sponsors that support arts programming in Lethbridge: FACTOR, Spectrum Ale Works, Westco Construction, Davis Auto Group, City of Lethbridge, Warwick Printing, Tourism Lethbridge, Safeway, Anova Law Group, Wide Skies Music Festival, St. John Ambulance, Sonic Multimedia, MNP, Andrew Hilton. Nectar Tattoo, and Airau.
If you like this event and other free arts programming supported by the AAC, consider donating here: https://bit.ly/AACDonate
