By Lisa Gillan
At this time of political (and environmental) unrest, longstanding cultural critics Propagandhi are steadying fans in a sense, like old friends you know you can depend on to help you through the hardest of times, while touring in support of their 2025 album At Peace.
From August 28 to September 6, 2026, the band toured western Canada, from Manitoba to B.C., with their friends, The Flatliners, playing shows to capacity crowds at almost every venue.
I’ve personally been wanting to take a similar road trip across Western Canada for a number of years now (and almost did a couple years ago, but my plans at the time fell through), and with increasing temperatures and political tensions, I’ve been growing concerned the opportunity to do so may not exist much longer; so when I heard Propagandhi was touring out that way this year, I used it as extra motivation to finally plan and take the trip I’ve been dreaming about.
I had an incredible time, overall, but this is a music blog, so let’s focus on that.
Initially I only purchased a ticket to the Calgary concert, but it was later announced Choke (another of my favourite bands) would be joining the show in Edmonton only, so you know I had to snag a spot at that gig too!
The Edmonton show was on Saturday, August 29, 2026, and was part of a two-day festival called Riot in the Lot, held on an outdoor stage at a venue called Pawn Shop Live. Propagandhi, The Flatliners, and Choke were playing day two of this festival, along with another act I’d never heard of, called Midnight Peg.
I checked the weather after I checked into my hotel in Edmonton, and was a little concerned the gig might get rained out, as the forecast threatened thunderstorms all evening.
When I arrived at the venue, a large line had already formed and people were starting to be let in. I heard the people who joined the line behind me talking about going to the show the night before, and other gigs at the same venue, so I turned and asked them what would happen if it were to storm. (This is where my former years as a reporter come in handy – being just comfortable enough to ask questions of random people in crowds.)
These guys assured me that it wasn’t going to rain, despite what the forecast said, but also that if it did, the indoor part of the venue was an actual concert hall, and the show could easily be moved inside, if needed.
I thought about checking out the merch table first, but the line for it was already pretty long, and I wanted to make sure I got a spot close to the front. I opted to grab a drink, familiarize myself with the bathroom location, and then make my way to the stage area to stake out a good spot. I found a place along the front barricade, off to the side, which was perfect as it meant no tall people would be standing in front of me, and I’d also likely be safe from most mosh-pit activity.
Local Edmonton, female-fronted band Midnight Peg were first to take the stage, and I was excited to see what they had in store, as I’d seen some comments online from people psyched that they’d been added to the bill. Their sound was kind of like an artsy hardcore melodic mashup with slower parts and then higher energy, angry vocals from front-woman Raquel “Rocky” Mann, whom I give a lot of props to for channeling so much energy through her voice, especially as the first act to take the stage. The set was relatively short, given that there were four bands performing that night, and they did a great job of setting the mood for the rest of the music to come. I’m definitely interested in hearing more of their stuff to get a better sense of their overall vibe, but it’s certainly interesting (in a great way) with twists in tempo and volume which kept me engaged and curious to hear more.
Next up was Choke who I’ve been a big fan of since high school, and I felt like a kid in a candy store waiting to see take the stage. I remember going to their farewell tour when I was in university some 20-plus years ago, and then seeing them reunite as an opener for Protest the Hero sometime before the pandemic. I love their intricate guitar parts, and singing along as loud as possible to as many lyrics as I can (which is no small feat, considering vocal duties are shared amongst multiple band members in most, if not every, song of theirs, in an almost round-like fashion). I think in general it’s the layering and composition of their songs that really get me going, along with the speed, of course, and any time I see them pull it off in person is such a genuine treat.
Just before Choke took the stage I had started chatting with a couple in the crowd (shout out to Sherri and John!), and they were excited as well, having not realized Choke was on the bill until arriving at the venue (I think because the way their band name was written on the promo material it wasn’t super obvious, maybe? I just knew they were playing because I follow them on social media!) They were both fans of the band, so we hit it off right away, connecting over the excitement of seeing them play live. It seemed like others in the crowd were similarly surprised and pumped to see an old favourite take the stage once again as well, while some of the younger audience members got their first taste of the awesomeness that is Choke.
They played a shorter set than I would have liked, but I knew that would be the case, since they weren’t headliners on this bill of four bands. I was just happy to catch them at all. They played a few of my favourite songs of theirs, including Far From True; Breathing Won’t Come Easy; and Static Remains. They also stated that they’ve been working on new material, so any Choke fans, or interested people out there, would be well advised to keep an ear to the ground for what they may be up to next. (For now, they’ve announced they’ll be joining Protest the Hero again for some upcoming tour stops in eastern Canada, but the Toronto show I would be interested in going to is already sold out – anyone have an extra ticket??)
Next up was The Flatliners, from Toronto, which was kind of funny for me, having travelled so far to see a band that plays much closer to me relatively often (especially compared to Choke), but I wasn’t mad about it! Funny enough, I saw a familiar-looking, non-Flatliners face playing guitar with the band, but it wasn’t until lead singer Chris Cresswell introduced the band, and their fill-in guitar play that I realized it was Chuck Coles, who I’d caught performing his own set at Mariposa earlier this year, and then saw in Tillsonburg for Buddies Fest 2 (though I wasn’t able to catch his performance there).
It was obvious the Edmonton crowd were definitely pumped for The Flatliners, with loud cheers and excited energy permeating from the pit, and one girl coming up to my new friends and I and proudly declaring her love for Cresswell, as the band took the stage.
The energy of the crowd amped up, and the pit really got moving as The Flatliners got into their set. After performing about two or three songs, Cresswell declared his own excitement in anticipation of Propagandhi’s performance, and teased show-goers by saying his band was going to keep their set short, so Propagandhi could hurry up and take the stage. Fortunately for Flatliner fans they did in fact play a pretty full set, including favourites like Eulogy; Count Your Bruises, (which I kind of adopted as one of the theme songs of my trip, since I injured myself on more than one occasion while making my way out west), and Inner Peace, which was extra fitting, as tour-mates Propagandhi were promoting their latest album, At Peace.
The excitement in the crowd only amplified as the legendary Propagandhi (a.k.a. your favourite punk band’s favourite band) took the stage. For their part, Propagandhi played like the absolute pros they are, of course, nailing their timing and riffs with perfection (at least to my ears). While their records are of course impressive, catching the band live is especially satisfying, as you can tell they work hard to hone their craft for the live shows, and not just to sound good on recordings. It takes lots of dedication and practice to land the technicality of their songs with such precision, I would imagine, and it’s a big part of what makes their live shows so great.
They played many older favourites including The Only Good Fascist is a Very Dead Fascist; Haillie Sallasse, Up Your Ass (with updated lyrics to be more inclusive); Night Letters; and Dear Coach’s Corner, complete with impressive impressions of Ron MacLean and Don Cherry carried out by lead singer Chris Hannah and drummer Jord Samolesky, respectively, mimicking the pre-amble on the album version, before Hannah cut into the mind-blowing riff that is the intro to the song.
Of course, they also included a number of songs off the aforementioned 2025 release, At Peace, including the title track; Stargazing; Prismatic Spray (The Tinder Date); and perhaps the most fitting song of the moment, especially for a tour out west in the warmer weather, being Fire Season. It was a completely kick-ass set from start to finish, and I don’t think I’d be alone in saying the only issue was that it wasn’t longer. (Not that it was a short set, just that it was one of those nights you want to somehow make last a little longer than most.)
I did have a ticket for the very next night in Calgary though, and another for a little while later in Winnipeg, so I was able to make peace with calling it a night after chatting a little longer with my new friends in the crowd.
All in all, the Edmonton crowd was pretty good and friendly. The only issue I had was a guy who had already been removed from the area once because a group of people had complained about him, making his way back through the crowd and coming up way too close for comfort behind me, brushing up against me every now and then, pretending to be too drunk to know what he was doing, until it was time to cheer, at which point he lit up full of energy, and cheered louder than anyone around. Another girl who came up to the front at the same time thought he was my boyfriend because of how he was hovering around me, until I explained to her that I was annoyed at him, not her, when she was trying to get closer to the front to see the band. I was actually contemplating pushing/punching the guy when his brother caught on and fortunately removed him from the area. I debated leaving this part out, but I’ve decided, since I’m detailing these experiences publicly, I’m going to leave incidents like this in, in the chance that the guilty parties might happen across them, and be completely embarrassed by their behaviour.
Besides that, the Edmonton crowd was very fun and friendly, and as mentioned, I was happy to have met some great people to chat with throughout the night!
The next night, Sunday, August 30, The Flatliners and Propagandhi headed to Calgary to play at a venue called The Arrowhead, this time with only one opener, being a band called Iron Tusk. The members of Iron Tusk are from Siksika Nation, approximately an hour from Calgary, and it seemed like they had a number of local fans in the crowd right off the hop, as the area in front of the stage was pretty full, even before the music started (which was great to see).
I was joined at this show by my friend Courtenay, who I grew up with, but who’s been living near Calgary for the past 13 years or so.
The night before I’d gone to the merch table after the show, only to find they’d run out of shirts in my size, so Courtenay and I decided to buy merch at the beginning, and then try to find a decent spot in the audience. Courtenay bought an Iron Tusk shirt because it had the best graphics, and I picked up a Propagandhi t-shirt as well as the book Being Jewish After The Destruction of Gaza, by Peter Beinart, which was one of a few titles the band brought along, to aid in/encourage the continuing education of their fans on issues near and dear to their hearts.
Courtenay is even shorter than my 5’5” stature, so we tried to get a spot relatively close to the front, so that we both had a decent view of the stage. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get that close for Iron Tusk, as the local crowd seemed to love them, as previously mentioned, but we still enjoyed their quick and heavy set, regardless of how little of the performance we could see (since the main feature is the music, after all).
To our surprise however, we were able to get up closer to the stage between Iron Tusk and The Flatliners’ set, and both ended up with a pretty decent view for the rest of the concert.
We both really enjoyed The Flatliners, with the music and Cresswell’s signature growl coming through as cool and impressive as ever. As with the previous night, Chuck Coles was subbing in for regular guitarist Scott Brigham, and the set went off flawlessly, as if Coles was a regular member of the group. I’m always impressed when musicians can fill in for bands so smoothly, especially in a live setting.
The only unfortunate event of the night was that some idiot chose to purchase two fully-loaded hot dogs and bring them into the crammed crowd near the front of the stage. She wound up standing right in front of Courtenay and I, which was actually lucky for us, because had we been any closer to the stage, she likely would have been right behind us, and we might have wound up covered in the mess that was those hotdog toppings. I heard some talk of trying to get them to the band, before some other morons in the crowd reminded her the band members were vegan, but told her to tell them they were vegetarian hotdogs anyway. The things were also, apparently, loaded with bacon bits amongst the many sauces. She then started calling them “mosh dogs” and a couple people in the crowd took some pics of them with her before taking them from her hand and throwing them into the crowd in front of them – no doubt as a defense tactic to not become victims of the mess themselves. Some poor guy at the very front wound up with sauce all over the back of his shirt, and I’m pretty sure he left the barricade area shortly after, which is incredibly disappointing, since this was just as Propagandhi took the stage, and I’m sure he’d been otherwise very excited to have a spot right up front. My friend and I wound up with minimal sauce on our shoes and a hot dog weiner at our feet for the remainder of the show, but were glad we hadn’t been the main victims of this absolute idiocy.
As annoying as it was, the incident wasn’t enough to ruin the show for us – and hopefully not for the guy who got sauced, either, after he had a chance to clean up – as the bands’ performances far out-weighed our annoyance with this girl.
Propagandhi once again brought the energy, professionalism and precision of the seasoned pros they are, and it was much appreciated and enjoyed by the fans. Being a little further back from the very front this time around, I can say with certainty the mosh pit went crazy for the legendary band, as we kept getting moved further and further to the side to accommodate the growing chaos, and at least one guy got his shoes (but luckily not his socks) rocked off, placing them beside us for safe keeping before re-entering the pit.
I had a really great time at both of the back-to-back Alberta shows, and honestly either one would have been awesome enough on its own, as the icing on the cupcake of my trip to Western Canada.
But after I had purchased tickets to each of those, the band announced another show, in their hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, which I’d decided to buy a ticket for too.
To be honest, I bought that ticket in part because I had my doubts as to whether or not I was actually going to be able to pull off my road trip, financially and logistically. But I figured, since Winnipeg is closer to me than any of the other shows, I could probably at least make it to that one, even if the others fell through for me. (And I knew I wouldn’t have a problem finding someone to take any of the tickets off my hands, if it came to that.)
I also thought it would be pretty cool to catch the band in their hometown, as every Toronto show I’ve been to featuring a local band has definitely had an extra special energy to it.
I can definitely say I was not disappointed.
The show on Sunday, September 6, 2026 at Burton Cummings Theatre kicked off with Winnipeg-based openers, OP-ED, led by Lebanese born, Palestinian refugee Tarek Abdel Aziz. Aziz said they formed the band as a way to educate people about the destruction and war that’s been happening in Palestine for decades, and their songs definitely spoke to this.
Their sound was at times a bit metal, a bit punk, and a bit surf rock, with some fun instrumental breakdowns and interludes surrounding their pro-Palestinian messaging. Their artistry was made even more apparent and impressive by the drummer and bass player switching instruments after a few songs, and then switching back after a few more, to finish out the set. They were a really fun band to see, which I think is an important approach to engaging with political messaging, and I’m glad I got to catch them in action.
Next up was The Flatliners, this time re-joined by their original guitarist, Scott Brigham.
The crowd was all ages this time around, and there were many youngsters, along with their parents, who seemed very excited to see the Toronto-based band grace the stage, before the hometown hero headliners.
Cresswell noted they were all operating on very minimal sleep, having just arrived from the shows in B.C. not long before, but that they were having a blast. It showed in their performance, and stage-presence, which was awesome, and sounded great, but seemed to have just a bit more of a casual vibe than the previous shows I caught, with the band laughing and looking like they were having a great time. Like catching friends performing at a house party. They seemed to perfectly embody the idea of having one last hurrah and leaving any remaining energy on stage, before getting to catch up on sleep and recover from this particular tour.
At the end of the set Cresswell flicked his pick into the crowd, which landed perfectly between my feet. I picked it up and then started feeling like maybe I should give it to a kid front and centre who’d been so pumped for the band’s set, but before I could, Cresswell was already reaching out to hand him, specifically, another pick off his mic stand. I’m not sure if the initial flick was meant to reach the boy, or if Cresswell and I both just had the same thought after the fact, but either way I was glad he got one!
Next up was of course the local legends themselves, Propagandhi. Their set also had a more relaxed feel than the others I attended on this tour – just as professionally performed, mind you, with excellent timing and overall delivery, but the members just seemed a little more at ease, and like they were enjoying themselves just a bit more than the shows I’d caught the week before. They were, I’m sure, happy to be back in their home city, especially knowing they could sleep in their own beds that night (except, of course, for guitarist Sulynn Hago, whose home is state-side) and it seemed evident in their energy, and banter with each other, at least to me.
The crowd was absolutely elated to be there for it too, of course, with lots of dancing and crowd surfing happening in the pit, and apparently both levels of balconies above (as Burton Cummings Theatre has two floors worth) standing on their feet for the entire set (according to an Instagram post from another show-goer).
At one point, lead singer Chris Hannah surveyed what seemed to be the first level of balcony seating from the stage before saying “oh, there you are,” and then letting the crowd know he’d spotted his mom in the audience, which was a very sweet moment he’d let us all in on. A few songs later, drummer Jord Samolesky got out from behind his drum set and approached the main mic to shout out his own mother, and let her know that, with his birthday coming up soon, he hoped she’d consider buying him a new pair of shorts, as the ones he was wearing were quite tattered. It was also a very sweet, silly moment, which was fun to witness. (I was actually ready to buy Samolesky some shorts myself, given the state of the ones he was wearing, but I wondered if they weren’t strategically ripped for more aerodynamic drumming, or something, kinda like the guy at hockey who refuses to get new hockey pants, because he likes the way his old ripped up ones are worn in.)
The whole evening was completely fantastic, with the bands and crowd seeming to really enjoy themselves, and no incidents to report from my section of the audience, anyway. I met a guy from the area named Dave, who’d actually spent some time living in Ontario and out in B.C., in some of the places I’d travelled on this trip, so I chatted with him a bit about that. It was a really great night to kind of finish off my adventures (though I still had two days of driving left before getting home), and fitting since I’m not sure I would have ever actually buckled down and made my trip happen had it not been for the band announcing this tour.
Propagandhi had another concert scheduled in Winnipeg for the next night, this time playing with former member David Guillas’ band Agassiz, and then Voivod, who are a favourite of members of Propagandhi. (Your favourite punk band’s favourite band’s favourite band?) That would have been a stellar show to catch, and I was even in the Winnipeg area, passing through on my way out west when they announced they were releasing a few more tickets to it a couple weeks beforehand, but I’d already lined up a date to start a new job back in Ontario and would have had to push that back if I’d stayed another day. Plus, I felt spoiled to be attending as many of the shows as I already was (and had to start this job to earn back some money after taking the trip)! Still, I’m sure it would have been an epic night, and I was sad to have missed it!
I feel like the past four shows I’ve seen of the band, starting in September of 2025 in Toronto, kind of make up for missing out on seeing them live for the last 19 years prior, so I’m really glad that I actually made my trip happen and got out to all the concerts I had tickets for. Their influence and resonance in my life cannot be understated, and at a time when so much of the world feels at odds with each other, it’s great to have been in spaces filled with people who, for the most part, probably (hopefully, presumably) carry some of the same ideals around social justice and similar causes.
The band has plans to tour in Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand) coming up in the new year, so those on the other side of the world can take in the power that is Propagandhi playing live for themselves. And while I would never be able to make a trip like that happen myself (at least not in the foreseeable future, and especially not after having just taken this road trip) I do highly recommend making vacation plans around your favourite bands’ touring schedules, as it absolutely adds an extra-special element to any trip!
