Ever get that feeling there’s so much going on, you forget things on your to-do list? Well, sorry for missing the first two weeks of June. It was a crazy two weeks of Luminato activities, concerts starting at Molson Amphitheatre and summer festivals popping up throughout the city. You’ve most likely already planned your music escapes and downloaded your guide to NXNE. Perhaps you’ve already created your schedule for the Digital Dreams weekend as well.
Here’s a few other events and some NXNE insider roundups to help you navigate the remaining musical days of June.
RED BULL SOUND SELECT AT NXNE 2014
Red Bull will host four consecutive NXNE showcases at Tattoo on Queen from June 18-22 2014. The shows will feature international headliners, Toronto acts and late-night surprise guests. You can find the schedule here. Red Bull will also be hosting a Red Bull Sound Select Pop-Up Space inside Tattoo on Queen serving as the home base of Sound Select during NXNE. The Pop-Up Space is open each day from 12pm onward and it’s where they’ll announce that evening’s surprise late-night performer.
You’ll find Mainland June 20 at Rancho Relaxo and June 21 at Sneaky Dee’s.
Some choice performances to round out your NXNE entertainment cycle this week include Mainland performing Friday June 20 at Rancho Relaxo and Saturday June 21 at Sneaky Dee’s. Mainland began with an eclectic record collection. A gritty and erratic collection of scuzzed out indie-rock, Shiner idles somewhere between the vintage sensibilities of The Pixies, and the carefree aesthetics of The Drums. It’s a genre they’ve affectionately coined as “puke-up punk,” and it’s a term that couldn’t be more accurate. Get tickets here.
And if you’re up for the late nights, Indie-rockers Bailiff, hailing from Chicago will showcase the midnight spot on Friday, June 20 at The Hideout. Having been described as “Zappa fronting The Black Keys”, Bailiff blends upbeat pop and blues elements with heavy rock undertones, creating a new kind of “dark pop.” Ticket info here.
The Sound Academy hosts multi-award winning Lauryn Hill to their stage on June 21st.
INK Entertainment is starting its summer music push at the Sound Academy with the Ms. Lauryn Hill on Saturday, June 21. The eight-time Grammy Award-winning artist makes her return to Toronto for the first time in two years. Known for being the lone female member of the iconic, genre-blending 90s group The Fugees, she later went on to create a brilliantsolo career. In the run-up to the 1999 Grammy Awards, she became the first woman to be nominated in ten categories in a single year. Best known for incorporating rhymes into her eclectic genre blending music from jazz, to soul, reggae, rock and classical, she’s been a favourite performer for R&B lovers and soulful rhythm and blues enthusiasts alike. Get tickets here.
Catch Lawrence Rothman’s dark, twisted R&B-house fusion at The Drake, June 25.
Lawrence Rothman closes out our independent music genre for June with his performance at The Drake on Wednesday June, 25. Known as having one of the best baritone voices with his shadowy R&B, his live performances are full-on spectacles featuring unique-to-the-night character manifestations that accompany dark, twisted R&B-house. Get tickets here.
And for my EDM fans, your dreams have come true as this year’s Digital Dream Festival pulls out all the stops. So much so it deserves its own write up. Find out more here.
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