The Town of Drumheller comes alive with this yearly music festival.
Cold Bones Fest is an annual, all-ages winter music festival in Drumheller, Alberta. It was created in 2024 by Chris and Candace Lorenz of Heller Good Sandwiches, whom I had the great pleasure of getting to know this past weekend. It’s a volunteer-run event, driven by the community, with Chris and Candace working to promote other itineraries and businesses in and around Drumheller to help boost tourism.
Travel Alberta was nice enough to send me out to Drumheller to get the full experience. Not only that, but they actually invest in the festival itself, this being the second year they do so.
The venues this year were Knox United Church, Heller Good Sandwiches, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 22, and Drum Distillery Co. These four venues turned into vibrant performance spaces over the course of Feb. 6 to 8, filling up to the brim with people and music.
I had the opportunity to chat with creators Chris and Candace about the festival and get a sneak peek at the nitty-gritty details.
Bringing the winter season to life
“We noticed the giant lack of things to do as soon as the summer ends,” Chris says to us. “The town actually shutsdown.”
This is where the large alternative music scene in Alberta comes into play.
“We thought, there’s a handful of us really involved in punk and hardcore, and I’ve done a ton of festivals easily down in New York. We would go down to Florida for festivals, and we saw all these happening, and I was like, ‘Why can’t we do that here in the middle of winter?’” Chris explained.
That was the inspiration for Cold Bones Fest, established in 2024. It started with around 220 people in the first year, going up to 750 people this past weekend, steadily growing with the town itself. The weekend almost sold out, with only a few passes left for people just coming in.
This year, the lineup featured Cat Clyde, K-Riz, Shy Friend, and many more talented artists. The amount of talent they managed to collect for the fest was incredible, and the atmosphere this festival brought to the town was just as amazing.
People were filling up these venues to the brim. With crowdsurfing, dancing, and so much more, the party never stopped.
It’s no exaggeration to say this festival brought the town to life this winter. The numbers don’t lie, either. The festival brought in over $100,000 in economic impact in 2025 alone, according to Travel Alberta.
Next year, you won’t want to miss out on this epic weekend. If you find yourself looking for something to do next winter, Drumheller has got plans for you.
This short drive away awaits!
Recent posts:
Defrost in downtown Edmonton at the city’s biggest spring dance party
Here’s what’s open and closed on Family Day in Edmonton
