The Cowboy Junkies will re-create their acclaimed Trinity Sessions at Knox United Church this Thursday, June 28

Calgary music fans are truly in the thick of things. With Virgin Festival already wrapped up and both the Calgary Jazz Festival and Sled Island hitting their stride, the options for local listening are staggering.

Even though we have the bulk of the latter fest covered elsewhere in this issue, I’d be remiss not to spotlight a couple of shows. Of Montreal’s Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? was Fast Forward’s pick for album of the year last year, so their Saturday set at Mewata Field is a no-brainer. The band is known for extravagant performances with multiple costume changes to match their glam-infused hooks. Edmonton’s Faunts, playing The Underground on Friday night, are one of the province’s most underrated acts. The chance to see RZA at the Grand is hard to pass up — the Wu Tang mastermind isn’t likely to make his way through Calgary again anytime soon.

Still, indie rock and hip hop aren’t the only options this week. As mentioned, the Calgary Jazz Festival is in full swing, and the lineup is a knockout. Both legendary pianist Dave Brubeck and ethereal alt-rockers Cowboy Junkies perform on Thursday night. Brubeck will be thrilling audiences at the Jack Singer with his five decades experience, while the Junkies will be re-creating their much-loved Trinity Sessions at Knox United Church. Given that the original sessions were recorded live off the floor at Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity, Knox is an absolutely ideal setting for the re-creation.

After Sunday rolls around, things slow down a bit, but those who want to keep the party going still have options. After all, Tuesday is Canada Day, and national pride is always a good reason to bust out some music. In that spirit, the Plaza Theatre is offering Heavy Metal Canada Day, with live music from local metalheads Ost Est Ima and blues-rockers Tingrin. The bands will be providing soundtracks to landmark music movies like This is Spinal Tap and FUBAR at a marathon screening, kicking off at 2 p.m. That’s on top of midnight screenings of Spinal Tap on June 27 and 28, and of FUBAR on June 30. Who needs sleep, anyway?