Luminato 2012: June 8-17
June is an awesome month for music festivals in Toronto, and this year they don't overlap as much as they have in the past. The big three are Luminato, North by Northeast and the Toronto Jazz Festival.
Luminato comes first, beginning June 8… http://www.luminato.com [The other two are described in separate entries.]
Luminato includes all of the arts, but I'll just sum-up the music events here. Some are ticketed, reserved seating events, but may are absolutely FREE at The Hub at David Pecaut Square (55 John Street).
Here is a summary of all of the free music events… http://www.luminato.com/event-type/en/music/?tag=free
Or, if you'd prefer a more portable PDF file, including complete schedule info? …. http://www.luminato.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2.-Luminato6-FREE-MUSIC-@-THE-HUB-DAVID-PECAUT-SQUARE1.pdf
Finally, if you'd like to download the entire Luminato brochure, including all events in all of the arts, use this link… http://www.luminato.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Luminato12_Brochure_Apr11.pdf
North by Northeast 2012: June 11 - June 17
The North by Northeast (NXNE) Festival kicks off on June 11 this year and runs through June 17… http://nxne.com
A roster of about 650 bands will be entertaining you on 50 stages around the city.
The schedule should be out any day now. Watch for it at… http://nxne.com/music
Buying a $50 wristband is the best way to get the most out of NXNE, if you can get out several nights… especially Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Otherwise, one day wristbands are also available for $25. You can also take your chances paying a cover at the door, if you're OK with staying at the same club for a full evening. Two clubs or more, and you'll be better off with a wristband.
As has been the case in recent years, the Government of Ontario has funded some FREE "big name" shows at Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) during NXNE. This year's line-up is awesome…
- Thursday, June 14 - Bad Religion
- Friday, June 15 - Matthew Good
- Saturday, June 16 - The Flaming Lips
- Sunday, June 17 - Raekwon & Ghostface Killah (of Wu-Tang Clan)
No doubt there will be some great bands opening for these headliners too.
So, just take in the freebies, or go flat-out with a $50 wristband. Your choice. You won't regret it.
Toronto Jazz Festival 2012: June 22 - July 1
As usual there are a few high-priced shows (this year notably natalie Cole), but most shows have a modest cover, are PWTC or are totally free.
Also, as usual, the festival continues to grow, This year you'll find 1500 artist performing at 40 different locations all around the city.
Here's your handy printable schedule… http://torontojazz.com/images/calendar.pdf
Canadian Music Week/Canadian Music Fest… Mr 21-25
The first thing most first time visitors ask is… "what's the difference between Canadian Music Week and Canadian Music Fest?"
Well, they're often used synonymously, but technically there is a difference. Canadian Music Week (CMW) is the larger entity. It includes industry-only conferences and events, the Canadian International Comedy Fest, the CMW Film Festival, and of course Canadian Music Fest (CMW). To make things even a little more confusing, there are separate web sites for CMW (http://www.cmw.net/) and CMF (http://canadianmusicfest.com/).
Our focus here will be on Canadian Music Fest (CMF)… the live performances of 900 artists over 5 days at roughly 60 venues. You'll find the complete schedule here… http://canadianmusicfest.com/schedule/
Your best bet is buying a $75 5-day wristband. You can come and go as you please from venue to venue usually without paying anything at the door. I say "usually", because there are always some pre-paid ticketed shows where only a fixed number of wristband holders are admitted. I personally recommend that you avoid those, since the odds are high that you won't get in, and you'll be pissed off. Fortunately, though, those are a tiny minority of the shows in the schedule. In short, if a "big name" band is involved, stay away.
If you're just into one night out, opt for a $35 1-day wristband. You have the same access privileges… just for one day only.
The next thing newbies want to know is "how do I cope with that many gigs when they're spread all over town?"
Although many might disagree, I have two guiding principles that have served me well over many years…
- No matter how big a fan you are, avoid your favourite bands. CMF is all about discovering new bands, that you'll probably want to see again. Keep in mind that all bands, no matter what their track record, will have roughly a half-hour to play. Then they make their exit and the next band sets up. You don't want to see your favourite band(s) under those circumstances… wait for another time when they're headlining somewhere.
- Use geography as a guide. Our VENUES page has a map of where all the major clubs are located, and the pop-ups will generally help you further in terms of nearest subway/bus line intersections. You can also pop up the listings from there, if you don't have the official CMF schedule handy. What I'll be doing is scanning the schedule each day for bands that I might find interesting within a common geographic cluster. You don't want to be rushing across town between acts when you've only got 15-20 minutes. The map below is a screenshot from the TLCH VENUES page. I've hand-drawn four clusters that you could visit consecutively over four nights in whatever order appeals to you. It'll be a reasonable walking distance within clusters between gigs. Visit the VENUES page to see which clubs are within each group.
One of these days the festival organizers will produce a venue listing that is (or can be) geographical instead of alphabetical; but for now, give this a try.
One last bit of albeit biased advice…
In general the venues shown at the Toronto Live! Club Hub web site are those that have live original music on a regular basis (typically several times/week at least). The venues that you'll find in the CMF schedule, that are not on our list, are establishments that may not be set up for regular live acts. Consequently, they may be much smaller and more prone to technical glitches from lack of experience with live bands. I'll be scratching those off my list before I start picking my bands each night.
So, that's my simple "guerrilla music strategy" for taking on Canadian Music Fest. You may already have your own approach. The main thing is that opportunities of this scale only come along twice a year in Toronto (the other one is NXNE in June), so let's make the most of it. While most of the city sleeps, we'll be discovering the great bands that others will only begin to appreciate years from now!
Besides, this is the best weather for the event in all the years I've been going. Usually, we're tramping around in slushy snow!
Get the wristband and I'll see you on the streets and in the clubs!
St Patrick's Day, 2012
All right… I should have rounded up some posters for visual emphasis, but I got lazy.
Let me just list off some potentially great St Paddy's Day shows that you might want to get out and see…
- The Mahones @Horseshoe… OK, this one is actually on Friday, March 16, but The Mahones have a way of making every day St Patrick's Day! Hard core celtic punk at its finest!
- High Heels, Lo Fi @Rancho Relaxo… What the ladies might lack in Irishness, they make up for in drinking enthusiasm!
- Ginger St James @The Gladstone Hotel… No doubt a country flavoured version with lots of Irish whiskey.
- The Martian Awareness Ball @Horseshoe… This is the 34th anniversary of this event. Mary Margaret O'Hara, Marcus O'Hara and various other O'Hara's (including Catherine) are often present. This one is done with a core backing band and an endless list of (mostly surprise) guests taking turns at the microphones. It's always a blend of old classics and modern mayhem!
There is no shortage of great St Paddy's shows in Toronto, so consider this list just a sampler. Some may prefer to just hit their closest bar at opening hour and hang in 'til last call (if they can), but there's so much more fun to be had with an excellent band lineup at a great venue! It's all about great music and great attitude!
Happy St Patrick's Day!
About Me
Charles WhaleyBy day Charles shuffles money around, does market research for clients to improve their companies, and generally rants about all kinds of things (whether anyone wants to listen or not!)
By night he's scouring Toronto and surrounding areas for the best in live music, fun pubs & bars, and assorted other recreational activities.
Search
Tags
- Ginger St James (2)
- Arcade Fire (1)
- Austra (1)
- Braids (1)
- CMF (1)
- CMW (1)
- Cameron House (1)
- Canadian Music Festival (1)
- Canadian Music Week (1)
- Colin Stetson (1)
- View all 30 tags »
