Music, Food, Mountain Views: AMP Sessions Reveals 2026 Lineup at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity with Acts from the Bow Valley and Calgary

Bring the whole family to AMP Sessions, returning for two weekends, July 17-19 and 23-26. Featuring free live outdoor music at the Shaw Amphitheatre, food, drinks, and a 360° view of Banff's gorgeous surroundings, catch local favourites like The Ramblin’ Hey Ho Ha’s and Lost Decade from Calgary and Joshua Burnside from Northern Ireland, as well as a partnership with Canmore Folk Festival.

Each performer takes the stage at 6 p.m., but audiences are encouraged to arrive early with picnic blankets and foldable chairs in hand. Banff Centre’s food and beverage team will be on site, preparing backyard-barbecue-inspired meals, and the bar will serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Audience members may also bring food or soft drinks, but outside alcohol is strictly prohibited.

AMP Sessions is only the beginning. As the Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival enters full swing, Banff Centre will feature a series of concerts, dance performances, readings, and more events. Make AMP Sessions part of your Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival experience—visit our website to see the full lineup of events.

AMP Sessions

• July 17-19, 23-26
  6 p.m. daily
  Shaw Amphitheatre, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
  FREE

The lineup of performers at AMP Sessions is: 

July 17-19

• Kayla Williams – July 17 
  Kayla Williams is making waves in the world of yacht-pop. Based in Calgary, Alberta, she brings her own modern twist of glitter and femininity to the sounds of the ’70s and ’80s, fusing soulful vocals with feel-good grooves. Her sound is described as Hall & Oates meets Olivia Dean, with a little Huey Lewis levity and a splash of Lake Street Dive.
   
• The Motown 6 – July 18
  The Motown 6 is an Alberta-based soul and funk collective that delivers super-charged rhythms with vibrant vocal harmonies. Made up of members Jo Marillier, Arif Boga, Daniella Rubeling, Matt Mueller, Tony Berthelet, Michael Maher, and Darren Reeder, their passions intersect at a love for all things rhythm and blues. Together, they present a musical homage to Motown, Stax, and Chess straight through to the swampy sounds of New Orleans.
   

• Side Hustle and Cave Arcade – July 19
  In collaboration with Canmore Folk Festival’s Artist Development Program, July 19 features two local bands from Canmore, Alberta.

  Side Hustle is a local, family experiment that started during the pandemic years. This opportunity allowed them to combine musical interests into a grassroots band. Influences and formal training are rooted in fiddle and guitar alongside traditional folk, Celtic, country and western, and popular music. The group has performed original music and cover songs at open mics, busking, and at private and public events such as the Banff Centre Mountain Book and Film Festival and Hockey Day in Canada.

  Cave Arcade is an indie rock band, crafting shimmering, guitar-driven songs that balance sharp wit with a hazy sense of nostalgia. Fronted by Louis Trautman, alongside Andre Laver, Eli Panning-Osendarp, and Austin Novakowski, the band brings a tight, dynamic chemistry to a sound that feels both expansive and immediate.

 July 23-26

• Joshua Burnside – July 23 
  Banff Centre alumnus Joshua Burnside is an experimental folk songwriter, singer, and producer. Keeping his Belfast roots central to his music, he draws influence from alternative electronica and Irish folk, chopping and blending them with found sounds, world music, and unorthodox production methods.
   
• John Wort Hannam – July 24 
  John Wort Hannam has been on a roots-fueled troubadour journey for over two decades, spinning songwriting gold from the lives he encounters and those within his imagination. After twenty-plus years, he shows no sign of slowing down, winning the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Award for both Solo Artist and Contemporary Album of the Year.  Audiences and critics alike hear something special in his narrative, lyrically driven songs.
   
• Lost Decade – July 25
  Lost Decade is a Calgary-based synthwave band with a love for timeless music. Members Derek Leugner and Brandon Smith’s earliest ideas came to life after hours at the Cantos Music Centre, where the glow of vintage keyboards and synths set the stage for their sound. Joined by vocalist Chenelle Roberts with classical, blues, and Caribbean roots, they craft soulful synth-driven music inspired by the energy of 80s and 90s music.
   

• The Ramblin’ Hey Ho Ha’s – July 26
  Banff’s own The Ramblin’ Hey Ho Ha’s bring a foot-stompin’ good time to the Rocky Mountains. Known for their boot-kickin’ blend of bluegrass, roots, and rock with a twangy twist, this hometown group brings big energy and bigger heart to the stage.

  Featuring a mix of acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmonica, and tambourine, their sound is steeped in mountain air and prairie soul. With crowd sing-alongs, high-spirited originals, and a few reimagined classics, The Ramblin’ Hey Ho Ha’s turn every performance into a celebration of community, rhythm, and storytelling.

AMP Sessions appears as part of the 2026 Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival, Canada’s celebration of art in the mountains since 1950. This year’s festival features over 100 events from May to September at Banff Centre and in the local community. Find the full lineup of events at banffcentre.ca/summer-arts-fest. 

See Banff Centre’s Media Room here.
For photos, information, or interview requests, please contact:

Carly Maga                             
Director, Communications                         
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity             
tel: +1.403.763.6210
cell: +1.403.431.3423
carly_maga@banffcentre.ca                                    

About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Founded in 1933, Banff Centre is a post-secondary institution built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and leadership development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become a global organization leading in arts, culture, and creative decision-making across dozens of disciplines, from the fine arts to Indigenous Wise Practices. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to move everyone who attends our campus - artists, leaders, thinkers, and audiences - to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to build an innovative, inspiring future through education, performances, convenings, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca

Banff Centre
107 Tunnel Mountain Drive
Banff, Alberta
Canada
T1L 1H5
403.762.6100
www.banffcentre.ca

We recognize, with deep respect and gratitude, our home on the side of Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. In the spirit of respect and truth, we honour and acknowledge the Banff area, known as “Minihrpa” (translated in Stoney Nakoda as “the waterfalls”) and the Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney Nakoda) – comprised of the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Goodstoney Nations – as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy comprised of the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Shuswap Nations, Ktunaxa Nations, and Métis Nation of Alberta, Rockyview District 4. We acknowledge all Nations who live, work, and play here, help us steward this land, and honour and celebrate this place.