Welcoming Summer with the CBCMusic.ca Festival at Echo Beach

Date of show: May 25, 2013
Written by: Chiara DiAngelo

In its inaugural year, The CBCMusic.ca Festival celebrated Canadian music like only CBC can. A relaxed atmosphere, the event attracted people of all ages with many even bringing their kids. Sets ran on time with few delays between acts and it was luckily easy enough to move between the two stages to check out all of the talent. Most importantly, a plethora of beer carts meant short lines for beverages. Multiple food trucks offered a range of nourishment options, though many ran out of food before the event was over. CBC radio hosts such as Lana Gay, Raina Douris and Jian Ghomeshi made appearances to introduce acts.

Most of the grass had already been claimed with chairs and blankets when I arrived, in time to see Western Canada’s country stalwarts Corb Lund & The Hurtin’ Albertans rock the main stage. Later on, Sloan came out to prove why they are still one of the best bands this country has to offer. There are few things that scream “summer” more than watching these Canadian heavyweights on an outdoor stage. They were followed up by Ottawa’s Kathleen Edwards, whose voice like an angel and mouth like a sailor both startled and entertained the audience.

The second “Discovery Stage” offered acts like Aidan Knight and Half Moon Run, both of which drew large crowds likely made up primarily of Radio 3 listeners already familiar with and fans of them.

Though the day began bathed in sunshine, it still wasn’t quite warm enough to dig your bare feet into the sand or truly enjoy the beach atmosphere. The winds picked up and the chill in the air grew as the sun went down, but the crowds didn’t seem perturbed, merely nestling in closer to enjoy the lone non-Canadian band, Iceland’s Of Monsters and Men who drew quite the crowd, and headliner, Mr. Canada himself, Sam Roberts.

A great way to usher in the season of outdoor summer festivals, the view of the Toronto skyline from Echo Beach made you feel like you’d escaped the bustle of the city. I’m already looking forward to seeing what CBCMusic.ca comes up with for next year’s event!