NHL Festival at the Finals Game 1
Featuring Arkells
June 4, 2025
How do you even begin to describe an event like the NHL’s Festival at the Finals? It’s electric. The sense of community pride in having your home team reach the Stanley Cup, for a second year straight – it grows on you. Even as someone who only sort of follows the regular season, it’s impossible not to catch playoff fever. The rollercoaster of emotions as the team battles round after round, team after team, clawing their way to the biggest trophy in the game.. it often ends in heartbreak, but nothing can touch that rush, as the Oilers down opponent after opponent, to finally reach the Cup final, to rematch the team that bested them just a year ago, The Florida Panthers. The playoffs are a special time, and the final is no different; it’s just amplified.
The NHL pulls out all the stops for the home watch parties, bringing some of the hottest Canadian acts of yesterday and today to showcase their Canadian pride, love of the game, and support of the respective teams. This year in Edmonton; for game 1, we were treated to performances from the Edmonton Drum & Brass band, as well as indie rockers The Arkells.
The Arkells have deep roots in Edmonton, having started playing small club shows here at The Starlite Room, and as their career and fanbase grew, they moved on to bigger venues such as Union Hall, The Shaw Conference Center, Rexall Place, Rogers Place, and even Commonwealth Stadium. They’ve played Sonic Boom (twice) and K-days. This marks their 14th Edmonton performance since 2009, and the significance of this particular show was not lost on singer Max Kerman. Remarking to the crowd their history with our city, their love for our city, and the pride of seeing the Oilers in the cup final, the Arkells delivered a full set of fun, enthusiastic tunes that kept the crowd singing along, amidst chats of “Let’s go Oilers” and “We want the Cup”. To add an extra little twist, they even rocked a cover of ABBA’s Dancing Queen. While the Arkells are not a band I’m familiar with, these dudes know how to have fun. Sporting a full brass section, the band gave each member a chance to highlight their skills in different sections, and the fans ate it up. Hell, I know I did.
As of writing, the next show has just been announced, with The Glorious Sons and Triumph (WHAT!) taking the stage Friday afternoon for game 2. If the timeline remains the same, that show will likely start somewhere near 4 pm – check the Rogers Place and Ice District socials for details.