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Concert reviews Music

Harvest Festival at Midlothian Castle (Burk’s Falls)

FUNK D’VOID, JEREMY P. CAULFIELD, OSUNLADE, ALI BLACK, MIKE GIBBS and many more, as part of HARVEST FESTIVAL at Midlothian Castle (Burk’s Falls), Saturday, September 14. Rating: NNNN


Over the past few years, large-scale EDM festivals have been drawing massive numbers, but some remnants of the original rave-era dance culture are still around, providing a counterbalance to the mainstream corporate end of the scene. Now in its 15th year, Harvest Festival is bigger than ever, but still very much in tune with its hippy raver roots, which is a huge part of what makes it such a unique experience.

Unlike most big events, Harvest isn’t really about the headliners. If anything, people are more excited to see their favourite Toronto DJs playing peak-time sets in massive tents on intimidatingly powerful sound systems. In some ways, the gorgeous location (Midlothian Castle, a surreal sculpture garden on a farm owned by artist Peter Camani in Burk’s Falls), trippy decor (a lake illuminated by lasers, a crashed spaceship for the main room and a spooky ferry manned by a dude in a silver skull mask), and eccentric patrons are just as important as the music itself.

Where else would it make perfect sense for some random guy to start frying up mountains of bacon to give away while Osunlade spins a daytime disco and deep house set a few feet away? Those kinds of details and the vibrant community spirit make it a truly magical experience, completely different from any beer-sponsored dance fest. Turns out the underground is still alive and well.

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