The headliners for Yorkton’s Living Skies Music Festival were announced on Friday. Yorkton Mayor Aaron Kienle and festival promoter Tarrell Sterner spoke with CTV News ahead of the announcement to chat about the event. “It’s been probably about 10 years that different members of council have been talking about bringing larger scale music events to [our] town,” Kienle said. He said this festival has roots in another small Saskatchewanian city. “In talks with the mayor of Humboldt, who has done some work there with a couple of festivals in the past, said how wonderful [Living Skies Music Festival] was and how good it was for community,” Kienle said. Kienle reached out to the promoter and Yorkton’s festival was born. “I think the appetite for something like this [in Yorkton] is phenomenal,” said Sterner, the event’s producer and promoter. The 2026 Living Skies Music Festival will take place on Aug. 14 and 15 at the Gallagher Centre exhibition grounds. “It’ll be set in the summertime when people sit outside, enjoy the weather, enjoy the views, and share some good music together,” Randy Goulden, executive director of Yorkton Tourism, said. She told CTV News that the festival will enhance the music and concerts the city already has, with high potential of attracting visitors. “It’s just before school starts up again, so people come in from the surrounding areas and perhaps do some back-to-school shopping,” she said. Friday at the festival will be Country Night, with Friday slated as Rock Night. “We put a phenomenal lineup together, so we’re really making a splash for year one,” Sterner said. “Our headliner for [Friday] is going to be Dallas Smith, he’s one of the biggest Canadian country artists ever,” he revealed. After multiple nominations in previous years, BC-born Dallas won “Country Album of the Year” at the 2015 Juno Awards. He has gathered various other accolades since then, including multiple Canadian County Music Awards. Friday will also feature performances by Jess Moskaluke and Darryl Anderson. On Saturday, rock music will take center stage with Big Sugar has the headliner. The Toronto-based band is an old rider in the rock genre, with Gordie Johnson forming the band in 1988. Big Sugar received multiple Juno nominations over the years, and Johnson was awarded Producer of the Year in the 2012 Western Canadian Music Award. Saturday will also feature performances by Crash Test Dummies and Econoline Crush. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks, including local performers. Advance tickets will go on sale on the festival’s website from 8 a.m. on March 6. “We’re keeping the costs down so that everybody can come out. Everybody can bring the whole family,” Sterner said with regards to the presale tickets. “You’re looking at like under $15 per concert. Great value, great opportunity not only for the city of Yorkton, but for our entire region to come together,” Kienle added. The mayor hopes the event will be the first of many. “I’m hoping that this becomes a festival that 20 years from now [when] we’re all super old, we’re still coming to,” Kienle said.
