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“There are many contributing factors, but primarily the main driver of this decision was that we have three business — a record label, management company and festival,” said Shauna de Cartier, founder of Six Shooter Records and one of the driving forces behind Interstellar Rodeo. “The festival, as much as we love it, takes focus away from the other aspects of the business that are thriving. It was a business decision based on where to apply your resources and your time. If the other business weren’t doing so well it may have been a different decision.”

She noted that while managing Edmonton folk-rock band Captain Tractor, a show at the Heritage Amphitheatre in 1999 inspired her to create an event at the site as “a collection of all my loved ones in Edmonton.”

“Interstellar Rodeo meant everything to me personally,” said de Cartier. “It’s partly how I define myself, and that came about because I had so much involvement from my family. When I started the festival, at Christmas the year before I told them ‘I need your help.’ My sister did backstage, my brother worked the bar, I had a lot of close family members involved. Overall, I’m proud of all the team leaders and volunteers, the sense of community that we built and that we were able to instil our core values in the festival.”

The full statement can be found below.

Thank you for 11 great festivals

Created by music fans and for music fans, Interstellar Rodeo was a one-of-a-kind festival built from scratch in Winnipeg and Edmonton. Festival founders, Six Shooter Records owners and artist managers Shauna de Cartier and Helen Britton, dreamed big and drilled down into the tiniest details to design an experience worthy of both artists and audiences. The mission: to offer a premium, relaxed, respectful and fun experience from start to finish. Also, the wine needed to be good.