Picture this for a moment — the city streets are bustling, you've gathered up all of your friends and gotten ready for a night out. But of course, no one in your crew knows what they want to do, suggestions of going to your regular bar are floating around the room and it looks like you're going to be having a pretty boring, standard night.
Situations like these are why we publish our weekly Can't Miss Concerts feature — to gather some of the best concerts going on across Canada for your perusing convenience. In this week's edition, from July 27 to August 2, we've got street festivals, top-tier arena rappers and more to fit your show-going needs.
Take a look at our picks below and head over to our full Concert Listings section for more shows.
Bruno Mars
R&B-tinged pop singer Bruno Mars has been bringing his wildly energetic show to the masses on his '24K Magic' world tour, and now Canucks get the opportunity to join in on the fun. Western Canadians have plenty of opportunities this week to see Mars perform, as he'll be playing in Vancouver, followed by back-to-back shows in Edmonton and closing off with a set in Winnipeg.
07/27/2017 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
07/30/2017 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
07/31/2017 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
08/02/2017 Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
Calgary Folk Festival
Calgary Folk Festival returns to Alberta's capital city this week, and they're bringing along a star-studded lineup with a hefty number of Canadian greats. This year, their stages will be graced by the likes of City and Colour, Blue Rodeo, Tanya Tagaq, BADBADNOTGOOD, Barenaked Ladies, Holy Fuck and a whole lot more.
07/27-30/2017 Calgary, AB – Prince's Island Park
George Street Festival
The George Street Festival brings live music to the bustling street in Newfoundland's capital city for an entire week of live performances from local and national acts. The 33rd edition of the fest will treat people to performances from Blue Rodeo, Hey Rosetta, Sam Roberts Band, Fortunate Ones and a bunch more.
07/27-08/02/2017 St. John's, NL – George Street
J. Cole
After dropping the highly successful 4 Your Eyez Only at the tail end of last year, J. Cole embarked on a massive worldwide tour, and is finally making his way up to the Great White North. Fans in Toronto are in for a treat, as he'll be playing two back-to-back shows at the Air Canada Centre before heading back across the border.
07/28/2017 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
07/29/2017 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar cemented his place as the current king of rap music with his spectacular fourth record, DAMN. Compton's "Good Kid" will be bringing his humbling tunes to fans in Vancouver this week, with Travis Scott and D.R.A.M. opening the show.
08/02/2017 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
New Swears
Ottawa garage rockers New Swears dropped the upbeat, party-centric record And the Magic of Horses last month, and they've been on top of their game when it comes to live shows. The band will be bringing their bright, summery tunes to the East Coast this week, with shows set for New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
07/27/2017 Moncton, NB – Claude's House
07/28/2017 Halifax, NS – Seahorse Tavern
07/29/2017 Fredericton, NB – Capital Complex
07/30/2017 Charlottetown, PEI – Baba's Lounge
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara's The Con turns 10 years old this year, and to commemorate the album, the sister duo will be revamping the tracks and hitting the road. They'll be playing a special acoustic arrangement of the album in its entirety, along with some other fan favourites. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which supports LGBTQ girls and women.
07/27/2017 Halifax, NS – Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
07/30/2017 Oro-Medonte, ON (WayHome Festival)
WayHome
WayHome may be new to the festival circuit, but they've made a name for themselves rather quickly with stacked lineups gracing their rural Ontario festival grounds each year. This year features Frank Ocean, Imagine Dragons and Flume as headliners, along with performances from Danny Brown, PUP, Jazz Cartier, the Dirty Nil, Foster the People and many more.
07/28-30/2017 Oro-Medonte, ON – Burl's Creek
Visit Exclaim!'s Concert Listings for more upcoming shows.
Situations like these are why we publish our weekly Can't Miss Concerts feature — to gather some of the best concerts going on across Canada for your perusing convenience. In this week's edition, from July 27 to August 2, we've got street festivals, top-tier arena rappers and more to fit your show-going needs.
Take a look at our picks below and head over to our full Concert Listings section for more shows.
Bruno Mars
R&B-tinged pop singer Bruno Mars has been bringing his wildly energetic show to the masses on his '24K Magic' world tour, and now Canucks get the opportunity to join in on the fun. Western Canadians have plenty of opportunities this week to see Mars perform, as he'll be playing in Vancouver, followed by back-to-back shows in Edmonton and closing off with a set in Winnipeg.
07/27/2017 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
07/30/2017 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
07/31/2017 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
08/02/2017 Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
Calgary Folk Festival
Calgary Folk Festival returns to Alberta's capital city this week, and they're bringing along a star-studded lineup with a hefty number of Canadian greats. This year, their stages will be graced by the likes of City and Colour, Blue Rodeo, Tanya Tagaq, BADBADNOTGOOD, Barenaked Ladies, Holy Fuck and a whole lot more.
07/27-30/2017 Calgary, AB – Prince's Island Park
George Street Festival
The George Street Festival brings live music to the bustling street in Newfoundland's capital city for an entire week of live performances from local and national acts. The 33rd edition of the fest will treat people to performances from Blue Rodeo, Hey Rosetta, Sam Roberts Band, Fortunate Ones and a bunch more.
07/27-08/02/2017 St. John's, NL – George Street
J. Cole
After dropping the highly successful 4 Your Eyez Only at the tail end of last year, J. Cole embarked on a massive worldwide tour, and is finally making his way up to the Great White North. Fans in Toronto are in for a treat, as he'll be playing two back-to-back shows at the Air Canada Centre before heading back across the border.
07/28/2017 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
07/29/2017 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar cemented his place as the current king of rap music with his spectacular fourth record, DAMN. Compton's "Good Kid" will be bringing his humbling tunes to fans in Vancouver this week, with Travis Scott and D.R.A.M. opening the show.
08/02/2017 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
New Swears
Ottawa garage rockers New Swears dropped the upbeat, party-centric record And the Magic of Horses last month, and they've been on top of their game when it comes to live shows. The band will be bringing their bright, summery tunes to the East Coast this week, with shows set for New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
07/27/2017 Moncton, NB – Claude's House
07/28/2017 Halifax, NS – Seahorse Tavern
07/29/2017 Fredericton, NB – Capital Complex
07/30/2017 Charlottetown, PEI – Baba's Lounge
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara's The Con turns 10 years old this year, and to commemorate the album, the sister duo will be revamping the tracks and hitting the road. They'll be playing a special acoustic arrangement of the album in its entirety, along with some other fan favourites. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which supports LGBTQ girls and women.
07/27/2017 Halifax, NS – Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
07/30/2017 Oro-Medonte, ON (WayHome Festival)
WayHome
WayHome may be new to the festival circuit, but they've made a name for themselves rather quickly with stacked lineups gracing their rural Ontario festival grounds each year. This year features Frank Ocean, Imagine Dragons and Flume as headliners, along with performances from Danny Brown, PUP, Jazz Cartier, the Dirty Nil, Foster the People and many more.
07/28-30/2017 Oro-Medonte, ON – Burl's Creek
Visit Exclaim!'s Concert Listings for more upcoming shows.
