TURF was an absolute joy to cover last year and I’m very much looking forward to heading to Toronto in a couple weeks to do it again. The wide open spaces at Garrison Common is a gorgeous site for a music festival. It honestly makes every American festival I’ve been to look like garbage-you’re not packed in like sardines, the food truck area is easy to get to but out of the way of the stages, and the programmers do a fantastic job of scheduling the stages to avoid conflicts.

The three-stage setup is works perfectly for the fest, with interesting bands playing at any given time. Big internationally known acts come together with local Canadian bands to fill all three days with great music. Last year we caught Beirut, Gary Clark jr, Tweedy, and Jenny Lewis. This year the schedule holds many more excellent sets to behold.

You can catch a full list on the fest’s website, but here are some highlights that I’m excited about:

FRIDAY

3pm Shakey Graves

4pm Desaparecidos 

6:30pm The Avett Brothers

10pm Fishbone

SATURDAY

4:10pm Lucinda Williams

6:30pm Wilco

8pm Cake

8:40pm St Paul & The Broken Bones

SUNDAY

6:50pm Heartless Bastards

7:20pm Neko Case

8:10pm Will Butler

There are also some great aftershows going on at Lee’s Palace and Horseshoe Tavern this year. I’m not sure if I’ll make it to any, but Desaparecidos are playing Saturday night at Lee’s. Shakey Graves will make an appearance at Horseshoe the night before, Friday 9/18.

The fest has tons of other great stuff going on, including a kids stage. Check out their website for further info! Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.