Welcome fellow music enthusiasts to the first of many written (hardcore) breakdowns of upcoming live music events that will tickle your earholes and that you most definitely need to attend.
I’ve cooked up a mixtape of upcoming events so that hopefully fans of every genre of amplified music will have something to look forward to. I’ve also listed them in chronological order so that, if you’re adventurous, you can attend them all!
A TRIBUTE TO RUSH FEATURING MY FAVOURITE HEADACHE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, REGENT THEATRE Do you like lasers, drum fills and slapping bass lines? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Rush is the band for you. Whilst this may not be the actual Rush performing, because that’s scientifically impossible, Black Rose Entertainment has impeccable taste when it comes to cover bands so you can expect a top-quality performance from My Favourite Headache (drum fills and all). And let’s be real, “Tom Sawyer” is hands down one of the greatest songs ever written by a group of nerdy Canadians from the G.T.A. and “Time Stand Still” continues to bring a tear to my eye. GET TICKETS
THREE DAYS GRACE WITH THE STANDSTILLS, AND THE WARNING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, TRIBUTE COMMUNITIES CENTRE Here’s to hoping that they don’t still “Hate Everything About You”, as it's been a solid 19 years since this single was released and ample time for Three Days Grace to get over it. But either way, this is a show you aren’t going to want to miss because it also features, The Standstills, who are truly #LocalToTheCore. This is a band who has worked their butts off to land themselves as a supporting act for this huge cross-country arena tour. That’s big news for these Oshawa rockers! Oh, and their latest single, “The Motherlode”, featuring the Eagles of Death Metal, is the perfect pre-concert pump-up jam.
SKYE WALLACE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, BILTMORE THEATRE When doors started opening following the COVID-19 shutdown, I was stoked to see my good friends Crown Lands play at Toronto The Axis Club in December 2021. Opening for them was a rocker with incredible energy and great pipes by the name of Skye Wallace. Skye and her band instantly helped melt away that post-covid being-out-in-public anxiety and brought me back to a time, pre-pandemic, when bands like hers and Crown Lands were cutting their teeth in small, local, second-floor music venues. If you’re a fan of those raw, grungy, distorted guitar, rock ‘n’ roll bands you’d hear on radio stations like Indie88 and Edge102, Skye Wallace is for you. Check out her new EP “Tooth And Nail” wherever you stream your music.
JOY TO THE ‘SHWA
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, BILTMORE THEATRE This event is what happens when you put roughly twelve of my favourite local musicians on a stage together to perform holiday songs. Featuring The Dirt Squirrel All-Stars, Poor Pelly and Darren Clarke of The Stables, Matt Holtby (AKA Matt Diamond), and Cobra Coyote (Jeff Leech, Dan Brooks/Benjamin Reines, Ron Warne and Ryan Waye), this is sure to be a night filled with plenty toe-tapping, merriment, and holiday cheer. I recommend donning your best ugly Christmas sweater for this one.