Why does summer get to hog festival season? Sure, flower crowns aren’t in bloom and a patch of grass is a better place to lounge than on sticky bar floors, but a slew of winter-specific shows are bringing festival season to the SAD months.
Here are six winter-centric music events to disrupt your Netflix-binge fest and cure your winter funk.
Wavelength Winter Festival
Over three nights at the Garrison, Wavelength is bringing together a mix of local and North American imports for its 18th annual anniversary festival. This year it’s rebranded as Wavelength Winter Festival and centred each night around a vibe – a “live mixtape.”
The long-running local music series has stacked the lineup with Buke and Gase, Odonis Odonis and Brendan Canning plus glittery DIY pop project Bossie, electronic rising star OBUXUM and many others.
Wavelength’s resident artist and textile extraordinaire Roxanne Ignatius’s set designs and other whimsical pieces will exemplify the winter theme. Expect hot chocolate.
At the Garrison (1197 Dundas West), Friday-Sunday (February 16-18), doors 7:30 pm, all ages. Pwyc-$20, festival pass $33.33. ticketfly.com, rotate.com, soundscapesmusic.com. See listing for full lineup and other info.
Winterfolk Blues & Roots Festival
Winterfolk captures the spirit of multi-stage rural summer festivals, but in mid-winter Toronto when it’s sorely needed.
For the 16th edition, more than 100 blues, jazz, folk, country and roots musicians play across five venues on the Danforth, including acclaimed Canadian folk multi-instrumentalist Ken Whiteley and fiddler Anne Lederman. To give you the full summer-style folk festival experience, there are also special one-off workshops.
At various venues. Friday-Sunday (February 16-18). All ages. $20 wristband, prices vary for ticketed events. winterfolk.com.
Beats & Bents
Every Friday, the Bentway transforms its new figure-eight ice trail into a skating dance floor. Ambitious skaters can channel Olympic ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at a discotheque.
This week, you can twirl, spin and shimmy along as DJ Phillippe, behind the all-French dance music night Tapette, and DJ Sammy Rawal of queer dance party Yes Yes Y’all spin sets of house, disco and French dance music.
At the Bentway (under the Gardiner Expressway from Strachan to Spadina), Friday (February 16), 8-11 pm. Free. thebentway.ca.
DJ Skate Nights
In Toronto, the original purveyor of dance parties on ice is the Harbourfront Centre’s roomy Natrel Rink. (Sorry, Bentway.) The theme for the February 17 party is Zamunda Vs. Wakanda, so take your style cues from either Eddie Murphy in Coming To America or Marvel’s Black Panther. DJs P-Plus and Revy B play “Afro sounds of the present and future.”
At Harbourfront Centre Natrel Rink (235 Queens Quay West), Saturday (February 17), 8-11 pm. Free.
Wolfe Island Music Festival’s Winter Ball
The beloved music festival, nestled away each summer on Wolfe Island near Kingston, makes its way to much colder February Toronto with Winter Ball. Organizers are keeping its lineup a surprise for now and instead banking on its history of recruiting all-star acts to draw a crowd. They have divulged that there will be a mix of new and previous performers, which have included Wolf Parade, Sam Roberts Band, Sarah Harmer and Land of Talk.
At the Great Hall (1087 Queen West), Saturday (February 17), doors 7 pm. $25. ticketfly.com.
Long Winter
For this month’s edition of Long Winter, the all-ages event partners with Workman Arts, a non-profit that supports artists with mental health and addiction issues. Along with Phèdre, rapper Sydanie, 2018 Ones To Watch garage psych band Brenda, Indigenous electronic producer Ziibiwan and a bunch of other local musicians, the series presents dance collective Open Fortress, work by artist Jes Sachse and a Drone Therapy installation and chapel.
At Workman Arts (651 Dufferin), Saturday (February 24), doors 7 pm, all ages. Pwyc at the door, $10 advance. picatic.com.
For more picks of the best concerts happening in February 2018, click here.
samanthae@nowtoronto.com | @SamEdwardsTO
