There aren’t a whole lot of high points living in Toronto during the winter.
If you’re a city dweller, you probably don’t enjoy outdoor winter sports as much as you enjoy drinking a beer on a warm patio.
But suffering through the cold months is part of the deal you signed up for when you decided to live here. So you have to take the good with the bad.
The next four months will be cold, they will be dark, and they will feel relentless. BUT, they will also be filled with a whole lot of live music to help you dance the chill out of your bones.
Here are five music festivals we suspect will ease your winter blues.
LONG WINTER | AGO DECEMBER 4TH | GREAT HALL DECEMBER 12th, JANUARY 9th, FEBRUARY 13th, MARCH 13th
If the title didn’t tell you already, this creative mishmash of music and arts was put together by the band members of Toronto’s legendary punk rockers Fucked Up specifically to help relieve the pain of our long winters. The series has become so popular over the years that the AGO even asked them to help curate AGO’s First Thursday events this year.
SOLARIS WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL | DIRECT ENERGY CENTRE | DECEMEBER 26 – 27th
If you’re stuck in the city for the holiday break why not escape to this electronic festival? With a lineup including Skrillex and Kaskade, you’ll be so warm from dancing the night away that you might even forget it’s the dead of winter. (Or that you didn’t get the Christmas gift you wanted.)
JASON COLLETT’S BASEMENT REVUE | DAKOTA TAVERN | DECEMBER 2, 9, 23, 30th
While not technically billed as a festival, Collett’s Basement Revue takes place weekly every December and has built up a legendary reputation over the years as one of the best music events leading up to Christmas. The musician curates a lineup of other musicians (mostly his friends, who happen to be some of the greatest talents in the city) and writers/poets/creative people he’s inspired by. Each week, a different, unannounced lineup of guests takes the stage – and there’s always a surprise thrown in.
WAVELENGTH | LOCATION TBA | FEBRUARY 13 – 15th
A legendary festival in the local Toronto music scene, Wavelength will return in February with another chance to experience breaking new bands and celebrate our old favourites. With this being their 15th anniversary, it’s guaranteed to be the kind of music event that will make it worth going outside in February for.
WINTERFOLK | VARIOUS VENUES | FEBRUARY 13 – 15th
This blues and roots festival has also been a staple in the festival scene for a while now, and while the lineup won’t be announced until closer to its February dates, it’s worth marking down on your calendar now so you have something to look forward to. Especially if you don’t have a Valentine this year…
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Cover photo: Kaskade Facebook page