Electric Island - Labour Day Edition

| ELECTRIC ISLAND - LABOUR DAY EDITION |

When: Monday September 1, 2014

Where: Centre Island, Toronto 

Time: 1:30PM-10:30PM

Our favourite island party is back this long weekend! The bittersweet excitement we feel is tremendous, this will be the last Electric Island of the summer but we know it will be nothing short of incredible!
Similar to the past three Electric Islands, the fourth will feature: food vendors, art, live international and local DJs, fashion, picnics and good vibes! 

Get ready to vibe all day long to the sounds of headliners; Tale Of Us, Jamie xx and Hot Since 82 and opening sets by Terence Kissner, Gera, Members Only and Simon Jain. The gates open at 1:30pm and the party goes until 10:30pm. We advise you get there early to take advantage of the beautiful weather and awesome music. 

Electric Island is accessible via the Centre Island ferry, which can be boarded at 9 Queens Quay West, near the Westin Harbour Castle hotel. The ferry runs generally every 30 minutes. Full schedule and more information can be found on the website at www.electricisland.to.

| LINE UP |

TALE OF US

- Born in Toronto & New York City but raised in Milan, Italy

- Together the duo has created a unique and recognizable sound ranging from straight-up dance floor to low-slung ambient tracks and more abstract compositions

- House, Disco & Techno

https://soundcloud.com/taleofus

JAMIE XX

- International DJ & Producer from London, UK

- Remix artist, slo act and member of british band XX

- Electronica, House, Post - Dubstep

https://www.facebook.com/jamiexxofficial

HOT SINCE 82

- DJ & Producer fromLeeds, UK

- Entered the electronic music scene at age 14

- Christian Rap, House Music

https://www.facebook.com/hotsince82

TERENCE KISSNER

- Toronto, ON

- Resident DJ in some ofTokyo's most coveted nightclubs as well as being a regular touring international DJ

- Electronic Dance Music, House

https://soundcloud.com/terencekissner

GERA

- Los Angeles, California

- Open Format

https://soundcloud.com/gera

MEMBERS ONLY

- TORONTO, ON

- Electronic Dance Music

https://www.facebook.com/re.MEMBERSONLY

SIMON JAIN

- TORONTO, ON

- Electronic Dance Music, House

https://www.facebook.com/simonjain

- THE VENUE TEAM

#ElectricIslandTO #ExperienceYourCity

Riot Fest 2014

| RIOT FEST 2014 |

Riot Fest and Fan Expo returns to Toronto this September 6-7 but this time it is for a full two-day line-up!  The travelling pop-punk and rock music festival will be attended by thousands of eager fans who have been anticipating the weekend for months, since the line-up was first released.  This year the festival includes performances by pop-punk royalty including; Rise Against, New Found Glory, Bring Me The Horizon, Awolnation, Brand New, and Taking Back Sunday. The festival also features performances by notable Canadian talent including City and Colour, Metric, Billy Talent and Tokyo Police Club.

If the line-up wasn’t enough, Riot Fest and Fan Expo will feature carnival attractions, food trucks, multiple stages designed specifically for the touring event and plenty of merch to fill the drawers of all the fans attending.

The festival will be taking over Downsview Park for the weekend and will quadruple the size of last year’s Riot Fest! Single-day and full weekend passes are still available on the Riot Fest website but we expect they’ll be sold out soon!

http://riotfest.org/toronto/tickets/

Get your converse and mosh face ready because Riot Fest is the pop-punk highlight of the summer!

-The Venue Team

#RiotFestToronto #ExperienceYourCity

THE CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION

| CNE 2014 |

Canada's largest community event and outdoor exhibition, The Canadian National Exhibition returns to Toronto for Summer 2014! The event began on August 15 and will continue up until Labour Day (Sept 1st).

For those familiar with the CNE it is the perfect opportunity to gather friends and family and attempt to eat as much fried food as possible before going on a midway ride. This year the all the classic attractions have returned including a fully licensed casino, the food building featuring classic food vendors as well as CNE exclusives. The full midway carnival loaded with rides to make you hurl and games to let you challenge your friends. Down the middle of the CNE is the annual Zip Line which is 1,100 ft in length!

Throughout the exhibition there will be free performances in the bandshell including; Down With Webster, Dwayne Gretzky, Tim Hicks, Hanson, Platinum Blonde and many more! The CNE will also display its annual airs how, amature and professional competitions, petting zoo and local vendors.

New to the CNE this year is The Northern Comfort Saloon, a fully licensed bar whch becomes 19+ after 3:30pm each day. The Saloon has a mechanical bull, country grub, line-dancing and all the country tunes you love. There is also an interactive preview of the Pan Am Games to get residents of the city excited for what's to come next summer. For those following the mayoral election or just wanting a good laugh you should go see the "Canstruction of Mayoral Candidates" this silly satire is assembled to the likeness of the mayoral candidates made out of over 10,000 cans!

Below are some photos that we took from our experience of the CNE!

  

www.THEEX.com

- The Venue Team

#CNE2014 #ExperienceYourCity

Honey Jam 2014

HONEY JAM 2014

  

On Thursday August 14th the 19th annual Honey Jam showcase of female talent of various genres and musical styles took place at The Mod Club! The audience members who were fortunate to have attended had an incredible experience! 

For the past 19 years Honey Jam and PhemPhat Entertainment Group have given new to the industry, raw female talent the chance to gain exposure and grow into established chart-topping artists. 

Honey Jam alumni include Nelly Furtado, Jully Black, Reema Major, Anjulie, Kellylee Evans, Graph Nobel, Toya Alexis, Natasha Waterman, Melanie Durrant and hundreds more!

While addressing the crowd and thanking the audience for their support of the all female showcase Ebonnie Rowe, President of PhemPhat Entertainment Group and Honey Jam creator read a quote from a past Honey Jam performer. Although Ebonnie did not mention which notable performer she was quoting the message was loud and clear and encompassed what Honey Jam is all about. The quote acknowledged the importance of female performers and thanked Honey Jam for giving raw talent a chance to flourish. The artist went on to say that being chosen to perform at a Honey Jam was one of those moments when you know you've made it and are well on your way to industry success.

After experiencing Honey Jam it is evident that the opportunity Ebonnie and PhemPhat is giving to these young artists is unlike any other. Each artist was introduced and given the opportunity to personally address the crowd and perform either an original song they wrote or perform a cover.  Every artist was given the opportunity to attend a music industry workshop, receive one-on-one vocal and performance training, have their original songs played on the Radio, receive consultation time from universal Music and attend the OVO Music Summit. A few of the artists were chosen to open for Tegan & Sara, perform at Manifesto Festival and Meet Me in Africa Concert. If that wasn't enough one lucky artist received $5000 in equipment from Yamaha Canada, a Canadian Featured Artist Package from Benjamin Verde Inc and the opportunity to attend the Canadian Walk of Fame Awards and even perform in Barbados! After hearing all the talent perform there is no doubt that the artists will one day be releasing chart-topping hits.  

After the artists individually performed they were as a group called back on stage to perform free-style as a group. Watching the artists belt it out and give each other a chance to sing and take centre stage was truly inspiring. What was most refreshing was watching the encouragement and support the artists were giving each other while on the stage. 

The Showcase was MCed by former MuchMusic VJ Sarah Taylor and attended by surprise guest and Honey Jam alumni Jully Black!

The Honey Jam was an incredible experience and if you were unable to attend this year's you definitely do not want to miss next year's!

A special thank you to Ebonnie Rowe and the PhemPhat Entertainment Group for enlighting us to such an amazing showcase of young talent. Five years from now we will be bragging about how we were lucky enough to watch the artists perform back at Honey Jam before they were selling out The Molson Canadian Amphitheatre!

www.HONEYJAM.com

- The Venue Team

#HoneyJam #ExperienceYourCity

CORONA SUNSETS 2014

| CORONA SUNSETS 2014 |

Clouds loomed over our heads as we rode the ferry towards Hanlan’s Point where the world’s first ever beach festival tour, Corona Sunsets, was about to take place on Toronto’s Centre Island. Despite the cold and rainy drizzle, once we entered the gates, people were all poncho’d up and stoked to hear some solid sets being spun by their favoUrite djs. The setup of the festival was absolutely spectacular. There were various tiki ticket stands and bars scattered throughout the grounds that sold a variety of corona inspired items including; novel corona sunset’s aluminum bottles and corona mixed drinks. There were also a generous number of food stations that offered a variety of foods and filled the air with delicious scents. White tiki twinkle lights throughout the entire venue surrounded us, with lit up walkways from the main Griffin stage to the sandy beach Crown Stage.

As we walked onto the beach towards the Crown Stage we enjoyed its intimate vibe. We arrived to the easy going melodic house tunes of Thomas Jack who seemed to be enjoying himself as much as the crowd was enjoying him. With great stage presence he made the crowd grow double in size by the end of his set. With the less than ideal weather the show got off to a bit of a slow start but as the rain died down and the music turned up the entire venue began to come to life. Cyril Hahn was up next and continued to grace the crowd with some groovin house tunes. The entire crowd enthusiastically sang along when he played his most popular Destiny’s Child cover ‘Say My Name’. Thievery Corporation rocked the stage with live instrumental performances and multiple strong vocalists with music ranging from reggae to acid jazz. By this point it had completely stopped raining and beach balls were playfully being tossed around the crowd for the entire set. Lee Foss and Anabel Englund tied up the party at the Crown stage with their collaborative performance, which very well highlighted the great chemistry they have together as artists. Lee’s bumpin house tracks were impossible not to dance to and Anabels angelic voice added the perfect compliments to his vibin sounds.

The main Griffin stage resembled a geometric mandala sunset complete with industrial smoke machines, lights and pyrotechnics that blazed brightly in front the Toronto skyline. The duo No Regular Play provided a very unique and fluid jazzy sound with live trumpet and vocals. Some other artists that graced the main stage were Wolf + Lamb and Cajmere who both played epic sets and kept the crowd going until superstar Grammy winner Moby finished off the night with his high energy, fast paced electronic tunes. The grand finale consisted of loud and sparkling fireworks that illuminated the dark night sky.

Overall, despite the questionable weather, the festival was a huge success with a wide variety of musical sounds and unique performances. We were surrounded by like-minded people who were truly there for the music. We made some great friends who all agreed that everyone who trooped it out in the rain was just there to dance and have a good time. Corona Sunsets definitely left some sweet footprints in the sand!

- The Venue Team

#CoronaSunSets #ExperienceYourCity