Blast Toronto has seen over 150 shows around town. Next year that number will grow so we can showcase where the best music is. These are not always the biggest shows like Taylor Swift, but they are musical moments that really pump the blood and open up your soul of our city. These magical moments usually happen in smaller venues and can have a deep meaningful impact on our lives. Here are my top twelve experiences of 2024.

12- Bywater Call- The Rivoli

This was my first time seeing this incredible Blues band. The show was at the Rivoli over 2 days with both new fans and dedicated followers. People came all the way from New Brunswick for this show! What made this show important is the fact that this may be one of the last really intimate shows you will see from this band. I predict bigger and better things for them in the near future.

11. Green Jelly- The Rockpile

That crazy Punk band from California brought their freak show to Toronto and played to a rabid crowd waiting to release a lot of pent-up energy. I made my way to the front of the stage with a fisheye lens camera because that was the only way to photograph the chaos that ensued over the next couple of hours. I can’t describe everything that happened, but if madness is your thing, this was Utopia!

10. William Prince- Massey Hall

When it comes to indigenous artists, William Prince, in my opinion is leading the pack with his incredible authentic lyrics and heartfelt stories. In one year, I watched him go from a two-song spot at Andy Kim’s Christmas Show, to an opening spot for Selena Ryder, to a sold-out show at Massey Hall. He even had Selena Ryder come on for a two-song spot at his show.

9. Tkaronto- TD Music hall

Speaking about the importance that indigenous artists are making today on Canadian soil, Tkaronto is a three-day festival that celebrates our indigenous artists. Blast made it out for 2 of the 3 days. Each night was packed with proud indigenous supporters and curious open-minded people wanting to understand the path of Truth and Reconciliation. This is a festival that should not be missed if you want to open yourself up to some of the best new artists this country is producing. The festival finished off with a Juno award winning artist named, Tanya Tagaq.

8. Brass Camel- Baby G

Progressive Rock is not dead. That was proven at Baby G’s with a band from Hamilton called Dreamland opening. Their style of Progressive Rock just wet our appetite for the monsters from B.C. called Brass Camel. They are big and complex and are not shy when it comes to showing off their musical muscles. When Rush retired back in 2015, it left a huge hole in the Progressive music scene and Brass camel are in the trenches trying to fill that hole and are succeeding.

7. Sultans of String- Hugh’s Room

Sultans of String brought their Caravan of various indigenous artists on the road to fulfill a burning desire. They want to bring to light the idea that Truth and Reconciliation should be a major part of Canada’s manifesto. A packed Hugh’s Room would agree. We listened to their stories with our hearts open and felt angry and even cried during the song “Lost and Found”. What we took away from the evening was hope that we have the power to make this world a better place for everybody, but we still have a lot of work to do.

6. The Calrizians- The Dakota Tavern

This was Oscar’s 50^th birthday party. He is the bass player in the band The Calrizians as well as the final band of the evening, Gomer. The audience was a little lewd and crude and probably drunk enough to get a tattoo. Oscar was feeling no pain as he plowed through two grueling sets of music while celebrating. This was the party you wanted to be at. The Calrizians are a unique surf band that really adds to the Toronto music scene. The highlight of the evening was when they pulled out a rare cover version of War Pigs by Black Sabbath. Happy Birthday Oscar!

5. Robojazz- The Emmet Ray

Mathius Fiset came to live in Toronto earlier this year. He was jamming around and put together his new band called Robojazz which debuted at the jazz club, The Emmet Ray. They have a wonderfully funky style of playing and will be playing more festivals around Canada in 2025. The key to Mathius’ success is that he has a YouTube video out called “Chick’s Pain- (Larnell Lewis one take drum cover on Drumeo) Here is the link- Mathieu Fiset – Chick’s Pain (Larnell Lewis one take drum cover on Drumeo) Make sure you go out and support this artist before he decides to live elsewhere.

4. Five Alarm Funk/Fat as Fuck- The Axis Club

Hands down the best double bill of the year! Fat as Fuck reformed after many years and gained new fans as they opened for the dirty faced fans of Five Alarm Funk. They are an intense progressive horned sectioned band that plays with fierce melodies and converts them into wiry structures of sounds. They also wear disturbing outfits that you can’t look away from.

Five alarm Funk has been trying to get a foothold with the Toronto audience for years and I think they finally succeeded. The place was sold out and I haven’t heard such a loud and wild crowd in quite some time. I even lost my voice that night from this absolutely outrageous band. I strongly urge you fans of horny music to see this band! While you are at it wash your face!

3. Kamasi Washington- History

In my opinion, Kamasi Washington is one of the best jazz musicians on the scene today. If you are into John Coltrane, then Kamasi is today’s version with his intense and beautiful sax playing. His band is well in the top percentile of great jazz musicianship. Each one of them got to do a solo which was an out of this world experience. If you love jazz, Kamasi is a force to be reckoned with.

2. Gussapolooza- Cookstown, Ontario.

Yes, I have broken the Toronto barrier, but for good reason. Many of the acts come from Toronto while others come from around Ontario and deserve to have a solid Toronto following when they play in our city. There were 40 acts and all of them deserve a heartfelt shout out. I have a hard time picking out my favourites. I am putting this out there for 2025. If you are a supporter of Indie music, this is a festival not to be missed. I am already gearing up to be there next year. It is not just the music that was awesome, but all the people who worked at the festival because they were so helpful and friendly. The crowd was also amazing because I felt I was having a Woodstock moment with everyone. It is a family friendly weekend with other programs throughout the day to keep everyone engaged. Photo below- Cudbear

Just to give you a big heads up. Mark on your calendar August 22-24, 2025, that will be the next Gussapolloza festival. Stay tuned with Blast Toronto to get early bird tickets.

1.-Godspeed You! Black Emperor- History

This was a show I was looking forward to for a few months and not only did they not disappoint, but they also reached the next level. This Montreal band use to come to Toronto and play in clubs with their unique sound. When I heard they moved from playing 888 Yonge Street to History, I thought this was too big and it will feel a little empty. Boy was I wrong. The 2500 seat capacity space was sold out and they couldn’t look more comfortable on that stage. Besides playing truly original Avante- Garde music, they usually bring a slideshow with them. The slideshow was enhanced by having live projectors with actual spools of film running while they improvised what was running while the music was playing. So, in essence you will have a different slideshow every night. It is so refreshing to see a band that will never get any commercial airtime reach a larger audience.

In a nutshell, these are the reasons why Blast Toronto will become part of this musical landscape. We have so many amazing acts that will not make it to commercial success but can become successful with the authentic choices that are created for an audience that wants something different.

Continue reading our magazine and I promise you, that you will discover your music. We are setting up a system for you to see more live music. Watch our contest page grow and look at our directory to see what is happening at your favourite club. Look at our Events Calendar to plan your next show. If you enjoy what we are doing, please buy us a coffee on our website. We do this for the love of music, and we don’t charge the artist to come out and talk about them.

Let’s make 2025 a year where music becomes more important than what is happening on the news. Music has a healing factor.