StreetFest is a Beaches International Jazz Festival original event showcasing the finest in Big Band, Swing, Dixieland, Smooth, Post-Bop, Afro-Cuban, Fusion, Funk, R&B and Soul sounds that Canada has to offer. Upwards of 50 bands entertain you along a closed 2 km stretch of Queen Street East! It’s an annual 3-afternoon into evening pilgrimage for close to a million folks who come out to groove to the music and soak in the ambiance.

StreetFest ran July 24th – 26th all along Queen East and featured the likes of David Rotundo, Tokyo Giants, Fathead and more.

The final element of the Jazz Festival takes place in Kew Gardens – the heart of Toronto’s Beach community. Continuous free concerts over the weekend by notable jazz music headliners on the main stage it is a unique yearly opportunity to witness up front and personal, jazz musicians who’ve created that special buzz on the international music scene.

Kew Gardens runs from July 26th and ends tonight (July 27th)

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The Coast released their much-anticipated debut full-length, Expatriate, on Aporia this April at the Horseshoe Tavern. The place was packed with anticipating fans and the band rewarded the crowd with a rockin set introducing the new tracks and leading frenzi’s on the familiar ones. It was a ‘good to be back’ set and offered a look at things to come.

The band was touted as one of the acts to watch in 2008 by Canada’s national music monthly Exclaim and Toronto’s Eye Weekly, thanks to the buzz that continued to grow as the band toured extensively across North America last year, playing alongside such acts as Tokyo Police Club, The Dears, Sam Roberts, The French Kicks, and a coveted CMJ showcase with Foals, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Le Loup.

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Here is a great Toronto Rock and Roll band….

The Salingers are four friends who share an ideal, a romantic notion of sorts: That rock music can make the small and mundane feel epic and vital, and provide a hopeful soundtrack to the inevitable negativity that surrounds. Or perhaps most importantly, that it can make you walk a little differently – with a little more purpose, with a greater sense of self.

The Sound…part throw back to the late 80’s/early 90’s UK rock scene, part Strokes influence with catchy quick hooks, and some Sloan influence (but way, way cooler).

Standout Track:  2025

The Salingers next show…

July 26, 2008
Horseshoe Tavern
370 Queen Street West, Toronto

Image Credit: The Salingers

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The Kooks will be gracing Toronto with their presence on June 4th at the Kool Haus. Tickets are on sale now.

Classic Kooks track and video below…maybe not ‘classic’ but very, very solid.

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The band has won over fans all across the Country and quickly became a favorite of CBC Radio 3, while creeping up the R3 30. From CBC Radio 3,

Sunparlour Players..No question…a MUST SEE! These guys are so intense while playing kick drums, dobros, banjos, etc. And they sell preserves with their CDs! Honestly, this is ragtime, footstomp meets Arcade Fire plus the intense-strained face of Joe Cocker mid-grunt. Like AC/DC guest-starring on Little House on The Prairie. Holy Plow, look out!

The Show: Thursday April 10 at The Horseshoe Tavern.

Send us your feedback on the gig…

Have a listen to the band.

Standout Tracks: If The Creeks and Pacifist’s Anthem

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The show starts at 9pm and the cost at the door is $7

The lineup is as follows…

Opopo (Toronto)
Les Handclaps (Montreal)
The Primordials (Toronto)
The Assistants (Toronto)

Give us your thoughts on the lineup.

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The band has been featured in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Spin. They have played SXSW, Virgin Fest and they also performed live on the first episode of CBC’s live concert series CBC Radio 3 Sessions. Their second album Total Magique was released September 4th 2007, with a new label Dare To Care records.

From the band…

A gang of three, four including rock. We Are Wolves imposes a music that’s both free and honest, like the celestial lightning on the mystic mountain. It’s a post-punk landscape filled with analogue trees. It’s like rock after the post-modern explosion.

Catch We Are Wolves tonight as part of Shit la Merde at Sneaky Dee’s. The cost is only $7.

Check out this track Magique. Catchy loops, funky beats and trippy video.

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Let’s start with Thursday…

The Pitter Patter Music Festival returns for the second year.  In Toronto, the festival touches some unique venues (The Montreal House, The Boat, Teranga)

(Pitter Patter) Drop $5 at The Boat to catch – Foxfire Forest, Fire Hydrant, Bass Lions, Reuben O’Dell Barkow

On to Friday…

Go for the music and stay for the food at Sneaky Dee’s – Shit la Merde feat We Are Wolves The cost: $7

(Pitter Patter) A great $5 spend at Teranga – Bocce, Beth in Battle Mode, Sleeping Kings of Iona, TMPD

Sleep all day Saturday to be ready for Saturday night…

Head to the Shoe for perhaps the gig of the weekend – Luke Doucet, The White Falcon.  $12.50 to see The White Falcon in person and catch a killer show.

(Pitter Patter) $5 for a Diableros show and at The Montreal House at that – The Mark Inside, Clothes Make the Man and The Diableros

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Somewhat local musician Caribou is getting ready to kick off a two night stint at Lee’s Palace. From Dundas Ontario (and also the title track from Caribou’s album) Dan Snaith leads psychedelic, indie electronic, dream pop, math rock jams.

Snaith, who previously went by the show name Manitoba, had to change his name due to a lawsuit brought upon by American Richard ‘Handsome Dick’ Manitoba.

So why Caribou? Snaith says he picked the name while on LSD with some friends in the Canadian wilderness.

Caribou gigs are bright, visually pleasing and funky. What better way to spend Easter weekend than with trippy screens, vibrant colours and catchy melodies through a sonic boom vibe.

From Caribou: “I’m not the type of person who takes physical things apart and plays around with them, but I like taking mental ideas apart and playing around with them. That’s what appeals to me about what I’ve spent my life doing.”

You can check Caribou out both Thursday and Friday night at Lee’s Palace. Caribou will be joined by The Fuck Buttons. Tickets are $15.

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The Salingers are another Toronto band getting some pre-hype. The band is working hard to get a sharp new release out. If their Myspace tracks are any indication, this band will be big. Standout track: 2025

Swedish rockers The Hives recently challenged the Swedish players of the Vancouver Canucks to a game of hockey at General Motors Place. Word is that the band didn’t have a goalie, so they used build it yourself Swedish furniture…

The Hives will be playing Toronto this week as part of Canadian Music Week.

Still on the Plants and Animals train. Their sound is a cauldron of everything I dig. Track to check out: New Kind of Love

Getting ready to go on tour with Feist, Hayden’s new album showcases why the singer songwriter has been a favorite for years and will be for years to come.

What songs have your ear lately?

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