TD Toronto Jazz Festival announces lineup and more!

The 32nd edition of TD Toronto Jazz Festival, which runs from June 22 – July 1, 2018, has announced their line-up, which features legendary artists as well as rising stars.

Some of the additions include Jazz master Herbie Hancock, British soul singer Seal, two-time JUNO nominees Weaves, Montreal’s Anomalie, and also Heather Bambrick with a rotating cast of special guests.

The hub of the festival returns to Bloor-Yorkville, whose importance to Toronto’s musical heritage is well-established. The 2018 Festival will feature more than 150 free concerts over ten days in an expanded Yorkville footprint. This series will feature the very best in jazz from Toronto, across the country and around the world.

Each year we honour the legacy and heritage of Yorkville’s music and arts scene of the 1960s/1970s. Last year we paid tribute to its rich historical heritage with a special performance by Canadian icon Randy Bachman; this year, on Saturday, June 23, Liona Boyd, in a rare Toronto appearance, in the intimate setting of The Church of the Redeemer, will give a nod to the folk scene that made Yorkville so famous with “A Tribute to Yorkville in the Sixties,” highlighting much of the music that helped define a generation. And, picking up on the beatnik and bohemian scenes which once flourished in Yorkville, Toronto Poetry Slam collaborates with the Festival with works that will explore pressing contemporary issues. Featuring poets chosen to represent Toronto at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August, the evening will be in combination with music from afro-dub fusion band D’Bi and the 333, headlined by d’bi.young anitafrika, herself an acclaimed poet and playwright.

Also, the festival is presenting a special, first-time collaboration with the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) as we co-produce their highly popular Friday Night Live (#FNLROM) on opening night, Friday, June 22, with an evening called “Jazz Club.” For one night only, jazz and swing, from throughout the decades, will fill the historic museum as we transform the space into a giant jazz club. Come dressed to the nines as history comes alive at the summer’s best dance party.

“In 2017, we moved to Yorkville, enabling us to create the true Festival feeling we had been craving. We’re excited to build on last year’s success with more shows on more stages in 2018,” states Artistic Director Josh Grossman. “I invite everyone to join us in Yorkville for outstanding free performances all day, every day, and to check out the top international musicians we have on offer at ticketed shows throughout the city. With venues ranging from 100 seats to the largest concert halls, we’re sure you’ll find your flavour of jazz.”

TICKETED FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:
Friday, June 22
Heather Bambrick & Friends with Russ Little Quartet feat. Guido Basso – Home Smith Bar, The
Old Mill Toronto

Saturday, June 23
Seal – Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Liona Boyd & Friends – A Tribute to Yorkville in the Sixties – Church of The Redeemer
Heather Bambrick & Friends with Russ Little Quartet feat. Jackie Richardson – Home Smith
Bar, The Old Mill Toronto
Toronto Poetry Slam – The Pilot

Sunday, June 24
The Bad Plus – Trinity-St. Paul’s

Monday, June 25
Alison Krauss – Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Gregory Porter – The Elgin Theatre
Blues Revue feat. Bettye LaVette – Koerner Hall
Lake Street Dive – Danforth Music Hall
ART the Band – The Pilot

Tuesday, June 26
Snarky Puppy – Danforth Music Hall
Savion Glover featuring Marcus Gilmore – Koerner Hall
Elise LeGrow – Trinity-St. Paul’s
KNOWER (Anomalie opening) – Horseshoe Tavern

Wednesday, June 27
Cécile McLorin Salvant – Trinity-St. Paul’s
Bela Fleck & The Flecktones – Danforth Music Hall
Weaves – The Phoenix

Thursday, June 28
Holly Cole – Trinity-St. Paul’s

Friday, June 29
Herbie Hancock – Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Heather Bambrick & Friends with Russ Little Quartet feat. Melissa Stylianou – Home Smith
Bar, The Old Mill Toronto

Saturday, June 30
Heather Bambrick & Friends with Russ Little Quartet feat. Carol Welsman – Home Smith Bar,
The Old Mill Toronto

Tickets are on sale now at www.torontojazz.com.

Jenna Melanson

I’m Jenna, the founder and editor of Canadian Beats. I have had a strong love for Canadian music, which started many years ago. I have a passion for promoting these talented Canadian bands and artists, and that’s how Canadian Beats came to be.

Canadian Beats has grown to become more than media, and what a journey it’s been.