2.3 Dundas West
Any Night of the Week
The last virtual walking tour of this season will follow Dundas Street West - the latest contender to rival Queen, College and Bloor Streets as Toronto’s liveliest music strip - on a west-end odyssey.
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2.2 Scarborough
Any Night of the Week
This sonic exploration of the east side of the city continues on into Scarborough, shining a light on the lesser-known musical history of the inner suburbs. We'll visit sites such as the Knob Hill Hotel and curling club the Broom and Stone - where acts for the ‘60s Yorkville scene played for suburban teens - and the shopping malls and high schools that cultivated old-school hip-hop, while exploring how live music can pop up in public space in unexpected ways.
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2.1 The East End
Any Night of the Week
This virtual walking tour will take listeners on a TTC transit trek east from downtown, with stops at the Opera House at Queen East - revisiting the vibrant all-ages indie scene of the ‘90s - then up to the Danforth to visit the Danforth Music Hall - one of Toronto’s most beloved mid-sized concert halls - as well as mainstays the Only Cafe and Hirut, and dear departed spaces like the Roxy Theatre and Spectrum Nightclub.
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1.5 Queen Street West, Part II: Go West (and Beyond)
Any Night of the Week
Queen Street West is arguably Canada’s most important countercultural main street, and may even be North America’s. This two-part tour will take us west from University all the way to Gladstone Avenue.
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1.4 Queen Street West, Part I: Classic Queen West and Clubland
Any Night of the Week
Queen Street West is arguably Canada’s most important countercultural main street, and may even be North America’s. Queen West was a quiet, mostly forgotten commercial strip until the punk rock, new wave and reggae explosion of the ‘70s — eventually becoming a main hub for the Canadian music industry in the ‘90s.
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1.3 Urban Villages, Part II: Kensington Market and Little Italy
Any Night of the Week
Urban villages are walkable, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods that significantly improve the quality of life in big cities — and they’re a big part of Toronto’s unique character.
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1.2 Urban Villages, Part I: Yorkville and The Annex
Any Night of the Week
Urban villages are walkable, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods that significantly improve the quality of life in big cities — and they’re a big part of Toronto’s unique character.
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1.1 Yonge Street and the Downtown Core
Any Night of the Week
The history of Toronto’s music scene starts on Yonge Street, though the garish commercial strip has long since withered away as a hotbed for live music. Walking north along Yonge from Queen up to Bloor, we take a chronological and geographical trip through history.
info_outlineUrban villages are walkable, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods that significantly improve the quality of life in big cities — and they’re a big part of Toronto’s unique character. They’ve also played a big role in the evolution of our music scene. This two-part episode takes us on a trek through four such interconnected villages and the hyper-local music scenes that defined them.
Part I of Urban Villages is a lazy wander through the bohemian folk and psych-rock scenes of ‘60s Yorkville and west towards the poetic blues, roots, and alt-rock of The Annex in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Sites visited include the long-lost Riverboat Coffee House, Varsity Stadium, Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, The Brunswick House, the Tranzac and Lee’s Palace.