Vancouver-via-Edmonton punks SNFU have been releasing quality hardcore since 1981. Even allowing for their 1989 and 2005 break-ups, they’ve dominated the Canadian skate-punk scene for longer than most current skate-punks have been alive, and their set at the Warehouse on Thursday, April 30, should be a tidy reminder of how they’ve managed to stay on top of the genre for two-and-a-half decades.

They aren’t the only Edmonton punks in town on Thursday, though. Scuzzy two-piece The Famines will be pushing their highly stylized, minimal garage rock on a (hopefully not so) unsuspecting crowd at The Palomino. Scrappy locals Church of the Very Bright Lights and Deathbed Baby round out the bill.

The Edmonton invasion continues on Saturday when The Provincial Archive head to the Marquee Room. With a sound something like early Decemberists without the literary pretensions, or a lower-fidelity Jim Guthrie, they have exactly the sort of homespun charm to win a loyal following. They’ll be joined by Edmonton’s Kisses of Fire and Calgary’s Braden Funchner.

Local all-ages art collective The Summerwood Warren and suburban weirdos The Arbour Lake Sghool are teaming up to present the second annual MAYDAY!MAYDAY! concert on Sunday, May 3. If you’re willing to make the trek to the far Northwest, you’ll be faced with Woodpigeon’s Foonyap, Consonant C spin-offs Secret Brothers and The Doer and the Doddler, Sonic Youth-y alt-rockers Friendo (featuring Women drummer Mike Wallace) and newcomers George Narwhal.

For some post-weekend partying, there’s always k-os’s set at MacEwan Hall on Monday, May 4. Don’t bother trying to buy tickets in advance, though — the Toronto MC has made his current tour a pay-what-you-want venture, with tickets only available at the door. Check out our interview with k-os at ffwdweekly.com for more, and if you’re planning on going to the show, get there early. With tickets as cheap (or expensive) as you want, it might be chaos.

On a more sombre note, a wake will be held for local free-jazz musician Danny Meichel on Sunday, May 3. Meichel passed away on April 19, while on tour in Japan. To honour his passion for musical experimentation, the No. 264 Royal Canadian Legion in Kensington will host an open jam session from 4 p.m. until midnight.