Monday Roundup #290

Community notes:

• Afrofest 2026 Cancelled. We are in the the midst of "interesting times" at the intersection of affordability, demographic pressure and popular spectacle. There has been an ongoing thread this summer after multiple street festivals implying that they are simply too popular and the costs of enduring safety for patrons has become unfeasible. Afrofest is the latest organization dealing with all these realities:

Music Africa of Canada Inc. announces that AFROFEST will not take place in 2026. This decision follows months of planning, extensive discussions with the City of Toronto, and a careful assessment of public safety considerations related to hosting the festival at Woodbine Park.

AFROFEST is one of Toronto’s most celebrated cultural festivals, shaped and sustained by the strength of its community. Earlier this year, Music Africa submitted its permit application and began working with Parks, Forestry & Recreation to clarify requirements for the 2026 event. However, final direction was not received until June, creating significant time constraints for an event of AFROFEST’s scale.

When the mayor's office became involved, communication improved, and dedicated city staff worked closely with Music Africa to explore solutions. Despite this collaboration, a critical challenge remained: the operational capacity of Woodbine Park for 2026. While the park’s longstanding safe capacity is approximately 17,000 people, the city advised that the site’s operational limit for this year would be 5,000 attendees.

AFROFEST regularly attracts up to 40,000 people in a single day. Even with our 2026 planned improved safety initiatives, including ticketing, fencing, controlled entry, and enhanced security measures, thousands more would still travel to the park expecting to attend. This presents a public safety risk outside the festival gates that cannot be responsibly managed.

You can read the full statement here. (And anyone seeking great African music should remember that the Habari Africa Festival is taking place at Harbourfront Centre this weekend, August 7th to 9th.)

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Concert announcements:

new works for improvising musicians (feat. Josh Cole/Lina Allemano/Jaron Freeman-Fox/Nick Storring/Owen Kurtz) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-10 (Monday). $10/notaflof

YEARN ["a powerful one-hour work for solo piano by Dutch composer Lieke van der Voort"] (feat. Cheryl Duvall) / Canadian Music Centre 2026-08-13 (Thursday). $20 General Admission, $15 Arts Workers

Shaaane (Battle Milk / Sound Effects / Dame Cook) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2025-08-14 (Friday). $10, 19+. [more info]

Re:Stacks (feat. Stacks) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-15 (Saturday). [FB event]

4 Weeks for Sonny Rollins (feat. Mark Hundevad Quartet [Shawn Nykwist/Chris Pruden/James Thompson/Mark Hundevad]) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-08-22 (Saturday). $30.79 advance, $40 door. [FB event]

4 Weeks for Sonny Rollins (feat. The Bridge Quartet [Shawn Nykwist/Lee Wallace/Chris Banks/Mark Hundevad]) / CONTXT by Trane 2026-08-29 (Saturday). $30.79 advance, $40 door. [FB event]

Marker Starling (Tean Dream) / BSMT 254 2025-09-12 (Saturday). $22.84, 19+. [FB event]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

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Shows this week:

Chris Banks presents (feat. Chris Banks/Mateos Labbé-Phelan/Dafydd Hughes/Maxwell Stover) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-03 (Monday). $pwyc

Justin Orok presents (feat. Simone Hope with Anna Atkinson/Tiffany Wu/Audrey Mae/Ryan Dugre/Justin Orok) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-04 (Tuesday – early). [more info]

Blank Hellscape (CUTE / not a band / Greydini) / Osler Records 2026-08-04 (Tuesday). $15.37, all ages. [tickets + more info]

Track Could Bend #119: An Evening of Graphic Scores co-presented with Public Library (feat. Public Library [Mira Riselli/Elisabeth Dorion/Liz Anthonisen/Pat O'Reilly/Jackson Welchner/Robert Diack] and very special guests) / Wenona Lodge 2026-08-04 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Peripheral Vision (The Adjacence [Karen Ng/Lina Allemano/Nick Fraser plus special guest Brodie West]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-04 (Tuesday). [more info]

Holy Oak Family Singers present (feat. Madeleine Ertel/Michael Davidson/Thom Gill / Alex Samaras [solo] / Nate Renner [solo] / Fan Wu & Friends) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-05 (Wednesday – early). [more info]

Free Improvisation Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Max Stover/Andrew Frost/Nick Fraser) / Water to Wine 2026-08-06 (Thursday). $PWYC. [more info]

More Noise Please x Coward Patrol present: A Fundraiser for Severe Exposure (feat. Secrétaire Particulière / Fossils / Twin Mask / Iradiated Sac / Harmpit / Miracle Blade) / BSMT254 2026-08-06 (Thursday). $17.31. [tickets + more info]

Analogues of May (Westelaken / Moriah Bailey) / Dina's Tavern 2026-08-06 (Thursday). $15. [more info]

Batuki Music presents: Habari Africa Festival (feat. Sounds of the Maghreb [Maryem Tollar/Hassan El Hadi/Fethi Nadjem/Naghmeh Farahmand] / Lorraine Klaasen / Indanga Dance / Rhythm Section) / Harbourfront Centre 2026-08-07 (Friday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]

Tania Gill presents (feat. Tania Gill/Victor Bateman/Lina Allemano) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-07 (Friday – early). [more info]

Humbucker Music Residency (feat. Humbucker Music [Nick Storring/Mira Martin-Gray/Colin Cudmore/Jason Doell] / Sandy Ewen) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-07 (Friday) [FB event]

Oval Window Records: Dual Album Release Celebration (feat. Steve Sladkowski & Joe Sorbara / NOPE [Richard Marsella & Joe Sorbara] / The Lollipop People) / The Rex 2026-08-07 (Friday – 11 p.m.)

Batuki Music presents: Habari Africa Festival (feat. Aron Nitunga / Girma Woldemichael feat. Melat Mengesha / Boblée Cirque Danse / Jonathan Nvita / ILAM / ZahraMoves / Keïla) / Harbourfront Centre 2026-08-08 (Saturday). $free, outdoors, all ages + family-friendly. [more info]

Link Music Lab: A/V Lab (feat. Dastgâmachine / Farbod Maeen / Ester Shiner / Sina Shoaie / Amir Parsa + Parallel / Ali Phi / Oyl) / 75 Pelham Av. 2025-08-08 (Saturday). $22.10/$27.65. [FB event]

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-09 (Sunday – noon). [more info]

Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / Nick Flanagan / Del Stephen / Jessie Ecklerlin / Harold's Snack Shack) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-09 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). [FB event]

Batuki Music presents: Habari Africa Festival (feat. Toronto Burundi Drummers / Boblée Danse Cirque / Soul, Folk & Sun feat. Kunle, Ṣẹwà, Dipo / Zale Seck) / Harbourfront Centre 2026-08-09 (Sunday). $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]

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Bandcamp corner:

• After a long gap, Bandcamp Friday returns this week (August 7th)! Here's a few things on my list that I've been waiting to grab:

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It happened this week...

• ...on August 8, 2017 at Matt Cohen Park.

Eric Landry - The Life I've Never Had

• ...on August 9, 2017 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

Brodie West/Reg Schwager/Marilyn Lerner/Evan Cartwright - If I Should Lose You

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Recording: Eric Landry

Artist: Eric Landry

Songs: Nightmare Train + Peaceful Sioux Village, Until...

Recorded at Recorded at Prairie Drive Park (Feast in the East 69), July 7, 2017.

Eric Landry - Nightmare Train

Eric Landry - Peaceful Sioux Village, Until...

The citified version of nature on offer in Prairie Drive Park is shaped and marked by its human inhabitants more forcibly than some far-off forest, but it still felt like a suitable space to present Eric Landry's songs and stories, which quite often draw strength and inspiration from the natural world. As the day's humidity turned toward dusk's damp, Landry let his guitar do a lot of the talking, mixing in a few more instrumentals than at his last performance in these parts. And, showing off the depth of his songbook, this set actually didn't overlap that much with that previous show — it'll be a real occasion when his long-awaited album finally emerges, and hopefully that'll give him cause to return to the city once again.

[Feast in the East will be back inside at Matt Durant Studio on Saturday, September 15th featuring some heavy weirdness from Whimm, Slurry, Cruise and Leucrocuta.]

Recording: Eric Landry

Artist: Eric Landry

Songs: unknown^* + The Better Future's Aligning + Wolf Run

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, November 15, 2017.

Eric Landry - unknown

Eric Landry - The Better Future's Aligning

Eric Landry - Wolf Run

August's Native North America Gathering was one of the musical highlights of the year, and within that stunning night, one of the biggest eye-openers was seeing Eric Landry play at (and after!) the show. Being based out of Sudbury, Landry is closer to T.O than many of the other artists who played that night, so it made sense to bring him back for a show of his own. In an early slot at The Burdock, Landry had a lot more time on stage than he got back in August, but crowd and performer were still eager to hear more.

With a unique guitar style that incorporates the sound of the sacred drum, Landry's lyrics were both apocalyptic and optimistic, drawing from his connection to the land and the forces conspiring to destroy it. With only a single (released in 1985!) to his name, Landry has a lifetime of music and stories to draw from, and the first of the night's two sets was a storyteller's travelogue of sorts, going back to some of his earliest works and tracing the inspirations and Spirit that contributed to his musical vision (and visions). The second set focused more on songs that are going to be on forthcoming debut album, so there'll hopefully be a good reason to bring him back to town soon.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Eric Landry

Artist: Eric Landry

Songs: unknown + The Life I've Never Had^*

Recorded at Matt Cohen Park, August 8, 2017.

Eric Landry - unknown

Eric Landry - The Life I've Never Had

A truly historic night, the Native North America Gathering brought together ten musicians whose early works had been a part of 2014's epic Native North America, Vol. 1 compilation. A smaller group had assembled at last summer's Winnipeg Folk festival, but this event was truly unprecedented both in scale and sheer joy-inducing wonder. Over the course of the evening, the musicians were constrained to short mini-sets, so it's no surprise that some of them had some more music to share. Closing out the night, Willie Thrasher told the crowd in Trinity-St Paul's to wait outside after the concert finished for some a special outdoor after-show, and indeed once the crowds had dispersed, a small group headed over to the corner of Bloor + Spadina and settled in for what turned out to be over an hour-plus kitchen-style hootenanny. Leland Bell, Willy Mitchell, Willie Thrasher and Eric Landry all pulled out their guitars, sang some and pitched in on each other's songs, though the latter two were the most eager to keep playing.

So many of the musicians at this concert were a revelation to see live, but getting to hear more music from Eric Landry was a real eye-opener. With his cosmic curiosity and occasional flashes of a grim ecological apocalypse, one got the sense that here was a true peer to songwriters like Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Neil Young. Based out of Sudbury, Landry is not so far away from T.O as some of the other performers at this show, so I'm glad to hear there's already people clamouring for him to get his own solo gig here in town.

[Do note that the these are rough field recordings captured on a busy street corner without amplification, so they're a little more lo-fi than usual. As for the main concert itself, the night was taped for broadcast by the CBC, so keep an eye out for news of when you can hear some pristine sounds from the night.]

^* Does anyone know the title to these? I'm somewhat confident in the second one, but not the first. Please leave a comment if you know them!