Got the back to school blues? Then the Downstream Bar and Grill in Jasper may have the medicine to cure what ails you. They’re planning a series of gigs this August 27-29 weekend that will hopefully send off with a blast those who are departing back to school.

“Everyone is taking off, getting called back to school, so, let’s go out with a bang,” said Alex Newton, the manager at the Downstream Bar and Grill. “We just wanna have some fun.”

On Friday, August 27, Technomancer and Celebrity Traffic, two bands that Newton describes as playing a sort of up-beat, poppy techno-fied dance music will perform. Technomancer also has Canadian iconoclast Randy Bachman’s (of The Guess Who and B.T.O. fame) daughter as a member, so no doubt they’ll be taking care of business and working overtime. 

The next night, on August 28, the Downstream’s musical selection turns over onto a world music vibe as the Vancouver-based band Dehli 2 Dublin takes over the bar (although they incorporate everything from electro to acoustic to Celtic, Punjabi fusion, drum ‘n’ bass and hip hop). The Ottawa Citizen has called the band, who have played for numerous years all around North America, as “cheerful, infectious and energetic.” 

On the final night of the back-to-school, frosh-like weekend, the Jasper-based electro band Dietonic Sound will have the floor. The band is made of young guys from Jasper and Newton said they’re all good kids who he wants to help out by giving them an opportunity to show off their sounds and talents. Newton said the band is planning on turning the bar into a jungle-themed dance party.

“It’s more a night just for the local guys. We turn over the stage for them and just let them turn it out,” said Newton. “They’re gonna pump it up.”