Guess what? It's gonna be May. It's actually already May! In this first full week of the month, things are absolutely flourishing in the garden of concerts you can't miss in the 416.
Find the rest of Exclaim!'s Canadian concert listings and recent tour announcements here.
Japanese Breakfast
Massey Hall, May 5–6
Get tickets here and here
Whether or not you identity as a melancholy brunette and/or sad woman, you won't want to miss Michelle Zauner's return to Toronto with material so swooning it would send a Victorian child into a coma.
Lambrini Girls
Phoenix Concert Theatre, May 6
Get tickets here
It should go without saying that this world is in desperate need of some feminist, anti-capitalist punk rock. Lambrini Girls are happy to oblige, and everyone at the Phoenix will be howling along.
Departure Festival + Conference
Various, May 6–11
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The new rebrand of Canadian Music Week promises something fresh and exciting, with a wide-ranging array of programming that includes performances from the likes of recent Exclaim! cover star Mustafa, Bria Salmena, Flara K, Freak Heat Waves, Mint Simon, SadBoi, Grace VanderWaal and many more.
Cheekface
The Axis Club, May 7
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Calling all Cheek Freaks! Your plans for hump day are sorted.
Magdalena Bay
History, May 7
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The conceptual pop opus Imaginal Disk was one of the best albums of 2024, and what better place for its Y2K-informed technological-futurism to come to life than a a venue literally called History?
Deafheaven
The Opera House, May 8
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At a moment of peak early-2010s nostalgia, Deafheaven have brilliantly timed their return with Lonely People with Power. Even if you don't have power, you can still be lonely together with the assembly of Deafheads at the Opera House.
MJ Lenderman
Danforth Music Hall, May 8–9
Get tickets here and here
For two nights only, the Danforth Music Hall will be transformed into the Himbo Dome to host indie rock's favourite white boy of the moment. Won't you lend 'er an ear, man?
SASAMI
The Great Hall, May 10
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SASAMI is in her pop star era with the larger-than-life Blood on the Silver Screen — and she's touring with her French horn for the first time, so things are bound to get brassy.