On Thursday morning, Downtown Yonge BIA hosted their 2015 Annual General Meeting which featured introductions from Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, a keynote speech from Gregg Lintern (Director, Community Planning, Toronto East York) and an update on DYBIA’s Music Strategy, launched in June 2015.
This summer, 4479 helped curate Downtown Yonge’s Play The Parks free summer concert series which attracted approximately 35,000 people in June through September 2015, doubling the series’ 2014 attendance. Play The Parks is just one piece in DYBIA’s goal of helping Toronto grow as a Music City, as Executive Director Mark Garner discussed in his address.
4479 is proud to continue helping DYBIA achieve their Music Strategy goals, which aim to honour Toronto’s musical legacy, activate live music on the strip and pave the way for Toronto’s music future.
— Canadian Live Music Association (@Canadian_Live) November 26, 2015
The following infographic was distributed at the event and highlights some important Play The Parks figures generated from a DYBIA survey.
Play The Parks took place at at a number of parks surrounding the Yonge Street strip including Trinity Square Park, College Park, McGill Granby Parkette, Mackenzie House and 1 Queen East Patio. Some highlights from Play The Parks 2015 can be seen in the tweets below which used the #PlayTheParks hashtag.
There’s no question that Toronto’s music scene is fueled by the energy put forth by the city’s young people. From attending shows to promoting on the streets and online forums, Toronto’s youth take pride in their support of their favourite bands and genres. A new Wavelength panel at the University of Toronto aims to educate youth looking to get more involved in the music scene and how they can help improve Toronto’s stance as a Music City.
Youth in Toronto Music: Trends, Barriers and Experiences is a free panel co-presented by Wavelength Music and U of T’s Demo Magazine (The Hart House Music Magazine). It will take place Thursday December 3 at 8:30 PM at Hart House Arbor Room (7 Hart House Circle).
The panel will explore the role of youth in Toronto’s music scene by looking at the new avenues in which we listen to, perform, and experience music.
The event will be moderated by former Demo editor-in-chief Emily Scherzinger and feature the following panelists:
Jonathan Bunce (Founder of Wavelength Music Series and Former U of T Student)
Mike Tanner (Music Sector Development Officer – City of Toronto)
Ayo Leilani (Musician in ATS Above Top Secret and founder of 88 Days of Fortune)
Cheryl Maciver (Music Programmer at NXNE)
Marko Cindric (Editor-in-Chief of Demo: The Hart House Music Magazine)
Columbia’s Bomba Estéreo performs at SXSW 2015 (image courtesy of SXSW)
The second wave of more than 200 acts has been announced for the 2016 South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX, which includes Toronto artists Dearly Beloved, Greys and Allan Rayman. They join previously announced Toronto acts Crystal Castles, Jahkoy, Pup, Reuben & The Dark, and Wordburglar at the annual festival and conference, which celebrates it’s 30th year in 2016.
2016 will be the first year Toronto SXSW artists and visitors will have the chance to experience Air Canada’s new nonstop service between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), allowing for shorter travel time between the Music City Alliance partners. In 2015, Air Canada also released their new musical instrument policy allowing for customers to purchase an extra seat for their instruments at a 50% discount, including the lowest available fare.
SXSW 2016 will take place March 11- 20, 2016, with SXSW Music scheduled for March 15-20. Badges for the SXSW 2016 are available now, with the prices increasing after Friday November 20.
TURF, which took place September 16-21 at Fort York and venues across Toronto, is nominated for Music Festival of The Year. For the second year in a row, the ACC, which in 2015 hosted artists like Sam Smith, Fleetwood Mac, Bryan Adams and The Tragically Hip, is nominated for Arena Of The Year. Last year, Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheater received a nomination for Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue.
This year’s nominations were made by a diverse group of 163 well-known agents, managers, promoters, and touring industry professionals. The members of the nominating committee, who were precluded from nominating themselves or their clients, will be announced at the awards presentation February 12, 2016 in San Francisco.
On Friday November 13, all-ages arts and music festival Long Winter will launch their 2015/16 season at The Great Hall (1087 Queen St. W) with local Toronto music acts like Mieke, Bossie, Maylee Todd, PONY and many more.
Long Winter, now in it’s fourth season, was co-founded by members of Toronto punk band Fucked Up and has since emerged as one of Toronto’s most unique and experimental festivals, showcasing over 250 artists/collectives in a range of mediums. Admission is Pay What You Can at the door, however $10 advanced tickets are available.,
The full schedule can be viewed here, which features a variety of acts from the alternative comedy of Laugh Sabbath to the live talk show Long Night with Vish Khanna.
Long Winter will also be teaming up with AGO First Thursday‘s on December 3, headlined by trash-punk band VCR, in their first museum performance.
