Pitchfork is a great website, eh? No matter how much flack the Pitchforkians receive for their sometimes unforgiving reviews, they know where the real talent is at. Last night, House of Vans, Pitchfork, and NXNE teamed up for a head-scratching night of performances at Berkeley Church. It was a celebration of the diversity of music.
Finding your footing at Toronto’s inaugural North By Northeast festival is never easy in the beginning. With more than 20 venues across the city each serving their unique brew of talent, deciding on where to go can be a daunting task. I chose The Danforth Music Hall for my first NXNE encounter.
Just like that, Bestival is over. The island will go back to its original state, liberated of costumed free birds strutting their stuff to electronic bangers. I talked with a few of the festival goers about the overall appeal of Bestival. They indicated that the fest is very much like an amusement park ride, “You wait in a line for the ferry, the food, the events, and more.
Bestival was originally a music festival put on in the UK. As with any stereotype given to a certain location, rain is a common element associated with the Brits. As Bestival arrived on Toronto Island, the weather wasn’t unlike a typical day in London. Huge grey clouds overtook the sky and haunted the first day of the fest.
[heading size=”20″ align=”left”]Angel Olsen | 9pm, Mod Club Theatre, June 20th[/heading] Slow burning songs are hard to perfect. Angel Olsen is one of the few who have mastered making music that is drawn-out and eerie. Her ominous folk compositions make for the ideal creepshow. Her show is guaranteed to be a treat to the ears while the instrumentation with shake you to your core.
At 19-years-old, Sydney Delong is like many people her age. She’s tired of school after her freshman year studying psychology at Ryerson University, she works part time at The Body Shop, and she is trying to find individuality on her own path. What sets her apart is her voice, which allowed her to preform in internationally recognized music festivals Canadian Music Week and NXNE.