Rural Alberta Advantage rocks Rainmaker Music Festival – St. Albert Gazette

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In 2024, Rainmaker Festival's Rock Night introduced Headphone Disco – a dance concept with plug and play wireless headphones. 
After listening to feedback from participants, organizers are switching back to a more traditional format with The Rural Alberta Advantage (RAA) as headliner and The Royal Foundry as openers. 
RAA, an award-winning folk-rock trio performs on Friday, May 23. It has rolled out five studio albums and various singles. Its latest, The Rise & The Fall, released in 2023 featured the return of original band member, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Amy Cole. She joins Paul Banwatt (drums) and Nils Edenloff (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard.) 
“All of our music is rooted in a certain amount of heart and honesty. The songs themselves come from a very earnest place, and they are really extensions of who we are. Sometimes we hide those emotions with a lot of noise and sonic energy, while other times we leave them bare,” said Edenloff. 
The band’s popularity across Canada was one of the major factors inducing Rainmaker concert director Tyler Ames to book the threesome. 
“The Rural Alberta Advantage is a well-known Alberta band and a regular player on Sonic. Over the last five to seven years, they’ve had a lot of stuff come out on pop and Edmonton radio stations,” said Ames. 
In contrast, The Royal Foundry directly opening for RAA, has an electro-alt-pop sound. At the quartet’s alternative core is Edmonton couple Jared Salte and Bethany Schumacher. 
“When we booked Royal Foundry, we were trying to match the energy of The Rural Alberta Advantage. Everything fell into place and I’m sure they’ll be a hit,” Ames said. 
The band initially formed in 2013 as a folk duo, but by 2015 it revitalized its sound adding elements of 1990s Brit-Pop, power-pop stylings from groups like Arcade Fire, and 1970s Progressive Rock elements inspired by Yes and Supertramp. 
In 2015, Royal Foundry tasted its first morsel of fame as part of Peak Performance Project winning $75,000 for their song Running Away. A year later their single, Start This Fire, was featured in a Purina ad campaign and their single Dreamers was performed at a Toronto concert during World Cup Hockey Week. 
On the international level, Disney licensed Dreams for its 2017 line of wedding dresses. And their single release, Lost in Your Head, won the Canadian Songwriting Competition Grand Prize and the John Lennor Songwriting Contest Grand Prize.  
With five albums and 16 singles to its name, The Royal Foundry is launching a new record, Little High Little Low on June 17.
"They are a cool option and they're from Edmonton. This is as close to a hometown band as you can get." 
The Rainmaker Festival’s Rock Night takes place Friday, May 23 at the Kinsmen Fair Grounds, 47 Riel Drive. Presale tickets are $40 online at rainmakerevents.ca.   
About the Author: Anna Borowiecki
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