We've been waiting since the summer of 2019 for our Hillside fix. It's been a long time coming, but it was definitely worth it. It felt sooooo good to be back on the Hillside grounds with a community I've missed over the past years.
Here are links to each artist's post featuring photos, a few quick thoughts and music from the artists.
Dan Mangan and his band headlined the main stage at Hillside 2022. Dan's a mainstay of Canadian music and had the crowd loving every minute of it. I think the bugs swarming the stage loved the music, too.
Dan Mangan and his band had the ever-coveted 4:20 set time during NXNE's Festival within a Festival at The Portlands in Toronto on June 18. I first caught Dan Mangan perform during the Indie 88 first birthday party back in fall of 2014. Those pics are here.
Dan and the band opened with my favourite Dan Mangan song, "Road Regrets" from 2009's Nice, Nice, Very Nice. They moved from there into "Post War Blues" and a set of moody indie rock. This included "Race to the Bottom" and "Whistleblower" from their recently released surprise EP called Unmake, and they closed with "New Skies" from Club Meds.
North By Northeast (NXNE) and Budweiser have just announced the first acts confirmed for the NXNE Port Lands, taking place June 17-18, 2016 in Toronto. Ghostface Killah, Shamir, Daniel Caesar, and Mick Jenkins will perform on Friday, June 17, and Father John Misty, Mother Mother, Dan Mangan, The Zolas and The Devin Cuddy Band with special guest Jim Cuddy will appear on Saturday, June 18.
NXNE had previously announced that for this year, they were adding a major outdoor festival experience at the Port Lands, a new Interactive, Music and Gaming Conference at the Ted Rogers School of Management with location sponsor Ryerson University, and a new format for the NXNE Yonge-Dundas Square take-over to the 2016 Festival.
The Port Lands, located at Cherry and Commissioners Street, will be the home of a major festival hub that will reflect the spirit of NXNE. The ticketed “festival within a festival” will feature live music from discovery bands, artists on the cusp of glory, and stellar headliners creating the soundtrack to this immersive experience that will include art installations, a convoy of food trucks and you-had-to-be-there moments in a convenient location.
In addition to the new two-day outdoor experience, NXNE will continue to program events in key Toronto clubs and venues, in partnership with Collective Concerts, such as Lee's Palace, The Mod Club, and Danforth Music Hall from June 15-19.
NXNE Club Land has confirmed performances by The Motorleague, Adam Baldwin, Birds of Bellwoods, and Jesse Mac Cormack. NXNE Club Land will also host an Indigenous music showcase, co-presented by iNATIVEfest and Gunner Records, featuring Stevie Salas and Bernard Fowler in The IMF's, Shawnee, Mariam, and DJ Shub at The Great Hall.
All NXNE Club Land tickets, and NXNE Port Lands single day, weekend and VIP passes will be on sale on Friday, April 29 at 10am EST through TicketFly at nxne.com/tickets/.
Previously announced acts as part of NXNE Club Land from June 13-19, 2016 include: A-WA; Bad Sports; The Beatdown; Bertrand Berlin; Big Eyes; Big Ups; Bionic; Brains; Bry Webb & Providers; Cold Specks; DIANA; Danny Rebel & the KGB; Dig It Up!; Duotang; Eagulls; Escondido; Eternal Sleep; Full of Hell; God's Hate; The Hunna; The Joy Formidable; Kamasi Washington; Kevin Morby; King Khan and The Shrines; K-Man & the 45s; Mikey Erg; Moving Units; Nails; NQ Arbuckle; Pere Ubu; Prozzak; Radioactivity; SATE; Screaming Females; Shred Kelly; The So So Glos; Stonefield; Sun K; USA Out of Vietnam; The Worriers; and The Yardlets.
Click through on the hyperlinked artist names above for my concert photos of these acts.
Here are some of the acts that I'm most looking forward to covering, along with the inevitable new discoveries that festivals like this bring.
Field Trip is back for its third year at Fort York / Garrison Common in Toronto on June 6 and 7. As usual, it's a fantastic line-up of bands covering a wide range of genres. Check out some of the acts I'm most looking forward to, get excited and get your tickets. They're on sale now.
On September 13, local Toronto radio station Indie 88.1 celebrated a year on the air with a birthday party at The Opera House. The on-air personalities were there along with a big baby, cupcakes, the obligatory singing of "Happy Birthday" and loot bags at the end.
Three amazing Canadian artists graced the stage that night: Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, The Darcys and Lowell. This post is on Dan Mangan + Blacksmith's performance.
Dan Mangan has been part of my music library for years, starting with his 2009 release Nice, Nice, Very Nice. This was my first time catching him live. It was a fun show with everyone in the band, especially the guitar player, putting on an energetic performance. I had to wait until the encore for my personal fave "Road Regrets". I guess that's what they call saving the best for last.
Once again, I didn't do a good job of keeping track of what the band played. Here are some great Dan Mangan tunes for your listening pleasure:
"Basket"
"Oh Fortune"
"Forgettery"
"About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All"
Okay, I get that it's my own fault for having an iTunes library with these songs in it, but sometimes I've got to laugh at the juxtapositions my smart playlists serve up. Here's a recent set of tunes:
Frente, with their cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle"
Congratulations to Dan Mangan on his Juno win. Overall, it wasn't too bad a Junos this year. We got wins from Dan, Feist and City & Colour. Too bad about a christmas album winning best album. Seems to me it's an indicator of a dismal year in music and/or a really bland voting pool. I haven't heard it, but I can't imagine a christmas album being the best thing released in the entire year in Canada.
Oh well, at least we get a great song from Dan - "Rows of Houses" from his latest, Oh Fortune.
Dan Mangan plays a type of music that's usually a little mellow for me. However, as you know, I'm all about the passion. And Dan Mangan does exude a certain understated enthusiasm that I enjoy. Here are a couple of videos from his acclaimed album Nice, Nice, Very Nice. I'd have to agree that it is.
