April 10th-13th Homage: An Art Show by Briony @ 49 Ossington Ave. An art show that cultivates mementos from the past to create works of art in the present. Each piece by Toronto-based artist Briony Douglas has been researched and sourced with elements coming from all over the world to make one work of art. Subjects include Jumpman, Basquiat, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Kanye West’s Graduation Bear, and Barbie. Open 12-8 pm daily. Free!
April 11th-18th Images Festival @ various locations. An artist-driven festival that expands traditional definitions and understandings of media art by experimenting with a multiplicity of artistic forms. Images raises the profile of independent media art to develop critical engagement for Canadian and international artists and audiences.
April 12th-14th Neon Pop-Up Gallery @ Junction House, 2720 Dundas St. W. Showcasing neon signs and art pieces from the collections of Neon Museum Toronto and Neon Demon, including the famed 12-foot Hard Rock Museum guitar. Open 11- 9 pm daily. Free!
April 13th Record Store Day @ various locations. Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding independently-owned record stores. Today, there are participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.
WEDNESDAY
7 pm Music Bingo @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. A FREE weekly event combining the love of music with the traditional bingo format. Each player receives a Music Bingo card which consists of an assortment of songs. Instead of calling out numbers, they play the music! Singing along encouraged.
8 pm Drake Trivia @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. Teams of four or less put their random knowledge to the test as hosts Megan Griffith-Greene and Jeromy Lloyd fire off questions ranging from sporting records and celebrity scandals to geographic discoveries and culinary lingo. $2 to participate. Email host@thedrakehotel.ca or show up early to reserve a spot.
THURSDAY
9 pm AGO Massive XV @ Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W. AGO Massive is Toronto’s ultimate contemporary art party, now in its 15th year! The AGO collaborated with Toronto’s Director X for this special edition, pulling inspiration from the token anniversary gift, crystal. The crystal in all its forms will be brought to life through art, food, music, and performance. Guests are encouraged to wear their best sparkling attire. $200 tickets available online (includes the issuance of a tax receipt for the maximum allowable amount).
FRIDAY
8 pm Pancakes & Booze Art Show @ Revival, 783 College St. Underground art show featuring 75+ artists, audio and visual performances, live body painting, FREE pancakes, and more! $13 line jumper tickets available online, $10 at the door.
10 pm Fauxchella: A Coachella-Inspired Dance Night @ Round Venue, 152-A Augusta Ave. Can’t get to Coachella? For one night only, Juicy Moon Productions is transforming Round into a California festival dream with DJs Johnny B Godde and Maggy playing music from the real Coachella all night long. Glitter booth on site + performances by Queen Devine Darlin. Looks are strongly encouraged. $7 before 11:30 pm, $10 after.
10 pm The Big Sound @ The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W. A night of Motown and classic soul cuts performed by a wrecking crew of 30 musicians and singers. Bangers and huge hits throughout the night courtesy of DJ Wes Allen. $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
10 pm Sunset Culture Club @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. All vinyl rare party jams and audio explorations with DJ Morgan Yew.
10 pm Dirty Pop @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Bangs & Blush are celebrating all their favourite boy bands. Backstreet Boys, One Direction, and everything in between! $10.
10 pm Beam Me Up Disco @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. Beam Me Up is a disco jam that celebrates the underrated and the obscure of funk, jazz, soul, boogie, rare groove, reggae, gospel, proto-house! It’s an evening of tuneful transcendence, supplied by residents Patchouli Brothers and Cyclist.
10 pm Bio-Rhythmic @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Synchronized rhythmic behaviors to divergent tempos, mutual resonance, shared energy, high vibrations in the body and soul. Soundsshamans Soft Matter and Abhi (Planets With Oxygen) all night enchanting the grotto.
10 pm Freaky Friday @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. Get freaky with DJs B BAD and M4RS! Funk, disco, hip-hop, dancehall, reggae, trap, throwbacks, top 40, mashups, RnB, Motown, and more. Free before 11 pm.
10 pm Gold Chain @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJs Aoki and Snack will have you dancing all night long to the best hip-hop of today and yesterday. You don’t wanna miss this display of supreme DJing – it’s the gold standard.
10 pm My Bad @ Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. ’80s and ’90s guilty pleasures dance party with DJ Blush! $5.
10 pm DJ Misty & The Blue Demon @ Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. After co-hosting The Demon’s Lair on CKLN 88.1 FM for five years, DJs Misty and The Blue Demon are getting behind the decks together again! They’ll be playing heaps of rock ‘n’ roll, punk, garage, surf, soul, vintage R&B, doo wop, and rockabilly, all on vinyl.
10 pm Dirt Nap @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Scratchy-ass retro and classic rock gems spun by the one and only king of garage sale vinyl, DJ Davey D!
10 pm Disco Fridays @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Hear a delightful array of disco and its sub genres every Friday at The Piston. $10.
SATURDAY
10 am Parkdale Flea @ 1605 Queen St. W. Parkdale Flea kicks off its 2019 season in a new space! Shop from a selection of vintage pieces, clothing, skincare, crafts, accessories, confections, and more. Free entry and four-legged friends welcome. Until 6 pm.
10 am Street Machine Market @ Milk Toronto, 1643 Dupont St. Toronto’s newest vendor market focused specifically towards up and coming streetwear/ lifestyle brands. Street Machine Market was conceptualized to fill the void in the Toronto scene for new streetwear/lifestyle brands that are being established locally and to create a direct-to-consumer experience where you can interact with your favourite local brands while exploring new ones. Until 7 pm.
12 pm Record Store Day: Free Live Performances @ Tiny Record Shop, 777 Queen St. E. Toronto-based Jaunt, Halifax-based Devarrow, and Toronto-based Ice Cream take the stage at Tiny Record Shop for their annual Record Store Day party. Tiny Record Shop is also releasing a limited, hand-numbered run of 100 copies of Jaunt’s new single “On Your Mind” in partnership with local Precision Record Pressing (available exclusively at the shop). Until 4 pm.
10 pm Soul Step @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. Soul Step says goodbye to the Red Light after five years. Soul, disco, boogie, and anything else to make you move with DJs Cam and Kathryn.
10 pm Remember Chicago @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. DJs Ali Black, Douglas Carter and P+C residents Strange City and Tele bring those Chicago house vibes to Bambi’s. $10 before midnight, $15 after.
10 pm Turning Point @ The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W. A special evening dedicated to exploring the many tropical rhythms and sounds of the past for the dance floor. Resident selector A Man Called Warwick and special guest Paulo Superfly (Paris) share a top-notch selection of Indo, Afro, Latin, Arabic, Asian, Brazilian, Balkan, and Caribbean. $10 before 11 pm, $15 after.
10 pm Bar Phlie @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. Rapper/producer/DJ More Or Les plays tunes with a hip-hop slant to move you, whether it’s just a head-nod or a full-on shake-a-thon. Expect to hear stuff like A Tribe Called Quest, Dibia$e, J Dilla, Bonobo, TLC, Art of Noise, Roisin Murphy, The Internet, MF DOOM, Bob James, Strange U, and CZARFACE.
10 pm Knockout! @ Disgraceland, 965 Bloor St. W. A night of strictly 1960s reggae and northern soul on original 45s, featuring special guest Karl from Heart of Montreal Soul Club.
10 pm Whatever You Like Feat. Sgt Garbage @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. All hits, all night with spicy DJs that’ll really get you moving and shaking. It’s the good stuff – the prom that never was!
10 pm Saturday Night Jukebox Dance Party @ Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. Sweat it out to the sweet sounds of the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll and soul music! DJ Blush plays rock, soul, funk, pop, and disco from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.
10 pm Bleach @ Remix Lounge, Dundas St. W. Toronto’s first and only all-90s alternative audio and visual experience. Dance to videos from: Nirvana, Blur, Massive Attack, The Cure, Suede, Prodigy, Radiohead, Filter, Tool, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, New Order, Hole, The Cranberries and more. $10 before 11 pm, $15 after.
10 pm Bump in the Night @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Rock, soul, classic pop, and rarities with DJ Precious Brett and special guest No Fear. Come shake your rump!
10 pm Open Season @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. ’90s/00s hip-hop, trap, Motown, ’80s, girl pop, dance, and party jams with DJs Brank Oh! and Tyler.
10 pm Worst Behavior @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. This Saturday, be on your worst behavior. Bangs & Blush play past and present bangers all night long from Drake, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Nelly, TLC, Missy Elliott, and more! $10.
10 pm A Drag Tribute to the Day Job @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Each month, The Beaver welcomes Fisher Price to pull together a menagerie of ghastly creatures to entertain you and pay tribute to whatever themed nonsense Fisher pulls from her highly caffeinated brain. This edition features Fisher Price, Archie Maples, Ashlee Warchild, and the Frandiscos on the decks. $5 before midnight, $10 after.
10 pm Synthesexer @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Toronto’s synthesexiest sexy synthy alternative electro dance party! Expect to hear stuff like: Tiga, Annie, Chromeo, M.I.A., Holy Ghost!, Robyn, Daft Punk, Little Dragon, Pet Shop Boys, and more. $5 before 11 pm, 10 after.
10:30 pm Lavender: Aries Edition @ Glad Day Bookshop, 499 Church St. A party for lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, queer women, non-binary folks, and trans people – everyone welcome! DJ Zehra spinning us the best SOCA, dance hall, ’90s R&B, and reggaeton + a performance by Tifa Wine/Ryan Persadie. $5 or PWYC.
11 pm Sounds of Love: Danubian Nights @ SoSo Food Club, 1166 Dundas St. W. DJs Andycapp and Immigrant Muscle play funk, soul, disco, house, techno, hip-hop, RnB, and everything in between. $5.
SUNDAY
10 am Team Toronto Etsy Sellers Spring Market @ The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W. Meet, shop, and discover all the local talent Toronto has to offer! Find all your spring one-of-a-kind goods, fashion must-haves, sweet treats, and swoon-worthy gift and lifestyle items at this curated marketplace featuring 50 makers and sellers. Admission is FREE and first 50 visitors receive a complimentary swag bag. Until 5 pm.
6 pm Girl Gang Cabarets @ The Painted Lady, 218 Ossington Ave. An unboxed variety show and inclusive safe space to meet, empower, and share stories with all kinds of feminists. Featuring performances by artists Sarah Swire and friends, Robyn Kaur Sidhu, Red Tongued Raven, and Arianne Tong followed by an open stage cabaret and jam (open to comedians, storytellers, poets, musicians, dancers, or anything else you can think of). Doors at 5:30 pm, show starts at 6.
7 pm Anne T. Donahue Presents: Titanic with Randi Bergman @ Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Ave. Are you ready to go back to Titanic? Join Anne T. Donahue and special guest Randi Berman, creator of Capsule ’98, for a screening of James Cameron’s Titanic and brief discussion about why we still care so much about Jack, Rose, and Billy Zane’s wig. $12-15 tickets available online.
7 pm Brass Facts Trivia @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Test your knowledge and win prizes! Hosted by Famous Kirk Hero. Until 10 pm.
~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com