The Toronto and GTA music scenes have been pretty awesome for quite some time now. We have bragging rights over many epic acts including rockers Blue Rodeo, The Barenaked Ladies, Our Lady Peace and Billy Talent to name an obvious few who have all been in business for over 20 years.
Over recent years, our homegrown talent has really begun to take the world by storm; gaining international acclaim and recognition and what’s really cool is that these musicians come from a variety of backgrounds and focus on many different genres. (We ain’t no one trick pony!) Our talented pool covers hip-hop, punk, progressive house, alternative rock, folk, pop and more, and our glorious city continues to churn out incredible artists. And with a slew of uber-hip venues, Torontonians have the chance to see many amazing acts in their prime before they go and get all famous on us and disappear to perform on the world’s stage. So be sure to take the opportunity to explore local music before it’s too late. What’s $10 now could cost you 10 times as much in the future!
I am sure that at some point in time we have all dreamed of singing on a stage; after hearing the larger than life stories of what famous rockers got up to back in the day. Although it may not be quite as heady today as back then, I am sure that today’s acts still have quite the stories to tell. And thanks to the age of social media it is more likely that we might get a glimpse into the life of a musician – a sniff of a creative world where music is God and lyrics tell earth-changing stories. Yup, music is cool. Check out these Twitter feeds from Toronto musicians who are into the social media thing…
July Talk
They only formed in 2012 but Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis have made quite the impression thanks to her sweet vocals paired with his deep, Tom Waits-esque sound alongside the talents of guitarist Ian Docherty, bassist Josh Warburton, and drummer Danny Miles. Nominated for a Juno this year, it is only a matter of time before we see this handsome bunch trend globally.
Owen Pallett
While the rest of us were perfecting toilet training and swallowing small toys, Owen was studying classical violin from the tender age of 3. At age 13 he composed his first piece, and over the following 21 years he has carved out quite the incredible career as a talented musician and performer. Check out his very active Twitter account – but be warned that it may make you feel bad about yourself…
Damian Abraham
Damian is the frontman of Toronto hardcore punk/rock band Fucked Up. He has established quite the online personality with over 20,000 people following his 7,300 tweets and counting. Check out his page… you’ll see why.
Dinosaur Bones
I had never heard of these guys until I was researching this article, and, not only do they maintain a solid online presence, but I really like their stuff and they are rather pleasant to look at. Check out their Instagram page (@dinosaurbones) to live vicariously through them as they travel all over and do really cool band stuff. They also have fun and amusing video blogs on their site.
Drake
You may or may not have heard of this guy, but apparently he’s kind of a big deal and I was advised to feature him on this list of Torontonian musicians on social media… I kid, I kid. So Drizzy not surprisingly has over 14 million followers, and although he is one of the biggest hip-hop artists on the scene right now he manages to tweet a lot. Some posts are cryptic, some informative, and some just very controversial… and that’s always a fun bonus.
