inTO: A July musical forecast for everyone

LA-based industrial pop duo, IO ECHO, kick off our July showcase as they head line the Opera House on July 4^th embarking on their fourth tour of 2013. Having shared the stage with the likes of No Doubt and Nine Inch Nails, IO ECHO continue to garner attention from industry peers, press and audiences alike, continuing to build on their buzz in support of their acclaimed debut LP Ministry of Love released April 2^nd via IAMSOUND.

Their mesmerizing interactive video for “Ministry of Love”, which premiered on Noisey, has taken the Internet by storm, with viewers able to completely customize their own IO ECHO experience. With extremely well received appearances at major music festivals the likes of Coachella and South by Southwest (with a Lollapalooza appearance lined up for August) in their arsenal, the duo is taking the reigns as one of the most captivating acts of 2013.

July 5^th sees Warp Tour head through the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. RUN DMT’s is one of the headlining acts this year, as they play the festival circuits including Coachella . The sound reflects a torrid love affair with heavy basslines, thunderous beats, and haunting melodies. Formed in Austin, TX in the summer of 2010, RUN DMT approached heavy bass music without borders; touching on Dubstep, Drumstep, Trap-beats, Moombahton, atmospheric Downtempo and more. The show will get your heart beating and your feet moving.

The Hoxton has another Hip-hop night scheduled on July 11^th with Killer Mike and El-P—two rappers who have teamed up as Run the Jewels and will be in The Hoxton on 7/11. They have a free album coming out later this month on Fool’s Gold. These guys have two of the most acclaimed records of last year, and are now about to make heads explode with this one.

The Block Party invades Fort York on July 26. Mad Decent Block Party has now become summer tradition and grown to 13 cities from 5 last year. 2013 seems to be the year of Diplo, the whole Harlem Shake phenomenon. Undoubtedly, one of the foremost breakthroughs for Major Lazer (Diplo aka Wesley Pentz) during this time was the production collaboration with Beyonce on her massive hit “Run the World (Girls)”, which sampled their track “Pon de Floor. Major Lazer was also featured on the title track from No Doubt’s latest comeback album with famed dancehall artist Busy Signal and released an official remix for Hot Chip’s “Look At Where We Are”.

Lastly, from June 28 – September 6, Virgin Mobile presents INDIE FRIDAYS, free concerts every Friday night from 8-10pm at Yonge-Dundas square. Toronto’s biggest patio will be the hot spot to cool down with performances by in demand cover-band Dwayne Gretzky, indie darlings Plants and Animals, and Toronto hip hop sensation Cadence Weapon.