HOT LICKS, GOOD EATS
Lord of the Wings an appetizing concert series
Scott Putnam loves his chicken wings.
“I've been addicted since I was about six years old,” local music promoter and co-creator with partner James Mccormick says of the wing-themed Lord of the Wings Concert Series taking place this summer.
Both a celebration of the favoured snack of sports fans and, in the near future, a contest to find the city's best offering, the festival has been an idea running inside Putnam's head for a number of years. That's not surprising, given that you often can see Putnam chowing down on his favourite food at places such as River City Revival, Beer Revolution and Taste of Edmonton.
“They have this huge festival in the U.K. that I've been following,” Putnam continues, referring to the three-city Wing Fest that takes place July and September in London, Bristol and Manchester. “As far as I know, this is the first chicken wing festival in Canada, much less Edmonton.”
Spread out over two months, with an eclectic assortment of bands providing musical accompaniment for munching, the Lord of the Wings Concert Series is something of a different beast compared to events in cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Niagara and Calgary.
In truth, we're not getting the complete festival with this re-emerging summer; the Lord of the Wings Concert Series is something of an appetizer before Putnam unveils the full wing experience in 2022.
Then, and only then, will one city restaurant be covered in glory as Edmonton wing masters for the year.
“We can't host the festival at the capacity we want to at the moment,” Putnam apologetically explains.
“For 2021, we're mostly doing it on the Re/max field patio, which is under the bleachers and can host up to 150 people. Next year, we'll be able to utilize the entire building for the full festival.”
It was something of a scramble to get things going this year with the first concert switched at the last minute to Michael Phair Park and the Al Fresco market on June 26, but Putnam and his team have managed to pivot amid the various changes in regulations.
It's picking up again Saturday at Re/max Field with the Kimberley Macgregor Band and Orchard Sky, and ending with a mystery headliner on Sept. 18. In the middle is an eclectic assemblage of bands, including Bill Bourne on July 24, an open stage on July 29 at the Campio Brewing patio for National Wings Day, Gravy Train Bandits and guests on Aug. 29, and Melafrique on Sept. 11.
Saturday's show will be the debut appearance of Orchard Sky, a spinoff from local roots-rockers The Orchard. They've already made a considerable dent in the Alberta scene under their former name with three highly regarded albums on Royalty Records, picking up 18 Alberta Country Music Association Award nominations and an armful of Edmonton Music Awards. The southern-rock inspired trio adds singer-songwriter Kat Zel to the core group of guitarist Mitch Smith, drummer Peter Joshua and bassist Andreas Wegner; they're planning to release new music on Royalty Records in the future.
Just as the musical lineup will shift for each concert, so will the menu. This Saturday 's wings offerings will come from Smokehouse BBQ, with craft beers from various local breweries and cocktails from Baijiu. Perfect snacking and drinking items for a summer afternoon while watching your favourite local band.
“The goal is to promote the hospitality industry as well as the live entertainment industry, which have both been impacted heavily by the pandemic,” says Putnam. “We're trying to do our part.”
They're also thinking beyond Edmonton. The team has big plans for Lord of the Wings once it officially gets off the ground next year, with a possible expansion across the country once the bugs are worked out. If things work out, there may come a day when one plate of wings will rule us all.
“That's the one thing we're looking at, partnering with bigger companies that have multiple restaurants,” Putnam explains. “We're developing the formula here and then we're going to present it to other markets. They'll work with our Lord of the Wings crew, and we'll go there and help run the festival with different production teams within those cities.”