By CHERYL DUGGAN
Tegan & Sara
Toronto’s Canadian Music Week had over 120,000 fans in attendance and 833 artists showcased in over 40 venues between May 2 and May 8th, 2016. It has long been known to be the start of our music festival season. This year was no exception. Canadian Music Week keeps getting bigger and better.
Breaching Vista
This year Canadian Music Week partnered up with Hot Docs to present Music Docs at Hot Docs a series of music-focused documentaries including films such as Aim For The Roses (John Bolton, Brendan Woollard), The Wonderful World of Papa Alaev (Tal Barda, Noam Pinchas), and Gary Numan: Android in La La Land (Steve Read, Rob Alexander).
Coleman Hell
Another highlight of this years Canadian Music Week was the SiriusXM Top Comic Showcase at The Great Hall. You could gain access to the stand up routines of comedians Faisal Butt, Matt O’Brien, and last years winner Gary Seguin with the Canadian Music Week wristband and passes. Whatever you do DO NOT Youtube their performances ahead of time. Save your tears of laughter for the live performances.
Blackjack Billy
Finally. Canadian Music Week did have the mandatory addition of live musical performances. Everything from country music with the Hot Shots Showcase presented by KX Country and Boots & Hearts (where they gave out passes to the upcoming Boots & Hearts Festival), to rock music including a showcase at Sneaky Dee’s that should have been headlined by Breaching Vista (just sayin’), plus pop music with Tegan & Sara receiving top billing at the iHeartRadio Fest, and many more. There are so many activities during Canadian Music Week that if it gets much bigger I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned into Canadian Music Month!
