If you’re looking for a good time, want to assist a good cause and listen to Juno award winning bands, Wild Bill’s will be the place to be, Nov. 2.
On that Saturday, The Sheepdogs, The Strumbellas, Lexi Strate and The Angry Kids will perform at the eighth annual Team Invade Banff dinner, concert and charity auction.
The event began as a pub crawl in Banff for engineering students, but has grown to the point where organizers hope $100,000 dollars will be raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC).
The 2013 Invade Banff event has gone mainstream, said Noble Foundation director Tyson Noble, by officially becoming a non-profit organization and raising funds for LLSC.
Team Invade Banff has grown from a handful of engineering students on a pub crawl, to 10 or 20, to 300 last year. This year, there won’t be a pub crawl; instead, the entire event will be held at Wild Bill’s Legendary Saloon.
“Last year, at 300 people, we decided to hold the event for a charity instead of for ourselves,” said Noble. “We used to start at Bill’s or the Rose & Crown, then move to Aurora or Hoodoo. But we’re more serious this year and we decided to class it up a bit by having a dinner, concert and auction fundraiser. Everything over our costs goes to LLSC.”
Tickets are $125 (plus charges) and are available through www.teaminvadebanff.com Tickets not sold online will be available through Wild Bill’s the day of the event. A buffet dinner will take place from 5-7 p.m., when Lexi Strate will take the stage. The Strumbellas will follow, then the auction, with a former Barrett-Jackson auctioneer holding the hammer, and the Sheepdogs will be on around 10 or 10:30 p.m. Door prizes will be awarded throughout.
Corporate sponsors include, along with Banff Springs Golf Course, X92.9 radio in Calgary, Bill’s, Steam Whistle, Baker Hughes and a number of Calgary oil companies.
Auction items include a signed Sheepdogs guitar, Calgary Flames box suite ($4,200 value) to a Dec. 6 game vs Colorado Avalanche, a Calgary Hitmen suite, Springs golf, three club seats for an Oilers/Blues game on Dec. 21, an iPad, tablets and other items.
Also at the venue will be an LLSC information booth, with brochures, and a video will be presented.
“For some, the cause is dear,” said Noble. “For others, more information about the charity is needed. I didn’t even know what leukemia was, but we knew we wanted to help a charity with the event. Then we realized that in our family (including his fiance) there were two members who had been affected by leukemia and the society had done a lot for them.
“And we wanted to be an official non-profit, to be authentic and legitimate and follow CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) guidelines. We’re hoping after costs that $60,000 to $70,000 will go to the society. Last year, we raised $40,000.”
Along with being featured on the cover of Rolling Stone, The Sheepdogs built their name on hard work and determination. After funding their first three albums and early years of touring on their own, the rock band’s momentum began to build with the release of the 2010 album, Learn & Burn (now platinum in Canada).
Sheepdogs won three 2012 Juno Awards for New Group of the Year, Single of the Year and Rock Album of the Year.
The Sheepdogs, the self-titled album produced by The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and Austin Scaggs and released in 2012, introduced the band to the U.S. and beyond. The album earned the band three more Juno nominations for Best Album, Best Single, and Best Group and was certified gold in Canada in 2013.
Having received rave reviews for their Canadian Music Week debut, CBC called The Strumbellas a “band to watch,” while their 2009 EP was well-reviewed across the blogosphere and in Now Magazine. Their 2012 full length album, My Father and The Hunter, was been nominated for a 2012 Juno award in the Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Group category.
The Angry Kids – Ryan Wilock and Jeff Beck – hit numer one in Canada on the National Dance Chart with their single “Mr. Brown” (featuring the legendary Bob Marley). Already making noise worldwide on the club scene as both producers and DJs, The Angry Kids’ radio show The Hit Fix can be heard daily on Virgin Radio in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, London and Winnipeg, and Fredericton, NB’s Capital FM.
Lexi Strate is an Albertan determined to make her mark in pop. Sultry tones and strong, soulful vocals, combined with her urban-chic style, Strate stimulates the senses and captivates her audience.
