We’re small town people who love to hop on a plane and get outta dodge – but sometimes ya just can’t beat a small town throw down! The laid back & casual vibe, the friendly “everyone knows everyone”.
Growing up in a small country town is a unique and special experience that shapes your perspective in ways you might not fully appreciate until you’ve moved away. And neither of us would change where we grew up for a second!
We love visiting these types of quaint communities; its where we feel the most at home.
We randomly learned about this festival because we follow both Finger Eleven & James Barker Band on social media because we love their music. So when we had seen an announcement that they were going to perform at Extreme Mudfest – Canada’s largest mud & music festival in Cold Lake, Alberta – we were in like a dirty (plaid) shirt!
About Mudfest
Extreme Mudfest is a 4 day long festival that was formerly held in Mayorthorpe Alberta but in 2023 had it’s second year in Cold Lake. The festival is jam packed action with live music, bull riding, all types of extreme racing and so much more.
Sounds like a good time, right? Let us tell you more about it!
- Mega trucks & J-Hooks,
- AMR
- Junior Dragsters
- Super Modified
- Pro Stock
- Mod Stock
- Tuff Truck
- Lawn Mowers
- Quads
’nuff said
- Lawn Games
- Russell Brewing Pong Tournament
In support of the Clayton Bellamy Foundation
- Bouncey houses
- Face Paining
- Locals Market
Leisurely but still competitive!
Tents, Trailers, Fifth Wheels – there’s lots of room, but book ahead!
Canada’s largest
mud & music festival
This event is perfect for anyone ages 18 -50 – couples, groups, even bachelor & bachelorette parties, but it is also family friendly! We’re sure kiddos would have a blast watching the races and partaking in the face painting, but because we went for the bands (and the beer), we were mostly in the 18+ areas. We found the price very reasonable considering all the events throughout the day.
We’re not afraid to get a lil’ muddy and while all that sounds totally awesome, we’ll be honest – it’s always live bands that draw us in.
The Bands
In the past, musical performers include Dallas Smith, Three Days Grace, Tim Hicks, The Road Hammers, Chad Brownlee, The Trews, Trooper, Cold Creek County, and Aaron Pritchett.
How had we not heard of this festival before?!
What makes it even cooler, is leading up to Mudfest they have a Battle of the Bands – bands wanting to make their mark get to compete & the winner opens for a headling show that weekend!
This year, we were so pumped to learn Canadian bands Finger Eleven and James Barker Band were slotted to play.
We had seen Finger Eleven before (in Athabasca, Alberta of all places) and wow are they amazing performers! They took us down memory lane with classic party jams like “Paralyzer” and also brought some new hits to the stage like “Together Right”
The lead vocalist Scott Anderson sounds just like he does on their albums and watching the guitarists James Black & Rick Jackett perform face melting solos is beyond entertaining! It absolutely poured rain the night of their performance at Mudfest. It was cold, windy & their gear was getting soaked. But they rocked through their set like absolute champs and put on an incredible performance.
Finger Eleven is an awesome rock group that is quite underrated in our opinion. So if ever you get a chance to catch them live, GO and let us know what you think!
Check their tour dates on Ticketmaster or follow them our fave app Bands in Town. hopefully they’ll be coming near you!
Another band of Canadian boys who are new-ish on the country scene (2015) and gaining momentum quickly! We seen them open for Dallas Smith in 2022 (thanks for the drumstick Connor Brock Stephen!) and we absolutely loved their energy onstage and we immediately recognized some songs from our spotify shuffle. The way these guys connect with each other onstage completely embodies brotherhood, you can just tell they’re having so much fun up there together! They recently won 2 CCMA Awards for best Group of the Year and Fans Choice Award and they are well deserved!
Their performance night at Mudfest was significantly drier than Finger Elevens which I’m sure they were happy about. They sound great, are fun to watch & have bangers that completely represent country livin’! It’s always a good time with these guys, they make you feel like you’re their best friend jamming with them in a garage.
This is our first time seeing these guys & they put on a fun show!
We’re sure you’ve heard “I’m a Roadhammer” or “Eastbound and Down”
– classic roadtrip songs.
They are a Canadian country rock band of Jason McCoy, Clayton Bellamy, and Chris Byrne. Initially formed by McCoy as a side project, their style draws inspo from trucker music of the 1960s and 70s, as well as Southern rock.
The stage is on a flatbed truck in a bull riding arena – it doesn’t get more country than that!
The beer tents offer small business craft beer and spirits. So nice to see local & small businesses supporting each other!
After the concerts both nights we hit up the Beer gardens where Chris LeBlanc was playing for the dance…cabaret…social…
what do you call it?
Curious what else we listen to?
Check us out on Spotify
Where We Stayed
Holiday Inn Express & Suites – 4 min drive or as the crow flies, a 15 minute walk to the Mudfest exhibition grounds.
It is a really clean hotel with kind staff and a good sized hot tub!
It is walking distance to restaraunts like O2’s and Original Joe’s, as well as liquor stores and VLT lounge.
We decided to get a hotel because we don’t have camping gear anymore, and with the torrential downpour on the Friday night, we’re sure glad we did!
- Pool & Hot Tub
- Breakfast Included
- Parking Included
- Gym
- Laundry/Dry Cleaning
- Business Services
- 24/7 Front Desk
- In room Fridge & Microwave
Extreme Mudfest… not just a clever name
What do you do when your trip doesn’t go as planned?
It wasn’t meant to rain at all the weekend of Mudfest. It absolutely POURED Friday night. We didn’t even bring rain gear because the forecast was clear. We brought light windbreaker/water resistant jackets for “just in case” but it did not hold up AT ALL against the rain that night. We rolled with the punches and toughed ‘er out walking home from the festival grounds like drowned rats. We had to dry out our clothes over the furnace vent and with the hair dryer. (We found out later they do have laundry service!)
Our second day was drizzling rain, but looked like it was going to clear up – hopefully. We decided not to take the risk again and we headed to the local Home Depot for rain gear – pants, boots & jackets. Murphy’s Law, of course we didn’t need the rain jackets the second night but the rain pants & boots sure came in handy in all the mud!
Could we have been miserable, cold & pouty about all the rain? Sure. But even though we missed the fun races during the day (because our clothes still weren’t dry) we opted to hang out in the hotel hot tub, head out for lunch and just chill in the room with some bevies and good conversation.
That is our favorite part about our vacations and getaways –
the opportunity to actually talk and enjoy each others company!
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