Music
For the second year in a row, our partners at Small World Music brought an electric selection of bands and musicians to delight your senses and get you into the groove of summer fun.
Later on in the Beer Garden, we danced to after-hours DJ sets and enjoyed a pint of TOAF x Henderson Brewing Co.’s exclusive craft beer.
Kazdoura
Kazdoura is a Toronto-based band serving Arabic fusion with a modern twist. Equal parts nostalgia and reinvention, their style is a cross-cultural blend of Eastern and Western music that blends old-world Arabic classics with funk, pop, and disco.
Las Empanadas Ilegales
Empanadas Ilegales are Vancouver-based, and Creepy Mambo is their second full-length collection of psych-infused cumbia – or chicha, as it is also known – with some salsa and latin jazz mixed in for good measure. The six members trace their roots all across the Latin world – from Spain, Argentina, and Brazil to Colombia, Ecuador and of course Peru, once the epicentre of the blistering chicha sound.
Creepy Mambo is by the band’s own admission a product of the pandemic. It was recorded in 2021 when COVID lockdowns were in full force, which might explain the two curious snippets that bookend the record: an opening descarga that recalls Los Amigos Invisibles in their early days and a sax solo that skronks its way to a more sombre closing.
Trash Panda Brass
Trash Panda Brass, a fresh voice in Toronto’s brass band scene since June 2022, has quickly gained a devoted following. They’ve rocked shows at Drom Taberna, opened for Shuffle Demons, and energized community events. With upbeat tunes honouring queer hits and icons, Trash Panda Brass spreads music and joy through performances, festivals and workshops. Proudly queer, Trash Panda Brass is here to stay.
DJ Sawtay
At the tender age of nine, Toronto-based illustrator Adrian Hayles discovered the expressive nature of the visual arts. With his continued artistic development, illustration became his deepest passion and talent. His desire to learn and absorb from his surroundings led him on a personal creative journey. As a graduate of the Graphic Design program at Humber College with over 10 years of working experience behind him, Adrian has established his place in Toronto’s modern art community. His style is provocative and inspiring and defies categorization. Blurring the lines between graffiti and ultra-realism, Adrian’s voice and vision are instantly identifiable. His works include countless portraits and illustrations for various magazines and collaborations with the City of Toronto to develop murals for vacant community spaces. In the past, Adrian has painted complete buildings and city blocks, designed award-winning video games and animated television shows. Adrian has painted the second largest body of work by an individual artist, the Yonge Love Murals, covering 4,088 square meters.
Adrian is the Owner and Director of Worth Gallery located in the heart of Toronto. Worth is a two level Gallery whose focus is on Street Art and Art in Public spaces.
INTRINITY
From being a Red Bull Music 3style DJ, Festival VIP & Artist DJ, performing for over 35,000 people on New Year’s Eve, to doing live TV segments, Toronto’s own INTRINITY has solidified himself as one of Canada’s premiere open-format DJs.
