Inji at Winter Fest 2026 by Katrina Hay

A summary of the event and an investigation of how it contributes to student life.

Fall Fest’s smaller and colder counterpart, Winter Fest, hit The Starlite Room on Jan. 16. The event happens every year, but 2026’s show truly brought the heat. With a vibrant setlist featuring various genres from Pertinence, PARTYOF2, INJI, and charlieonnafriday, this year’s show had something for everyone.

The vast majority of MacEwan students know about Fall Fest, but Winter Fest doesn’t seem to hold the same traction. According to Courtney Milford, SAMU’s event producer and one of four people who make up the students’ association’s events team, the budget for Fall Fest is simply larger because of the reliability of an on-campus event and the promise of large attendance. Thus, Winter Fest becomes an event with greater intention. “Winter Fest is for the music and for those who like live music, no matter the genre, no matter the artist,” says Milford. 

This year’s lineup didn’t have any particular connection to Edmonton or MacEwan specifically. Milford provided insight into the selection process of the artists, saying, “As a team, we’ll discuss who we think is cool, how we think the lineup would go together, how it would flow, what genres that we cover.” The artists are selected based on how they would appeal to students, which agencies are willing to pitch for the event, and how they would flow together. This year, the artists spanned from European pop by INJI to raw rap by charlieonnafriday.

“Winter Fest is for the music and for those who like live music, no matter the genre, no matter the artist.”

— Courtney Milford, SAMU Event Producer

The show opened with Pertinence, a rapper from Arizona who took the stage alongside a live DJ. Pertinence’s set was filled with high-energy raps and tons of crowd interaction. While there weren’t many die-hard Pertinence fans in attendance, MacEwan student Tanner Kastendieck knew every lyric to every song. Towards the end of Pertinence’s set, the artist commented on Kastendieck’s blue eyes and came down to give the fan a hug. Kastendieck, with a huge grin on his face, told me he had “been listening to this guy ever since he came up, so to see him in person is just spectacular.”

PARTYOF2, a hip-hop duo from Los Angeles, were next to take the stage. Throughout the night, various students told me they were most excited about this pair, and it’s obvious why. The duo consists of Jadagrace and SWIM, two ridiculously talented artists who began performing together in 2019 as part of a group known as grouptherapy, and have since carried on their careers as a pair. Their set ranged from hard and fast rap tracks like POSER, to FEEL LOVE, a more intimate song that allowed them to show off their vocal abilities. Many students appeared familiar with PARTYOF2, including Yara, who spoke to me about her love for the duo after the performance. “The fact that they’re finally getting the recognition they deserve is absolutely amazing,” Yara said. And I agree. I can confidently say that PARTYOF2 was added to my playlists after such an incredible performance.

“We want libation, we want beverage, we want good music.” 

— Kent Strayer, MacEwan student

INJI took the stage next and had the crowd jumping much more than my platform Doc Martens were prepared for. It was inevitable that everyone was jumping and dancing more than ever before; INJI’s music was made to dance to. The Turkish pop artist performed high-energy techno-pop hits such as U WON’T and BODEGA from her newest album, SUPERLAME. On the contrary, the music was far from super lame. Milford mentioned that she has “been trying to book INJI for like a thousand years,” and thank goodness she did. INJI’s set could be described as the best European party you’ve ever been to, and the audience certainly left sweatier than they came. 

The last artist to perform was charlieonnafriday, a melodic rapper from Seattle. He ended the night beautifully, balancing his beautiful melodies with rhythmic lyrics. His set was energizing and wrapped up a pure night of music, yet still delivered a captivating, entertaining performance featuring his most popular track, Enough, off his most recent album, WILD CHILD.

Kent Strayer, a former SAMU councillor, commented on how “incredible” this year’s Winter Fest was. “This is an event that I think students want to go to,” said Strayer. He summed it up perfectly. “We want libation, we want beverage, we want good music.”