Visiting percussionists Ben Rempel and Justin Gunter are no strangers to reclaiming public spaces for their performances, so their Toronto appearance in the vibrantly-decorated quadrangle of the Bickford Centre felt like a completely-suitable environment for their minimalist percussion duos. No mere jams, they played with a focused rigour while allowing their sounds to mix in with the environment surrounding them.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
Back in day, Doug Tielli and Mike Gennaro were part of the Rat-Drifting scene as members of Wrist Error (although the project was never documented with an album), and have now rekindled their musical relationship in this duo. Tielli is a player of a great many talents, many of which involve a sublime delicacy that he can bring to the proceedings — which makes one forget at their peril that he can shred on guit like a mofo when it's called for. Mike Gennaro, of course, can bring cacophonous volume, providing plenty forward momentum which lead to some satisfactory splatter action as things geared up here — but there was also some tasteful restraint as Tielli brought out the singing saw.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
[Doug Tielli & Mike Gennaro will be joining together again tonight (Tuesday, July 7th) at Track Could Bend.]
Heading outdoors for this MPS late-spring celebration, NTW kept things portable — that is to say, Colin Fisher came armed solely with his saxophone this time out. While Brandon Valdivia explored a lot of approaches behind the kit, Fisher took advantage of the space, wandering around and using the underpass section below the school building as a giant echo chamber, which you can hear at the end of this extract.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
[Not the Wind, Not the Flag will be back in action at this month's Musica Universalis, this Friday (July 10th) at The Tranzac.]
Venue watch: it sounds like Sneaky Dee's is safe for now, not so much over the fuss that was kicked up over the potential loss of a beloved institution as the fact that the developer apparently submitted a proposal to redevelop land they didn't actually own. Go figure!
Applications are open for the next round of performance residencies in The Tranzac's Southern Cross: "Tranzac is inviting artists, groups, curators, ensembles and organizations to apply to our performance residency program for October 2026 - March 2027." Deadline to apply is July 24th, and all the info you could need to know is here.
Concert announcements:
new works for improvising musicians (feat. John Oswald/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Nick Fraser) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-13 (Monday). $10/pwyc. [more info]
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Max Stover/Colin Fisher/William Hunt/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2025-07-16 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Dust Party Toronto in collaboration with The Ministry of Phonic Services presents (feat. Doris Dana / Chris Hurst / Mutual Image / Wilderness Adventure Ride) / The Jama 2025-07-18 (Saturday). $PWYC, suggested $15. [more info]
Unlikely Moon presents (feat. Lee Paradise / Never Temple / Prince Nifty) / house show 2026-07-18 (Saturday). $20 or PWYC. [more info]
Agnes [live studio recording!] [Rob Clutton/Bea Labikova/Mira Martin-Gray/Doug Tielli/Kevin Turcotte/Mark Zurawinski] / Annette Studios 2026-07-28 (Tuesday). $20 or pwyc
Patrick Smith Quartet [Patrick Smith/Jen Lo/Julian Anderson Bowes/Angelica Zavala] / The Rex 2026-07-31 (Friday – 5 p.m.). $pwyc. [more info]
Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!
Shows this week:
a fourth space [Adrian Russouw/Mattaus Gretzinger/Dipo Adeola/Ariq Rahman] / The Emmet Ray 2026-07-06 (Monday). $15. [more info]
Chris Banks presents (feat. Chris Banks/Dafydd Hughes/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-06 (Monday). $pwyc
Track Could Bend #118 (feat. Ubersuck [Kayla Milmine + Germaine Liu] / Doug Tielli & Mike Gennaro) / Wenona Lodge 2026-07-07 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Peripheral Vision presents (feat. Hogg/Harley/Herring with special guest Angelica Zavala / Angelica Zavala Quartet) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-07 (Tuesday). [more info]
Brodie West presents (feat. Brodie West Double Basses Quintet [Patrick O'Reilly/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Nick Fraser/Brodie West]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-08 (Wednesday – early). [more info]
Never Was [Brandon Davis/Bea Labikova/Patrick O'Reilly/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-08 (Wednhesday)
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Alex Lukashevsky and Mayme Joach) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-07-09 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Brodie West/Ryan Driver) / Water to Wine 2026-07-09 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Project Nowhere presents (feat. Yoo II avec Nolan Potter / Colin Fisher) / The Garrison 2026-07-09 (Thursday). $32.31, 19+. [FB event]
Kurt Newman presents Post-Bluegrass Bluegrass (feat. Motel Time Again) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-09 (Thursday) [more info]
Bob Wiseman / Sellers and Newel 2025-07-10 (Friday). $30 minimum donation. [more info]
Musica Universalis (feat. Not the Wind, Not the Flag) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-10 (Friday). [more info]
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday – noon). $pwyc. [more info]
The CONTXT Residency (feat. tUkU beY & bUdi) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 1 p.m.). $15 (advance tickets), $25 (door). [tickets + more info]
Ayal Senior and Friends [Ayal's on tour edition with guest host: Joe Strutt] (feat. Country Phasers / Meggie Remy / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). $pwyc. [FB event]
The Drone Ranger (feat. Nidus [Jason Doell/Matthew Ramolo/Marc Couroux]) / Tollkeeper's Park 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 4 p.m.)
Hear is a new newsletter on Substack digging deep into "An oral history of experimental sound in Toronto and beyond". It's brought to you by Kristina Guison, Mehrnaz Rohbakhsh and Colin Cudmore, all excellent listeners frequently seen at cool shows. The first edition sits down with Tad Michalak, and lives up to its billing of "long-form interviews". Fascinated to see what else is going to follow from its promise to hang out "people involved in all facets of experimental sounds in Toronto — artists, presenters, journalists, audience members, etc." (full disclosure: I have been interviewed by the team, so that's one thing that's in the hopper; I'd be enthusiastic about this kind of historical sharing in any case, of course!)
Concert announcements:
a fourth space [Adrian Russouw/Mattaus Gretzinger/Dipo Adeola/Ariq Rahman] / The Emmet Ray 2026-07-06 (Monday). $15. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Alex Lukashevsky and Mayme Joach) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-07-09 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Brodie West/Ryan Driver) / Water to Wine 2026-07-09 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Bob Wiseman / Sellers and Newel 2025-07-10 (Friday). $30 minimum donation. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Labyrinth Ensemble) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-07-19 (Sunday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Abacus Cornet Quartet [playing compositions by Paul Motian] [Colin James Gibson/Ryan Kinney/Jonny Luke/Steve Vincent] / The Emmet Ray 2025-07-22 (Wednesday). $15. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden ["a program of 16th and 17th century music"] (feat. Arparla and Elixir Baroque Ensemble) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-07-30 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Tara Kannangara and Chris Pruden) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-08-09 (Sunday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden: Persian Psychedelia (feat. Neda Mohamadpour with Chris Pruden/Caleb Klager/Mack Longpre) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-08-20 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Andrew Downing & Dan Pitt / Sellers and Newel 2025-09-17 (Thursday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Maggie Keogh/Ryan Driver/Max Donaldson/Blake Howard / Sellers and Newel 2025-09-27 (Sunday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Jane Siberry / Sellers and Newel 2025-09-30 (Wednesday). $35 minimum donation. [more info]
Nick Fraser presents (feat. Aidan McConnell/Karen Ng/Adrian Russouw) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-30 (Tuesday). [more info]
Lavventura [debut live performance and That Particular Charm release celebration! ] (Paul Linklater) / The Piston 2026-07-02 (Thursday). @22.90. [tickets + more info]
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Scott Thomson/Diana Piruzevska/Peter Richards) / Water to Wine 2026-07-02 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Tania Gill presents: Handcrafted Music (feat. Martin van de Ven/David Benitez/Arie Verheul de Ven/Yoshi Maclear Wall/Tania Gill) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-03 (Friday – early). $pwyc. [more info]
Humbucker Music Residency (feat. Humbucker Music [Nick Storring/Jason Doell/Colin Cudmore/Mira Martin-Gray] / Allison Cameron & Scott Thomson [Platanus album release show!]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-03 (Friday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Beetsblog (Thom Gill / Andre Ethier with Eliza Niemi) / Dina's Tavern 2026-07-05 (Sunday) [more info]
Adjacent Spheres (feat. Michael Davidson/Angelica Zavala/Michael Herring/Miles Cakebread-Kraus) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-05 (Sunday). [more info]
In the mix:
New ambient mix! Drone and drone-adjecent music, symphonic and chamber music special edition. Featuring: Gustav Mahler, Luciano Berio, Dmitri Shostakovich, John Cage, The Beatles, Isabel Pine, Edna Michell, Forgue, Emily Hopkins, and Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht
Video hits:
New one out from notaband, reminding you it's time to hit the streets — and the subway platforms — and dance!
A slightly-unusual WP set, with gear being reused from the previous night's playful encounter seeing more tapes and tape loops in play than usual. That allowed a memorial tribute to local cellist/composer Cris Derksen before heading off into percussive bricabrac, feedback bursts, synth squiggles and some nimble guitar ruminations.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
Coming at this solo set without preconceptions and prepared to use the tools at hand, Colin Fisher sent a vibe out to Milford Graves and spent most of it behind the drumkit, listening to/sending out pulsebeats.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
Nick Fraser presents (feat. Aidan McConnell/Karen Ng/Adrian Russouw) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-30 (Tuesday). [more info]
Never Was [Brandon Davis/Bea Labikova/Racha Moukalled/Patrick O'Reilly/Adrian Russouw/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-08 (Wednesday) [more info]
Project Nowhere presents (feat. Yoo II avec Nolan Potter / Colin Fisher) / The Garrison 2026-07-09 (Thursday). $32.31, 19+. [FB event]
Ayal Senior and Friends [Ayal's on tour edition with guest host: Joe Strutt] (feat. Country Phasers / Meggie Remy / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). $pwyc. [FB event]
Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!
Shows this week:
The New Symphony Orchestra [album release show] [Zack Goldstein/Ben Rositsan/Arie Verheul Van de Ven/Connor Crone/Ben Mike/Crescenzo DiCecco/Bjorn Kriel/Grace Scheele/Owen Kurtz] (Owen Kurtz [solo]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-22 (Monday). $pwyc ($20 recommended). [more info]
No Octopus Dancing / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-23 (Tuesday – early). [more info]
Cadence Weapon and the Forager Band / The Cameron House 2026-06-23 (Tuesday). $25. [FB event]
Sarah Greene's bday show (feat. Sarah Greene/Paul Kolinski/Michael Herring / Rory Lavelle) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-24 (Wednesday – early). $pwyc. [more info]
TONE presents (feat. Setting / High Alpine Hut Network / Shabason/Gunning) / The Jama 2025-06-24 (Wednesday). $22.89, 19+. [FB event]
About This, It Was Not Yet Written (feat. Ronley Teper/Myk Freedman/Dave Clark) / Sellers and Newel 2026-06-24 (Wednesday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
VIVID presents (feat. Forming / bikebike / Different Dream) / BSMT254 2025-06-24 (Wednesday). $15 or pwyc, 19+. [more info]
Lauchlin Wood/Tania Gill/Brent Tanemura/Colin Cudmore / Water to Wine 2026-06-25 (Thursday – 5:30 p.m.). $24.76. [more info]
TONE presents (feat. The Ex / not a band / Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides) / Cafeteria Upstairs 2025-06-25 (Thursday). $39.02, all ages. [FB event]
Imaginary North presents: Lake Effect Album Release Show ["16 musicians performing in impromptu groupings and ensembles to create entirely new music"] (feat. Adrian Berry and Ely Lyonblum/Arie Verheul van de Ven/anthéne/Ben McCarthy with Tax Haven/dreamSTATE/Drones Over Dufferin/Gollden/inchoate/Kilometre Club/R Grunwald/W L C/ÏÏÏ) / Tapestry 2025-06-25 (Thursday). $15.75. [tickets + more info]
The Tania Gill/Chris Banks Trio [Tania Gill/Chris Banks/Nico Dann/Maxwell Stover] / The Jazz Bistro 2025-06-26 (Friday – 5 p.m.). $15. [more info]
Small World Music Festival (feat. Aqua's Red Rhythm & Blues / Qawwali / Zamira Lacosta) / Mabelle Park 2025-06-26 (Friday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly + pet-friendly. [more info]
Project Nowhere presents (feat. Sook-Yin Lee [72RHR album release!] / bridge of sand / Kali Horse / Salon Perfomance [Karen Ng/Lee Suksi/Stevie Manning/Bee Solomon]) / The Baby G 2026-06-26 (Friday). $30.55, 19+. [FB event]
The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-26 (Friday) [FB event]
Small World Music Festival (feat. Mir Kashif Iqbal & Bahar Atish / Sam-r / Amadou Kienou) / Mabelle Park 2025-06-27 (Saturday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly + pet-friendly. [more info]
Composer's Workshop Concert [Composer Mentor: Allison Cameron, newly created compositions by Alexandra Gorlin-Crenshaw, Jack Langdon, Garrett Niall, and Kaitlin White] (feat. The Freesound x Array Collective) / Array Space 2026-06-27 (Saturday – 3 p.m.). $20.00 (or PWYW). Livestream: $10.00 (or PWYW). [FB event]
The CONTXT Residency (feat. tUkU beY & bUdi) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-06-28 (Sunday – 1 p.m.). $15 (advance tickets), $25 (door). [tickets + more info]
Caution Wet Floor Signs [Yoshi Maclear Wall / Dame Cook / Will Hunt / Alex McPherson / Mark Gerlai] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-28 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). [more info]
Small World Music Festival (feat. Trash Panda Brass / Amely and Roa / Mohsin Zaman / TAYOW & Waleed Abdulhamid) / Mabelle Park 2025-06-28 (Sunday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly + pet-friendly. [more info]
Sympathetic String Band & Friends (feat. Sympathetic String Band / Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-28 (Sunday – early). $pwyc. [more info]
Art of Improv (feat. Andrew Timar & Cheryl O / Andrew Timar/Cheryl O/Eugene Martynec/Bill Gilliam) / Marilyn Lerner) / Annette Studios 2026-06-28 (Sunday). $20/PWYC. [FB event]
It happened this week...
...on June 24, 2017 at Ratio (TONE Festival – Show #7).
Duo Cichorium’s Playscape Emporium curatorial residency at Array is "built around storytelling through cross-disciplinary collaboration". This instalment mixed music with visual improvisations from Constant Yen and Rowan Campbell. That gave plenty of ideas for the assembled musicians (Charlee Wielgoz, Fahmid Nibesh, Joe Strutt, Mira Martin-Gray, and Duo Cichorium's Louis Pino) to react to, leading to some really inneresting sounds. The event was livestreamed, so hopefully the archived version of that will become available at some point.
Circumstances shifted this gathering from its usual fifth-Sunday-of-the month — and also across the hall into the Living Room. But there was still plenty of room to drift along.
The full ensemble this time out was:
Broken Pink Umbrella - theremin + effects
Dan Friedman - EQ feedback, west pest, kastl drum, bamboo flute
Del Stephen - keyboard synthesizer
Heraclitus Akimbo - lyre, synth, tapes
Hilary Martin - pedals
Ian McPhedran - guitar
Jim Davis - bass
Patrick O'Reilly - Pluto
Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
Scott M2 - S-1
Peter G. + Brian G. - namers-of-things
As always, you can listen to the full session over on bandcamp:
The New Symphony Orchestra [album release show] [Zack Goldstein/Ben Rositsan/Arie Verheul Van de Ven/Connor Crone/Ben Mike/Crescenzo DiCecco/Bjorn Kriel/Grace Scheele/Owen Kurtz] (Owen Kurtz [solo]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-22 (Monday). $pwyc ($20 recommended). [more info]
The Tania Gill/Chris Banks Trio [Tania Gill/Chris Banks/Nico Dann/Maxwell Stover] / The Jazz Bistro 2025-06-26 (Friday – 5 p.m.). $15. [more info]
Small World Music Festival (feat. Aqua's Red Rhythm & Blues / Qawwali / Zamira Lacosta) / Mabelle Park 2025-06-26 (Friday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly + pet-friendly. [more info]
Small World Music Festival (feat. Mir Kashif Iqbal & Bahar Atish / Sam-r / Amadou Kienou) / Mabelle Park 2025-06-27 (Saturday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly + pet-friendly. [more info]
The CONTXT Residency (feat. tUkU beY & bUdi) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-06-28 (Sunday – 1 p.m.). $15 (advance tickets), $25 (door). [tickets + more info]
Small World Music Festival (feat. Trash Panda Brass / Amely and Roa / Mohsin Zaman / TAYOW & Waleed Abdulhamid) / Mabelle Park 2025-06-28 (Sunday). $free, outdoors, family-friendly + pet-friendly. [more info]
Sympathetic String Band & Friends (feat. Sympathetic String Band / Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-28 (Sunday – early). $pwyc. [more info]
Sonomadic Improv presents (feat. Dorky & Best [Germaine Liu & co/] / The Wrinkles Experiment [conducted improvisation led by Kayla Milmine]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-29 (Monday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Bob Wiseman / Sellers and Newel 2026-07-10 (Friday). $30 minimum donation. [more info]
The CONTXT Residency (feat. tUkU beY & bUdi) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 1 p.m.). $15 (advance tickets), $25 (door). [tickets + more info]
The CONTXT Residency (feat. tUkU beY & bUdi) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-07-19 (Sunday – 1 p.m.). $15 (advance tickets), $25 (door). [tickets + more info]
Not Dead Yet presents: A Benefit for PARC) (feat. 9 Million / S.H.I.T. / Siyahkal / Duchess / Diatribe) / Parkdale Hall 2026-07-23 (Thursday). $34.92 (general admission), $23.28 (student), $69.83 (pay it forward). [tickets + more info]
Jennifer Castle (Potions) / The Garrison 2025-07-25 (Saturday). $44.81, 19+. [tickets + more info]
Musica Universalis (feat. Taste [Steve Kado & Colin Fisher] / Hoover Party) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-19 (Friday). [more info]
Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray / CONTXT by Trane 2026-06-19&20 (Friday & Saturday). $42.38 (earlybird)/$77.41 (both shows). [FB event]
Steve Tidy & the Unkempt [Enjoy the Wreckage album release party] (Nick Flanagan) / Under The Alpine 2026-06-20 (Saturday). $22.60, 19+. [FB event]
Liquid Architecture 25/26 Season Finale (feat. Maria Riano & Jaz Tsui / Amelie Mah & Janel Jones / Abby Silvera & Jonny Luke / Brianna Clarke & Ryan Kinney) / St. Matthew's Clubhouse 2026-06-20 (Saturday). $10 (cash or e-transfer). [FB event]
St. Stephens-in-the-Fields Fundraiser (feat. Westelaken / Liz Uninvited / Angel Apricot) / St. Stephens-in-the-Fields 2026-06-20 (Saturday). $20/PWYC, all ages
New Yorker Ryan Dugre is based in Toronto right now, but this was his first local solo show. His song-shaped instrumental pieces were animated by the elegant modulation of his electric guitar, evoking mostly bucolic moods.
*Does anyone know the titles to these? Please leave a comment!
[Ayal Senior & Friends returns to The Tranzac tomorrow (June 14th) with sets from David Sait, Nathan Yell, Nick Flanagan plus Senior & Newman.]
Zoë Alexis-Abrams brought cello, voice and laptop for this solo set, which showed off an increased interest in field recordings. (The muffled whumps here are apparently geophone recordings made at the Reference Library.) As someone who likes hearing what recordings sound like when they're slowed down a bunch I found thgis totally on-point, in the sense that the music sounds pre-slowed.
[Ayal Senior & Friends returns to The Tranzac tomorrow (June 14th) with sets from David Sait, Nathan Yell, Nick Flanagan plus Senior & Newman.]
Noting that their earliest phase was as a trio, one could note that C'est la fête has been slowly expanding, up to its current five-piece formation with the incorporation of saxophonists Maxwell Stover and Colin Fisher; this show pushed further in that direction by bringing in a pair of guests (Karen Ng and Mark Hundevad) familiar to all involved. That left opportunities for plenty of honkin', but some of the maximalist tendencies were reined in by Fisher's compositional fragments, and a willingness by the players to let things drop down to occasional duos and trios. All of that's in play in the piece excerpted here, which drifts along at the start while the players look in real time for directions to move together — and then gets real inneresting.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
[Musica Universalis will be back in the Southern Cross with more music from Colin Fisher & friends on June 19th.]
Founded as a blog about one curmudgeon's love affair with the em dash, Mechanical Forest Sound has grown to become a community-based archive of local musical culture. Assuming that "independent music" isn't just boys with guitars and "culture" isn't just some sort of pageant, MFS is an investigation of a wide range of artists, reflecting on concerts as shared experiences, acts of citizenship and a chance to get down — fuzzy photographs and clear-sounding original live recordings a specialty.
Current manifestations of this project include Track Could Bend, a monthly concert series featuring "improvised music and weird rock offshoots", presented in a casual environment.
At one point I wrote full-on concert reviews, and for longer I thought I would catch up and write about shows in the past. But these days, because of, y'know, life, do not expect much in the way of full show reviews — but live recordings with blurbs will be posted as quickly after the fact as is feasible.
You can also check out full sets uploaded to the Live Music Archive. [not currently active]
N.B.: All recordings should be available & playable. If you come across any broken links, invisible or non-functioning players, etc, please leave a comment and I will tend to it ASAP.
ALSO N.B.: I'm perpetually on the lookout for a new place to stash my MP3's online. If you know of any place that allows a couple gigs of stuff to be openly linked to for streaming, drop me a line!
All MP3's on this blog are audience recordings shared as a reminder of the excitement of seeing live music. If you are an artist who doesn't want their music shared in this way, please contact me and I shall remove it forthwith.
Track Could Bend #118 (feat. Ubersuck [Kayla Milmine + Germaine Liu] / Doug Tielli & Mike Gennaro) / Wenona Lodge 2026-07-07 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Peripheral Vision presents (feat. Hogg/Harley/Herring with special guest Angelica Zavala / Angelica Zavala Quartet) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-07 (Tuesday). [more info]
Brodie West presents (feat. Brodie West Double Basses Quintet [Patrick O'Reilly/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Nick Fraser/Brodie West]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-08 (Wednesday – early). [more info]
Never Was [Brandon Davis/Bea Labikova/Patrick O'Reilly/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-08 (Wednhesday)
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Alex Lukashevsky and Mayme Joach) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-07-09 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Brodie West/Ryan Driver) / Water to Wine 2026-07-09 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Project Nowhere presents (feat. Yoo II avec Nolan Potter / Colin Fisher) / The Garrison 2026-07-09 (Thursday). $32.31, 19+. [FB event]
Kurt Newman presents Post-Bluegrass Bluegrass (feat. Motel Time Again) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-09 (Thursday) [more info]
Bob Wiseman / Sellers and Newel 2025-07-10 (Friday). $30 minimum donation. [more info]
Musica Universalis (feat. Not the Wind, Not the Flag) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-10 (Friday). [more info]
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday – noon). $pwyc. [more info]
The CONTXT Residency (feat. tUkU beY & bUdi) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 1 p.m.). $15 (advance tickets), $25 (door). [tickets + more info]
Ayal Senior and Friends [Ayal's on tour edition with guest host: Joe Strutt] (feat. Country Phasers / Meggie Remy / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). $pwyc. [FB event]
The Drone Ranger (feat. Nidus [Jason Doell/Matthew Ramolo/Marc Couroux]) / Tollkeeper's Park 2026-07-12 (Sunday – 4 p.m.)
new works for improvising musicians (feat. John Oswald/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Nick Fraser) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-13 (Monday). $10/pwyc. [more info]
Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Max Stover/Colin Fisher/William Hunt/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2025-07-16 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Dust Party Toronto in collaboration with The Ministry of Phonic Services presents (feat. Doris Dana / Chris Hurst / Mutual Image / Wilderness Adventure Ride) / The Jama 2025-07-18 (Saturday). $PWYC, suggested $15. [more info]
Unlikely Moon presents (feat. Lee Paradise / Never Temple / Prince Nifty) / house show 2026-07-18 (Saturday). $20 or PWYC. [more info]
The CONTXT Residency (feat. tUkU beY & bUdi) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-07-19 (Sunday – 1 p.m.). $15 (advance tickets), $25 (door). [tickets + more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Labyrinth Ensemble) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-07-19 (Sunday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Styrofoam Winos (Eliza Niemi / Roy) / The Baby G 2026-07-19 (Sunday). $20.01, 19+. [tickets + more info]
Abacus Cornet Quartet [playing compositions by Paul Motian] [Colin James Gibson/Ryan Kinney/Jonny Luke/Steve Vincent] / The Emmet Ray 2025-07-22 (Wednesday). $15. [more info]
Not Dead Yet presents: A Benefit for PARC) (feat. 9 Million / S.H.I.T. / Siyahkal / Duchess / Diatribe) / Parkdale Hall 2026-07-23 (Thursday). $34.92 (general admission), $23.28 (student), $69.83 (pay it forward). [tickets + more info]
The Fiver Trois / Dina's Tavern 2025-07-24 (Friday) [more info]
Jennifer Castle (Potions) / The Garrison 2025-07-25 (Saturday). $44.81, 19+. [FB event]
Agnes [live studio recording!] [Rob Clutton/Bea Labikova/Mira Martin-Gray/Doug Tielli/Kevin Turcotte/Mark Zurawinski] / Annette Studios 2026-07-28 (Tuesday). $20 or pwyc
Summer Music in the Garden ["a program of 16th and 17th century music"] (feat. Arparla and Elixir Baroque Ensemble) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-07-30 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Patrick Smith Quartet [Patrick Smith/Jen Lo/Julian Anderson Bowes/Angelica Zavala] / The Rex 2026-07-31 (Friday – 5 p.m.). $pwyc. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Tara Kannangara and Chris Pruden) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-08-09 (Sunday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden: Persian Psychedelia (feat. Neda Mohamadpour with Chris Pruden/Caleb Klager/Mack Longpre) / Toronto Music Garden 2025-08-20 (Thursday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]
Musica Universalis (feat. C'est la fête Large Ensemble) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-08 (Friday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / JOYSHAPE / Ryan Dugre / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-10 (Sunday)
Cosmic Homeostasis XXXII / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2026-05-17 (Sunday)]
Playscape Emporium: Paint, Play (feat. Duo Cichorium/Constant Yen/ Rowan Campbell/Charlee Wielgoz/Fahmid Nibesh/Joe Strutt/Mira Martin-Gray) / Array Space 2026-05-21 (Thursday)
Wenderly Park (Colin Fisher / Isla Craig) / Le Monde 2026-05-22 (Friday)
Ministry of Phonic Services presents (feat. Ben Rempel & Justin Gunter / Not the Wind, Not the Flag / Doug Tielli & Mike Gennaro) / Bickford Park 2026-05-24 (Sunday)
Life Drawing (feat. Cosmic Homeostasis) / Riverdale Park 2026-05-31 (Sunday)
Prepare the Ground Festival (feat. William Basinski) / Trinity-St. Paul's Centre 2026-05-31 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #117 (feat. saucering / Colin Fisher/William Hunt/Jack Johnson/Cal Adam) / Wenona Lodge 2025-06-02 (Tuesday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior/Nathan Yell/Marilyn Yogarajah / David Sait / Nick Flanagan / Nathan Yell) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-06-14 (Sunday)
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