Festival season is back in full force. Later than we like, ADDICTED kicked it off in Québec City at Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ). Each year, FEQ attracts thousands of local and international crowds to the Plains of Abraham. The festival truly has something for everyone with a lineup full of different genres, local artists, emerging talent, and international superstars. This July marked a celebratory return for the festival. ADDICTED was lucky enough to catch Sum 41, Rage Against the Machine, Half Moon Run, Garbage, Alexisonfire, Walk the Moon, The OBGMs, Renforshort, Walk Off the Earth, and July Talk this…
Author: Cassandra Popescu
Each summer, Festival d’été de Québec brings 11 days of live music to Quebec City. The lineup always features a variety of international big-name headliners, popular local artists, and talented emerging artists from all over Canada. With 11 days of action and a drive or train ride away from Toronto or Montreal, the festival is the perfect getaway for music lovers. With Festival d’été de Québec’s live return in 2022, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite artists we can’t wait to check out at the festival. The OBGMs Canadian punk band The OBGMs has been making waves in…
K. Flay brought the Inside Voices, Outside Voices tour to Toronto at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on June 23. The last time we spoke with K. Flay in June 2021, we discussed the amount of energy and noise in the tracks that made up the Inside Voices EP and what it would be like to experience those tracks in a live setting, “This body of music that I’m putting out and the music I’m working on beyond that is heavy and very energetic,” said K. Flay, “So I’m excited to start getting really creative with the setlist to see how…
AURORA brought her ethereal pop performance to History in Toronto as part of the Gods We Can Touch Tour on May 29, 2022. Released in January 2022, the LP is an otherworldly, expressive album that draws you in to mystical stories and soundscapes. With AURORA’s grand sound and floating vocals, it’s easy to feel you’re being pulled into a fantasy world whenever you listen to her music. But while watching her live, I quickly realized that AURORA’s music is about her musings of our very real world, and embracing the ups and downs of it all. Themes throughout the night…
Following the release of his 2021 mixtape, The Florist, Mauvey continues his message of distributing love with The King, an inspiring and uplifting track championing equality and respect for each other. “Throughout history ‘Kings’ (men) have been the most important people, the most protected people and the most respected people,” says Mauvey, “I wanted to write a song tearing that apart. THE KING is a redistribution of power and respect to everyone, especially the immensely powerful women we have in our world.” We caught up with Mauvey to dive deeper into the narrative he’s created in The King and learn more about…
They don’t call it Canada’s biggest night in music for no reason. The 51st Annual JUNO Awards made its return to Toronto, live and in-person, for a truly exhilarating show on May 15, 2022. Leading up to the big finale, local showcases took over the city highlighting Canadian talent as part of JUNO Week Events. We were thrilled to take part in the whole process, celebrate Canadian music, and kick-off festival season with a bang. Charlotte Cardin performs a pop-up set at Union Station Our JUNO Week experience kicked off with an acoustic set from Charlotte Cardin who went on to…
Australian rock group Gang of Youths shook the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on May 6, 2022. I had first heard about Gang of Youths from a number of music-savvy friends, so I was excited to finally have the opportunity to see them live, especially following the release of their latest album Angel in Realtime. Full of honest and cinematic-sounding tracks, Angel in Realtime is a body of work that begs to be experienced in large venues, with the echo of a crowd singing it back. Seeing the band bring the album to life at Danforth Music Hall did not…
Multi-talented singer/songwriter mxmtoon hit the stage at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on May 4, 2022, as part of the Rising tour, supporting the release of her forthcoming album (out May 20). mxmtoon crafts relatable pop songs with clever, honest lyrics and vivid storytelling. The young singer started with humble beginnings writing ukulele tunes in her bedroom and has now amassed billions of streams. As a vocalist, mxmtoon has obvious talent. With a clear vocal tone and an expressive stage presence, mxmtoon’s performance seemed effortless, whether she was crooning the soft acoustic tune i feel like chet or belting out sustained notes…
Hailing from Austin, Texas, indie-pop group Hovvdy hit the stage at Baby G in Toronto on May 1, 2022, as part of their True Love tour. Hovvdy’s sound has a compelling softness to it, and even for the new listener, their music feels deeply familiar. This translated effortlessly into their live show, with the sold-out venue feeling like a gathering among close friends. While Hovvdy’s recorded music makes for comforting, easy listening, they brought another level of energy to their live show that had the crowd bopping and singing along all night. Nashville singer-songwriter Molly Parden opened the show with a…
On April 27, 2022, iconic Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire took to the stage at HISTORY, one of Toronto’s newest live music venues. The free concert celebrated the return to live music in a slick new venue and kicked off a multi-year partnership between SiriusXM Canada and Live Nation Canada. I was lucky enough to check out the show in style from the lounge area of HISTORY, an upper balcony area that’s perfect for elder emos who still want to see their favourite bands, but don’t have the mosh pit abilities they possessed in their youth (AKA me). The show was…
Montreal Soul and R&B singer Léonie Gray has released her debut album Who? a collection of gritty, groovy, and honest tracks exploring themes of mental health, interpersonal relationships, sexuality, and personal introspection. The album documents part of Léonie’s twenties, and the knowledge and self-awareness that personal reflection brings. “I wish for people who relate to my music and topics, to know they’re not alone…I want people to feel seen and heard in some way,” says Léonie. Along with the album, the singer released a video for her single Slitted Tongue, featuring burlesque dancer Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière. We caught up with Léonie…
Montreal-based singer-songwriter Emi Jeen released No Emotion = No Tomorrow, an edgy pop track tackling the pitfalls of the modern dating world. The track is a catchy anthem for anyone who’s ever been disappointed in the never-ending game of swiping left and right to find love. “Have you been “ghosted” before? I’m so tired of seeing so many of my friends feeling like “s**t” cuz this guy or girl they were seeing stopped responding out of the blue,” shares Emi. “I also once was dating a guy that told me that if we wouldn’t be together tomorrow he would move…
Toronto-based contemporary folk artist Sarah Hiltz has released her latest album, Calm Fury, an eclectic collection of tracks exploring the complexities of anger as an emotion. Through rich storytelling and moments of sonic tension, reflection, and release, the album cycles through the energy, vulnerability, and eventual acceptance of anger. We caught up with Sarah Hiltz to get to the root of anger as an emotion, why it makes us so uncomfortable, and what she learned along the way while writing Calm Fury. Calm Fury was inspired by the research that you had done into the ways Canadians experience,…
JUNO-award-winning band The Bros. Landreth has released Stay, the first single from their forthcoming album Come Morning, due May 13th. The new track contemplates settling down from the perspective of touring musicians with a light-hearted music video full of board games, blanket forts, and bubble baths highlighting the importance of family and time at home. “Stay playfully explores a difficult topic for artists — wanting to settle and put some roots down,” shares Joey. “Though written from the perspective of a touring musician, anyone who’s looking to shift gears can relate.” We caught up with Joey and Dave to talk…