Concert Reviews

The National Brought Stadium Grandeur to Toronto, While Patti Smith and U.S. Girls Cut Deep

Budweiser Stage, August 20

PUBLISHED Aug 21, 2023

"I wanna say hi to my kids, who are just over there," U.S. Girls' Meg Remy said, pointing to her twins after opening her Budweiser Stage se...

Sweeping Promises Burned Through the Apathy in Toronto

The Garrison, August 15

PUBLISHED Aug 16, 2023

The Garrison was respectably attended but not packed, the air warm but not hot, the energy palpable but not necessarily electric — it was a...

Osheaga 2023 Brought Out the Heavy Hitters

PUBLISHED Aug 8, 2023

Born from the heyday of Montreal's mid-aughts indie rock scene, Osheaga has, over the past sixteen years, transformed into a genre-spanning...

Toronto's New Friends Fest 2023 Celebrated the Subversive Force of Community

PUBLISHED Aug 8, 2023

Started in 2017, New Friends Fest  — Toronto's preeminent (post)hardcore, punk and screamo festival — held its fourth, devastatingly loud i...

Relive Sappyfest 2023 in Photos, Including Mother Tongues, Witch Prophet, Matty Grace and Aquakultre

PUBLISHED Aug 7, 2023

Sappyfest returned to Sackville for its 18th season this year, pulling another flurry of magic and mayhem from across Canada from August 4...

Hillside's 40th Anniversary Edition Was a Testament to the Festival's Staying Power

PUBLISHED Jul 31, 2023

Hillside Music Festival celebrated its 40th anniversary at Guelph Lake Conservation Area in 2023, and with this edition came another year's...

Fall Out Boy Were Unimpeachable in Toronto

Budweiser Stage, July 30

PUBLISHED Jul 31, 2023

To a person of a certain age, Fall Out Boy are an institution of teenage angst, a band that belongs on the Mount Rushmore of 2000s pop-punk...

Mdou Moctar Was Triumphant in Toronto

Phoenix Concert Theatre, July 25

PUBLISHED Jul 26, 2023

A beaming grin of gratitude shone on Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar's face whenever he roamed the edge of the stage at Toronto's Phoenix Conc...