Names, of course, are important, so note well here how Bryan Bray performed this set as Cetacean, that final letter both drawing it alongside but also distinguishing it from his long-running Cetacea project. The key difference being a matter of tools more than sonic destination, with this version eschewing guitars for synths (and even a laptop!) to generate its heavy dronefields.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
[Track Could Bend will be back at Wenona Lodge on Tuesday, July 4th.]
Celebrating the release of the wonderful Hen's Teeth, Mira Martin-Gray asked along a couple peers (Del Stephen on keyb and Fahmid Nibesh on guit) to both flesh out the tunes and to find ways to dig into their experimental superstructures, letting things stretch out with languid patience. The set ended with a nod to the album's "non-song" side, asking the audience to join in on "Play each note as if it will help", whose title is drawn from its text score ("play each note as if it will help / as if it could / when it doesn’t / rest /
try again").
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
[Track Could Bend will be back at Wenona Lodge on Tuesday, July 4th.]
Another fifth-Sunday-of-the-month drone meetup brought out a mid-sized group (a dozen people) for some space-drift, spreading out around the Southern Cross.
The ensemble this time around was:
Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
Philip Hamilton - oscillator, contact mic
fuzzy - guitar, pedals
Patrick O'Reilly - circuit bent SK-1, piano
Nilan Perera - prepared guitar + slicer pedal
Ian McPhedran - guitar + pedals
Sterling McPhedran - guitar + pedals
Scott M2 - Animoog
Ron Blake - iOS apps
Sheldon - percussion+
Victor O - toy keyboard + mixer
Heraclitus Akimbo - synths
And as usual, you can stream/download the full session over on bandcamp:
[Cosmic Homeostasis will be back in the Southern Cross on the afternoon of the fifth Sunday of July — that is to say on July 30th, 2023.]
Another one of those casual recombinations that the Tranzac makes possible. On paper, you might look at this and think of it as three-quarters of Titanium Riot, but that wasn't the vibe here, especially with Ryan Driver on his street-sweeper bristle bass. And with Lina Allemano adding some metal mute-on-cymbal floor percussion in the latter piece here, there were some titillating tastes of other destinations, though ultimately host Karen Ng's sax/clarinet/laughter added the animating joie de vivre to the proceedings.
After some duo explorations, cellist Isaiah Farahbakhsh and pianist Ananya Ganesh added a wind section, with Naomi McCarroll-Butler (fipple flute, bass clarinet, alto sax) and Karen Ng (clarinet, alto sax) adding extra textures.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
Pianist Ananya Ganesh continues to forge connections in T.O, appearing here in a duo with cellist Isaiah Farahbakhsh and exploring some song-sized chamber miniatures.
You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:
[Ananya Ganesh will be performing as half of meimei (மெய்மெய்) alongside vocalist Amirtha Kidambi, opening things up at Jason Doell's album release, part of the TONE Festival this Sunday (June 18th).]
This blog's purview generally keeps things confined in the 416, but a rare exception is due to take note of Audiopollination Guelph's upcoming 24 Hour Improvisation Marathon. Conceptualized as a fundraiser to help sustain the series in its upcoming season, its home venue Silence will be hosting soundmakers from noon on July 8th to noon on July 9th. As with its regular shows (and that of its local parent series), this is a self-curated affair, so interested improvisers can check out the sign-up spreadsheet. And obviously, any donations are most welcome.
Concert announcements:
Reverb II [works by Romain Camiolo, Nasim Khorassani, Bekah Simms, Devon Osamu Tipp and Jocelyn Morlock alongside world premieres by Luke Nickel and Anthony Tan] (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective) / 918 Bathurst 2023-06-22 (Thursday). $20.00 (General Admission)/$15.00 (Arts Worker/Senior/Student). [FB event]
TONE Festival (feat. New York Review of Cocksucking / Laura Swankey / Del Stephen) / Bar Orwell 2023-06-13 (Tuesday). $14.29, 19+. [FB event]
Dun-Dun Land (feat. Dun-Dun Man) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-13 (Tuesday – early)
a Josh Cole trio + strings f/ John Oswald [Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Blake Howard/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-13 (Tuesday) [FB event]
Emergents Series (feat. Jairus Sharif/Mustafa Rafiq / Marilyn Yogarajah/Subsume/Adrian Russouw) / The Music Gallery 2023-06-14 (Wednesday). $10, all ages [FB event]
Brodie West presents (feat. Ted Crosby/Josh Cole/Blake Howard) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-14 (Wednesday – early)
Music By Harry and Furlong (feat. Daniel Wyche [solo] / The Search For Eternal Happiness [Alex Samaras/Laura Swankey/Harrison Argatoff/Patrick Smith/Jeff LaRochelle/Madeleine Ertel/Kae Murphy/Andrew Furlong/Caleb Klager/Chris Pruden/Patrick O’Reilly/Aidan McConnell/Harry Vetro]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-14 (Wednesday). $pwyc [FB event]
You in Mind (feat. Duo Cichorium / Jaz Tsui & Louis Pino) / The Music Gallery 2023-06-16 (Friday). $15; $10 for MG members, students, arts workers. [FB event]
Batuki Music Society presents: Lemen CD Release Concert (feat. Fantahun Shewankochew) / Alliance Française 2023-06-16 (Friday). $25. [more info]
$™ Presents: The Wrong Show (feat. Astrolope / Infinite Monotremes / JazzTobacco / Popular Narcotics / Everyone's Intestines) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-17 (Saturday) [FB event]
TONE Festival (feat. Jason Doell [becoming in shadows ~ of being touched LP Release!] / New Hermitage) / Array Space 2023-06-18 (Sunday). $14.29, all ages. [FB event]
Happy Sundays (feat. FRAN / Motorists / Curt James) / The Baby G 2023-06-18 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]
Bandcamp corner:
Congrats to Pantayo, whose second full-length Ang Pagdaloy was named Bandcamp's album of the day on its release. Regular followers of this space will not be surprised it also gets a hearty recommendation from me.
It happened this week...
...on June 17, 2018 at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival).
This no-longer-new residency from the folks at Idée Fixe and Ansible Editions aims to present musics from and adjacent to the sibling labels, bridging the former's "rock" action and the latter's more experimental outlook. It's always a joy to hear Carl Didur in action, and something of a rarity to hear him playing piano, so this was a special treat. The other extended piece he played was more in the floridly "romantic" mode that I remember him tackling before, but this one has more of a Lubomyr Melnyk thing going on. (He'd also shift over to taishōgoto for the last pice, with guitarist Tobin Hopwood, the evening's other performer, joining in to dig deep into some Funkadelic.)
[The Idée Fixe/Ansible Editions residency will be back in the Southern Cross next week (June 15th), though at this writing I haven't seen an announcement of who's playing yet.]
This no-longer-new residency from the folks at Idée Fixe and Ansible Editions aims to present musics from and adjacent to the sibling labels, bridging the former's "rock" action and the latter's more experimental outlook. This night started with Possum's Tobin Hopwood in solo mode, building some echoplexed psychedelic structures while some excellent old-school projections morphed behind him.
[The Idée Fixe/Ansible Editions residency will be back in the Southern Cross next week (June 15th), though at this writing I haven't seen an announcement of who's playing yet.]
Good news to hear that regularly scheduled concerts are returning to Burdock's Music Hall, a cozy and good-sounding room. Keep an eye out here for upcoming events in the space.
Meanwhile, for reasons that are completely opaque to me, I was kicked off Instagram — some algorithm thought my postings were too much like bots, I guess — so apologies to anyone that found that to be a useful spot to keep up with postings here.
And also meanwhile, if you'd rather see me in person anyway, there's an unusual confluence of things this week. Besides the regular first-Tuesday-of-the-month hang at Wenona for Track Could Bend tomorrow, I'll also be guest-hosting Audiopollination (Friday at Array) and Ayal Senior's Tranzac residency (Sunday at 2:30). Come hang out!
Happy Sundays (feat. FRAN / Motorists / Curt James) / The Baby G 2023-06-18 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]
Toronto Jazz Fest (feat. Aline's étoile magique [Aline Homzy/Michael Davidson/Marito Marques/Dan Fortin/Thom Gill]) / [corporate name] Village Stage 2023-06-28 (Wednesday – 4:30 p.m.). $free, outdoors. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Tafelmusik) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-06-29 (Thursday). $free, outdoors. [more info]
Avalon Tassonyi [album release] (No Frills / The Royal Family) / Monarch Tavern 2023-06-29 (Thursday). $19.48, 19+. [FB event]
July Long Weekend (feat. OKAN) / Harbourfront Centre – Stage in the Park 2023-07-02 (Sunday). $free, outdoors. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Nick Fraser Quartet [Nick Fraser/Tony Malaby/Andrew Downing/Rob Clutton]) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-07-30 (Sunday – 4 p.m.). $free, outdoors. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Aline Morales) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-08-03 (Thursday). $free, outdoors. [more info]
Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Waleed Abdulhamid) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-08-13 (Sunday – 4 p.m.). $free, outdoors. [more info]
Shows this week:
Track Could Bend #80 (feat. Dan Pitt & Alexei Orechin / Lima/Roblin/Hall) / Wenona Lodge 2023-06-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
TONE Festival (feat. Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog / Andy Moor / Adversarial Networks) / The Great Hall 2023-06-07 (Wednesday). $28.27, 19+. [FB event]
Cheryl Duvall [world premiere performance of Patrick Giguère's "Intimes exubérances"] / Canadian Music Centre 2023-06-08 (Thursday). $20 general/$15 arts worker, students, seniors. [FB event]
Music and the Shadow People [sneak peak of a live radio play performance written by William Parker with immersive multi-channel sound design by Andrew O’Connor] (feat. William Parker/Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine/Anita Katakkar/Mike Rinaldi/Trent Pardy/Gary Kirkham/Rosina Kazi) / Array Space 2023-06-08 (Thursday). $20 or PWYC (cash only).
TONE Festival: Telephone Explosion x International Anthem Records Showcase (feat. Badge Époque Ensemble / Ben Lamar Gay / Masahiro Takahashi) / Nineteen Seventy Eight 2023-06-09 (Friday). $22.89, all ages. [FB event]
Audiopollination (feat. Zoë Alexis-Abrams/David Sait/Marilyn Yogarajah / Luke Roberts/Rod Campbell/Rosie Cochrane / Grace Scheele/Martin van de Ven / Michael Palumbo/TBA) / Array Space 2023-06-09 (Friday). $10 or PWYC. [FB event]
Transmit Presents @ Do West Fest 2023 (feat. Godcaster / Shrewd / Scooter Jay / Weird Nightmare) / The Garrison Outdoor Stage 2023-06-09 (Friday). $free, outdoors. [FB event]
Transmit Presents @ Do West Fest 2023 (feat. Toronto All Star Steel Orchestra / Vikki Minor / Night Finger / (((Hastings))) / Gossamer Blue / Roach / Theo Vandenhoff / Ducks Ltd. / Slash Need / Cartel Madras) / The Garrison Outdoor Stage 2023-06-10 (Saturday). $free, outdoors. [FB event]
Michael Palumbo/Zoma Tochi/Hiro / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-10 (Saturday)
Jessie Dara (Emilie Mover) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-11 (Sunday) [FB event]
A return apearance from this... well, call it more of a "concept" than a "band", with Karen Ng gathering together as many horn players as can be wrangled. The twist here was some extra spacialization, with the crew (on this night: Ng plus Leland Whitty, Kae Murphy, Brodie West, Jay Hay and Ted Crosby) spreading along the length of the room, giving some incredible in-person surround-sound vibes. (The stereoification on the recording here can only give a taste of how lovely it was!)
You can also check out some footage of the (nearly) full set from Many Penguins People over on youtube (though do note it was impossible to get more than half the group in the frame at any given time!):
Invited to make some basement sounds at Karen Ng's monthly, this pair first explored in duo format with guitar, harmonica, mandolin, and guiro before inviting the host to join in to close things out.
You can also check out some footage of the full set over on youtube:
Music and the Shadow People [sneak peak of a live radio play performance written by William Parker with immersive multi-channel sound design by Andrew O’Connor] (feat. William Parker/Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine/Anita Katakkar/Mike Rinaldi/Trent Pardy/Gary Kirkham/Rosina Kazi) / Array Space 2023-06-08 (Thursday). $20 or PWYC (cash only).
Audiopollination (feat. Zoë Alexis-Abrams/David Sait/Marilyn Yogarajah / Luke Roberts/Rod Campbell/Rosie Cochrane / Grace Scheele/Martin van de Ven / Michael Palumbo/TBA) / Array Space 2023-06-09 (Friday). $10 or PWYC. [FB event]
Spore Wind [compositions by Raven Chacon, Rohan Chander, Clara Iannotta, Bekah Simms, Christina Volpini] (feat. Continuum Contemporary Music / chik white) / The Music Gallery 2023-06-09 (Friday). $20 regular ; $15 seniors/MG members/arts workers; $10 student. [FB event]
Jessie Dara (Emilie Mover) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-11 (Sunday) [FB event]
Emergents Series (feat. Jairus Sharif / Mustafa Rafiq) / The Music Gallery 2023-06-14 (Wednesday). $10, all ages [more info]
Music By Harry and Furlong (feat. Daniel Wyche [solo] / The Search For Eternal Happiness [Alex Samaras/Laura Swankey/Harrison Argatoff/Patrick Smith/Jeff LaRochelle/Madeleine Ertel/Kae Murphy/Andrew Furlong/Caleb Klager/Chris Pruden/Patrick O’Reilly/Aidan McConnell/Harry Vetro]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-14 (Wednesday). $pwyc [FB event]
You in Mind (feat. Duo Cichorium / Jaz Tsui & Louis Pino) / The Music Gallery 2023-06-16 (Friday). $15; $10 for MG members, students, arts workers. [FB event]
DIG presents (feat. Hot Garbage / Burner / Scooter Jay) / The Horseshoe 2023-06-22 (Thursday). $25.29. [FB event]
Intersection Festival 2023 Day 1: "The Last Symphony" (feat. William Basinski / Kuuma) / St. Anne's Anglican Church 2023-09-01 (Friday). $39.02; $28.27 student/senior/arts worker. [FB event]
Shows this week:
Rob Clutton Trio [Karen Ng/Nick Fraser/Rob Clutton] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-05-30 (Tuesday)
Not A Band / Houndstooth 2023-05-31 (Wednesday). $free. [FB event]
Martin Rev (Scarlett Rose) / The Garrison 2023-06-01 (Thursday). $42.35, 19+. [FB event]
TONE Festival (feat. RAWL [Jack Wright/Ben Bennett/Evan Lipson/Zach Darrup] / Naomi McCarroll-Butler / Unguent) / Tibet Street Records 2023-06-02 (Friday). $14.29, all ages. [FB event]
Liquid Architecture - An evening of solo acoustic guitar (feat. Brian Abbott/Ryan Kinney/Kurt Newman/Patrick O’Reilly) / Mischief Makers 2023-06-03 (Saturday). $10 in advance/$12 at the door. [FB event]
Bandcamp corner:
A slice of essential local music is back in circulation with a new resissue of One Hundred Dollars' debut album Forest of Tears, with both a vinyl repress and digital/bandcamp version available. The first flowering of Simone Schmidt's emerging songwriting prowess and a crack band using country music forms to explore hard times in the big city and beyond. I recommend reading Schmidt's recollections here. (And meanwhile, it's hard to understate how much this album, this band, these songs were a foundational element of this blog — this was the sort of thing that I wanted to hear, wanted to document, wanted to share.)
And as a tasty companion to that, here's a hitherto-unreleased single from the folowing year with One Hundred Dollars and Rick White (who produced Forest of Tears), with Schmidt taking the vocals on a cover of White's "Pain" while the band backs White on a cover of "Nights in White Satin" on the flip.
(And if you hadn't realized, the whole Blue Fog Recordings discography is now on bandcamp, so you have no excuse to be listening to essentials like Wyrd Visions' Half Eaten Guitar and hard-to-find rarities like his shared 12" with Castlemusic.)
Good news from over at the Canadian Music Centre with word that Karen Ng has been selected as new the curator for the CMC Presents concert series. Expect cool things to be happening in the Chalmers Performance Space!
Meanwhile, outgoing curator Nick Storring (whose last curated show will be at the CMC this week, as mentioned in the listings below) will be presenting a workshop entitled "Getting you and your music out there", examining "the ins and outs of publicity and promotion for independent composers and musicians trying to build a name for themselves in 2023." The event at the CMC on Friday (May 26th) is free with RSVP.
Liquid Architecture: An evening of solo acoustic guitar (feat. Brian Abbott/Ryan Kinney/Kurt Newman/Patrick O’Reilly) / Mischief Makers 2023-06-03 (Saturday). $10 in advance/$12 at the door. [FB event]
Track Could Bend #80 (feat. Dan Pitt & Alexei Orechin / Lima/Roblin/Hall) / Wenona Lodge 2023-06-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
TONE Festival (feat. Caroline Davis' Alula / Madeleine Ertel Trio [Madeleine Ertel/Steven Noronha/Jonathan Chapman]) / The Rex 2023-06-25 (Sunday). $27.12. [FB event]
Venus Fest presents: Year 8 LP release (feat. Queen Of Swords / CJ Wiley / Ivy Mairi) / Cecil Community Centre 2023-07-07 (Friday). $25.57. [FB event]
Shows this week:
Estonian Music Week: Jazz Stage (feat. Kirke Karja Trio / Tania Gill Quartet / Marilyn Lerner & Matt Brubeck) / St. Anne's Anglican Church 2023-05-25 (Thursday). $27.96. [FB event]
CMC Presents (feat. Roa Lee / Araz Salek) / CMC Chalmers Performance Space 2023-05-25 (Thursday). General Admission: $15 Advance / $20 at the door, CMC Members and Arts Workers: $12 Advance / $15 at the door, Students. $10 anytime. [more info]
West End Phoenix presents WEPFEST: 3 Day Spring Fundraiser! (feat. John Southworth and The South Seas [album launch!]) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-05-25 (Thursday). $22.60 [more info]
c_RL (c_RL with Wenderly Park / Fish with an "F" [Brian Abbott/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski]) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2023-05-26 (Friday – 6:00 p.m.). $PWYC. [FB event]
All Set Presents: Music by Mike Smith (feat. Mike Smith/Jake Oelrichs/Laura Bates/Kayla Milmine/Brodie West) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-05-26 (Friday – early!). $pwyc.
Westelaken [I am Steaming Mushrooms album release!] (Little Kid [solo] / Only God Forgives) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-05-26 (Friday). $15 or PWYC @ door. [FB event]
Exit Points #38 (feat. magfoto/Delta-Sine/Kavi/Hrysovalanti/Sarah Imrisek / Youssef Bassit/Gayle Young/Astrolope/Spencer LeVon/Michael Palumbo / “Switchemups”) / Array Space 2023-05-26 (Friday). $20 at the door. [FB event]
Bill Gilliam/Eugene Martynec/Bill McBirnie [Outside The Maze album release!] / Annette Studios 2023-05-25 (Friday). $15 / PWYC. [FB event]
The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-05-26 (Friday)
The AMBiENT PiNG: Drone Day 2023/DRONE:KLUB:35 [live community drone event: droners, friends and audience are all welcome] (feat. dreamSTATE & friends) / Long & McQuade Clinic Hall 2023-05-27 (Saturday – 6 to 8 p.m.). $free. [FB event]
West End Phoenix presents WEPFEST: 3 Day Spring Fundraiser! (feat. Queer Songbook Orchestra) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-05-27 (Saturday). $22.60 [more info]
The Nilan Perera Quintet [Nilan Perera/Alex Fournier/Rick Sacks/Jim Lewis/Naomi McCarroll-Butler] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-05-27 (Saturday) [FB event]
It's always a delight to be able to catch the Labyrinth Ensemble in full flight. Once more, this concert was based on the principle of bringing in a world-class expert (in this case, Greek mandolinist Evgenios Voulgaris) to spend some intensive rehearsal time with the group before presenting what they've learned to the public. Voulgaris brought a selection of 17th-century works collected by Romanian prince Dimitrie Cantemir, showcasing the cultural connections being forged in the court of the Ottoman Empire. The show was presented as a pair of suites, each united by a particular makam, or mode, with the ensemble seguing from one piece to the next by honing in on individual members, giving everyone space in the foreground before showing how their sound is woven into the larger perspective. The first piece here highlights MFS fave Naomi McCarroll-Butler's saxophone work while the latter is a brand new piece (in the combiniation-of-things "Toronto mode") that Voulgaris wrote for the group while in the city.
The full ensemble for this show was: Evgenios Voulgaris – oud and yaylı tambur; Sadaf Amini – santur; Yang Chen – riqq, bendir; Burak Ekmekci – baglama; Michael K. Harrist – yayli tanbur; Pedram Khavarzamini – tombak; Roa Lee – gayageum; Naomi McCarroll-Butler – saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet; John McKinnon – electric bass; Scott Peterson – upright bass; Araz Salek – tar; Marta Solek – cello and greek lyra; Tev Stevig – tanbur and oud; Aysel Taghi-Zada – violin; Amely Zhou – erhu.
[Labyrinth Ontario will be hosting an instrument library at City Hall as part of Doors Open Toronto next weekend (May 27th + 28th). Visitors are welcome to come by all weekend and explore the space and hear demonstrations!]
*As mentioned above, this is a segment of the set-long suite of ussak music. Please leave a comment in you know the name(s) of the partricular piece(s)!
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.
Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!
Ministry of Phonic Services presents: Back to School Field Trip [debut screening of Otherwise by Mike Filippov] / "Park" 2026-09-22 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [more info]
Ministry of Phonic Services presents: Back to School Field Trip ["a festival of outdoor experimental sounds and actions"] (feat. HAHAHAHAHAHA / shemona / quivering / Emergency Euphoria) / "Highway" 2026-09-23 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [more info]
Mike DeiCont Trio feat. Eric West & Leland Whitty / Sellers & Newel 2026-09-24 (Thursday). $20 minimum donation. [FB event]
The Living Room Sessions #4 (feat. Dorky & Best [Germaine Liu/Steph Chua/Tilman Lewis] / G.Mark Weston & Germaine Liu) / Annette Studios 2026-09-24 (Thursday). $15 or pwyc, all ages. [more info]
ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Colin Fisher/Andrew Frost/Aidan Miller) / Water to Wine 2026-09-24 (Thursday). $pwyc
CCMC [Cheryl O/John Oswald/Christine Duncan/Mani Mazinani/Gord Monahan] / Array Space 2026-09-24 (Thursday). $pwyc, livestream available [more info]
Karen Ng presents (feat. Karen Ng & Maxwell Stover / Drew Wesely) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-09-24 (Thursday). [more info]
Exit Points #76 (feat. Josh Sparks/Nico Newton/Aranya Khurana/Elysha Vorstenbosch / Sarah Mullins/Ron Johnston/Arianna Rueda/Michael Palumbo/Reagan Patrick Mitchell) / Array Space 2026-09-25 (Friday). $17.52 (early bird), $22.89 (advance), $28.27 (general). [tickets + more info]
Ministry of Phonic Services presents: Back to School Field Trip ["a festival of outdoor experimental sounds and actions"] (feat. SlowPitchSound / Fleshtone Aura & Sandro Perri / Gayle Young & Reinhard Reitzenstein / tête à tête [Philippe Melanson & Matthew Pencer]) / "UFO" 2026-09-25 (Friday). $pwyc. [more info]
The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-09-25 (Friday) [FB event]
Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Picastro [Double on Time album release] / Bernice / Granny Smith) / Gloves Up Boxing Gym 2026-09-26 (Saturday). $28.27, all ages. [FB event]
Imaginary North and The AMBiENT PiNG present Ambient Afternoon (feat. Jessica Deutsch / Little Jim / R Grunwald / SIREN) / Society Clubhouse 2026-09-27 (Sunday – 2 p.m.). $11.97 (advance), $15 (door), fully accessible + family-friendly. [FB event]
Maggie Keogh/Ryan Driver/Max Donaldson/Blake Howard / Sellers and Newel 2026-09-27 (Sunday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Brown Dolly and Friends (feat. Brown Dolly/Michael Palumbo/Laura Gillis/Michelangelo Iaffaldano) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-09-27 (Sunday). $pwyc. [more info]
Soundstreams Encounters: Nagoya Marimbas [featuring Steve Reich’s "Mallet Quartet" and "Nagoya Marimbas", plus works by Ann Southam and Juri Seo (feat. Kairos Percussion Quartet with Aerin Cho) / Hugh's Room 2026-09-29 (Tuesday). $free with reservation. [more info]
ESP Free Jazz Thursdays (feat. Brent Tanemura/Lauchlin Wood/Brodie West/Jake Bikay/Mateos Labbé-Phelan) / Water to Wine 2026-10-01 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]
Imaginary North and The AMBiENT PiNG present (feat. Cloud Circuit / Metric Time Ensemble / biG kNiFE) / Annette Studios 2026-10-01 (Thursday). $12.67 (advance) / $15 (door), all ages. [tickets + more info]
Project Nowhere × Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Horse Lords / Common Earth Mineral / Stefana Fratila) / The Garrison 2026-10-01 (Thursday). $32.31, 19+. [FB event]
Liquid Architecture: Guitar Night (feat. Lex Feathers / Aranya Khurana / Colin James Gibson / Ryan Kinney) / St. Matthew's Clubhouse 2026-10-03 (Saturday). $10 (cash or e-transfer). [FB event]
PORTALZ album release concert (feat. Marbyllia [Margaret Maria & Bill Gilliam] / Margaret Maria [solo]) / Array Space 2026-10-04 (Sunday). $30 (includes CD). [FB event]
Steve Reich at 90! (feat. Soindstreams) / Koerner Hall 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). $35-$94.75. [more info]
Track Could Bend #121 (feat. Shawn Will / Benny Liquid [Nü Creature + Zachary George] / Nina Boujee) / Wenona Lodge 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Raybody (Jackie West / Luke Kuplowsky) / Dina's Tavern 2026-10-06 (Tuesday). [more info]
Idée Fixe Records 15 (feat. Jennifer Castle / Isla Craig / Cormac Culkeen with Michael Cloud Duguay / Alex Lukashevsky / Kyla Marlena / Potions / Roy / Joseph Shabason / Bry Webb) / St. Stephen-in-the-Fields 2026-10-13 (Tuesday). $26.93. [tickets + more info]
X Avant XXI: Memory Mannnnn, Night 1: Ghost Grain (feat. Ava Mendoza / Andrew Noseworthy & Grace Scheele) / First Unitarian Church 2026-10-14 (Wednesday). $22.14/$27.29/$33.47. [tickets + more info]
Funz Mini-tour/Ur Audio-Visual label showcase (feat. M. Mucci / Bird City / The Golden Funz) / The Keating Channel Pub & Grill 2026-10-14 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
X Avant XXI: Memory Mannnnn, Night 2: Flashback (feat. Sonic Bikes / Bilal Nasser & Ensemble) / First Unitarian Church 2026-10-15 (Thursday). $22.14/$27.29/$33.47. [tickets + more info]
X Avant XXI: Memory Mannnnn, Night 3: Ancient Circuitry (feat. Mani Mazinani's Solar Organ Ensemble / For The Youth: Reilluminated) / First Unitarian Church 2026-10-16 (Friday). $22.14/$27.29/$33.47. [tickets + more info]
Experimental Link Series: Strings of Iran (feat. Hossein Behroozinia/Mehdi Rostami/Pooyan Ranaei/Bamdad Fotouhi) / Trinity Presbyterian Church 2026-10-24 (Saturday). $43.63. [tickets + more info]
Soundstreams Encounters: Violins Unbound [works by André Ristic, John Beckwith, Chris Paul Harman, Parisa Sabet, Ana Sokolović] (feat. Judith Fliedl & Roan Ma) / Hugh's Room 2026-11-02 (Monday). $free with reservation. [more info]
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Weird Nightmare [Hoopla record release shows]) / Osler Records 2026-11-18&19 (Wednesday & Thursday). $24.94, 19+. [tickets + more info]
Mike DeiCont & Dan Fortin / Sellers and Newel 2026-11-25 (Wednesday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Marilyn Lerner & Matt Brubeck / Sellers and Newel 2026-11-26 (Thursday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Soundstreams Encounters: Orison [a new music theatre work-in-progress featuring the ondes Martenot] (feat. Daniel Áñez & James O’Callaghan) / Hugh's Room 2026-11-30 (Monday). $free with reservation. [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)
Andre Ethier (Cows in Rain / Eliza Niemi) / Dina's Tavern 2026-07-05 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #118 (feat. Ubersuck / Mike Gennaro / Wilderness Adventure Ride) / Wenona Lodge 2026-07-07 (Tuesday)
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday)
Ayal Senior and Friends (feat. Country Phasers / Meggie Remy / Nick Flanagan / Heraclitus Akimbo) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-12 (Sunday)
Rebecca Hennessy's Singer-Songwriter Circle (feat. Rebecca Hennessy/Michael Herring/Felicity Williams/Patrick O'Reilly) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-19 (Sunday)
The Fiver Trois (Isla & The Sorry Brothers) / Dina's Tavern 2025-07-24 (Friday)
Jennifer Castle (Potions) / The Garrison 2025-07-25 (Saturday)
Heraclitus Akimbo (Hoover Party / Del Stephen / Hex-A-Decimal × Leucrocuta) / The Sun Room at 918 Bathurst 2025-07-26 (Sunday)
Kathryn Merriam with Bea Labikova/Raphael Roter/Heather Saumer / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-29 (Wednesday)
The Ryan Driver Sextet With Thom Gill As Ryan Driver / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-07-31 (Friday)
Track Could Bend #119: An Evening of Graphic Scores co-presented with Public Library (feat. Public Library with Roa Lee and Alison Melville) / Wenona Lodge 2026-08-04 (Tuesday)
Humbucker Music Residency (feat. Humbucker Music / Sandy Ewen) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-07 (Friday)
new works for improvising musicians (feat. Josh Cole/Lina Allemano/John Oswald/Nick Storring/Owen Kurtz) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-08-10 (Monday)
Track Could Bend #120 (feat. Dave Grenon's Indistinctive Gait w/ Ayesha Lye / Caution Wet Floor Signs) / Wenona Lodge 2026-09-01 (Tuesday)
Equinox and Solstice Residency (feat. Ghostlight) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-09-05 (Saturday)
Ministry of Phonic Services presents: Back to School Field Trip: Dome (feat. Brandon Auger / Ben Grossman / Fahmid Nibesh) / CNE Bandshell 2026-09-17 (Thursday)
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