About: Yuri Woodfall

Small venue with a big name makes for a great night with one of Canada’s top pop-punk stars Billy Talent and they blew the roof off of the Midway in Edmonton.

American country/country pop band Old Dominion made a stop at Rogers Place on Thursday, March 2^nd, 2023, in support of their “No Bad Vibes” tour. Well, they were correct. I could not see any bad vibes inside the venue. (This was my first arena shoot since moving to Edmonton, and I was very excited!) As I walked onto the floor/photographers’ pit, I noticed the sea of denim, cowboy boots, and hats. Edmonton came prepared for what was about to occur!

Wow! What a show. Canadian Electro-Pop artist Lights finally made her return to Edmonton after 4 years… and man… what a treat.

When you hear the iconic Canadian band The Headstones… what do you think? Do you think “Oh, just another rock band creating noise?” or are you like me who thinks “This is the Tragically Hip of punk rock!”. (Coincidentally, Hugh Dillon grew up playing hockey with Paul Langlois; future guitarist of the Tragically Hip).

Barenaked Ladies: A Tour of Force

On August 21^st, 2022, the beloved and critically acclaimed band Barenaked Ladies (BNL) closed out the much-needed summer festival Together Again Outdoor Concert Series. Touring on their newest album, “Detour De Force” released in 2021, it finally allowed BNL to showcase their newest songs to an eagerly awaiting crowd.

USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) came through Edmonton on June 3^rd, 2022, and played their last show at Midway in part of their “Final FINAL Freakquency Tour”. I was lucky enough to shoot them when they played Together Again in the summer of 2021; I was not going to miss a chance to photograph them a second time.

Almost like they’ve been watching back-to-back hockey games, the 4 piece, Toronto-based, the all-girl band The Beaches set up shop for a doubleheader at Edmonton’s Midway in support of their 2021 EP: “Future Lovers”.

I was there to photograph their first show of two.

Vancouver’s Peach Pit stopped in Edmonton for two nights at Midway as they wrap up the North America leg of their current tour in support of their third album, “From 2 to 3” released on March 4th, 2022.

On March 25th, 2022, The Dungarees performed at Festival Place in Sherwood Park, Alberta. It was a tribute to Blue Rodeo; specifically, they played Blue Rodeo’s album 5 Days in July in its entirety. They opened the show with “5 Days in May”, which was met with resounding applause and cheers. Between songs, James Murdoch, Robb Angus, Kiron Jhass, and Ben Shillabeer shared what makes them fans of Blue Rodeo, as well as stories from the road.

On November 19, 2021, I was able to photograph Robyn Ottolini and Lindsay Ell at Midway for their first stop of Ell’s Want Me Back Canadian tour at Midway in Edmonton, Alberta.