Riot Days Canada 2025: Pussy Riot and margø - Winnipeg, MB

On a chilly April evening in Winnipeg, the Park Theatre was set ablaze—not by pyrotechnics, but by powerful words, raw emotion, and sonic rebellion. Russian protest art collective Pussy Riot and rising Canadian alt-pop artist margø brought an unforgettable night of conviction, courage, and catharsis to the intimate venue.

margø. Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography

Opening the night was margø, the Los Angeles-based, Edmonton-born singer-songwriter whose music effortlessly blends ethereal pop melodies with lyrical vulnerability. Her set drew heavily from her debut full-length album, who are you when you're alone?, which dropped independently last October. With a smoky stage presence and vocals that cut like glass, margø laid her heart bare through her set, painting vivid portraits of inner battles and self-discovery. Fans of her earlier EPs, cool on the internet and FAVOURITE FUNERAL, were rewarded with a couple of beloved tracks, as well. Each song carried a quiet strength, a resilient undercurrent that served as a fitting precursor to what would follow.

Then came Pussy Riot—a name that reverberates with political resistance and feminist fury. The current touring lineup featured founding member Maria Alyokhina alongside Taso Pletner and Alina Petrova, forming a tight-knit trio of uncompromising defiance. Their show, rooted in Alyokhina’s second book Political Girl: Life and Fate in Russia Today, was split into two parts. The first half, familiar to some from their Riot Days tour that swept through Canada just over a year ago, was a fierce blend of punk, performance art, and documentary storytelling. With projected visuals, industrial beats, and rapid-fire Russian narration (with English subtitles), it chronicled Pussy Riot’s harrowing encounters with state oppression, numerous arrests, and relentless activism. Even with a few additions of new material, it felt sharp, focused, and chilling in its urgency.

Pussy Riot. Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography

But it was the second half—billed as “a work in progress”—that truly stunned. Where Part One delivered fury, Part Two delivered reflection. With deeper theatricality, nuanced visuals, and moments of eerie silence that punctuated the chaos, this segment expanded Pussy Riot’s narrative beyond rebellion, exploring the personal toll of resistance, exile, and the shifting landscapes of Russian identity. Though still evolving, this chapter of their story was anything but incomplete. It felt polished, potent, and wholly necessary.

There’s something powerful about watching two very different artists—one carving a path through personal pain, the other waging war against authoritarianism—share a stage in a city not often visited by global protest icons. Together, margø and Pussy Riot didn’t just put on a show—they created a space for reckoning, empowerment, and healing.

In a world that often silences or dilutes the voices of dissent and difference, this night in Winnipeg proved that art can still roar.