Review: Field Trip 2016 (June 4 & 5, 2016) Toronto, ON at Historic Fort York & Garrison Common

For the past 4 years Arts & Crafts ‘Field Trip’ has being giving us warm sonic vibes to launch us into the summer. If you live in Toronto, you know the winter was extra-long for us this year and there has been an ache to have ‘Field Trip’ 2016 to come to Fort York already!

This year’s music lineup featured headliners The National and Robyn, as well as local favourites July Talk, Basia Bulat and Jazz Cartier.

We love Fort York. It’s a perfectly accessible Toronto location for a festival; it’s on the TTC line and has enough room to watch bands at each stage.  Now come 5 p.m., its gets a tad congested.  The throngs of people navigating between the Garrison Stage (the larger one) to the TD Fort York Stage (the smaller one) always ends in a bottle neck on the path connecting both stages.  Close to the TD Fort York Stage was a drinking lounge, a massive food truck station and a Field Trip Marketplace.  Even though there were line ups for food, washrooms and drink – everything ran smoothly.

There were a number of upgrades from last year’s ‘Field Trip’. The family friendly ‘TD Day Camp’ area for kids and their peeps was immense.  Think a bouncy castle, hula hoops and paper lantern crafting for kids and their families.

One of many things ‘Field Trip’ does well is their nod to local cuisine vs. food trucks. Tucking into the likes of Buster’s Sea Cove, Food Dudes, Thunderin’ Thelma, Fidel Gastro, Portobello, Summertime Lemonade, Rancho Relaxo, The Poutine Supreme, Steel Cut Coffee, Ultimate Concession, Heirloom. Tokyo Smoke, Uncle Smoke, The Flying Chestnut, Curbalicious, Chimney Stax and JP’s BBQ were brimming with hot meals of beauty after long days in the sun.

The Mess Hall with Ivy Knight catered a Watermelon Eating Contest, a Cupcake Decorating Contest and a Create a Casear project. Think delicious, fun and most importantly family friendly.  Field Trip has cornered the market in making sure events on both days are inclusive for everyone no matter what your family looks like.

We had a great chuckle at the Laugh Barracks as the day wound down. Getting out of the sun with your hot drink or a cold one to sit on a chair whilst sharing a chuckle or two was perfect! We loved the snaps from the Analogue Gallery Sound Image Exhibition – it certainly added a different texture to Field Trip 2016.

Fort York is a wonderful home for ‘Field Trip’ and we hope it continues to be. The rustic Canadiana vibe, locals meeting out of towers and familiar soothing tunes as it christens us into the summer’s arms is a big hit!  The detail, love and camaraderie that go into putting on ‘Field Trip’ from the Arts & Crafts crew makes us look forward to 2017.

http://www.fieldtriplife.com/

Field Trip Artist Spotlight: Santigold (June 4th and 5th 2016 at Fort York & Garrison Common)

Santigold is Santi White: an artist whose perseverance relies on invention, a champion who survives off her own skill and faith. She is a major muse watched by the inspired world, an in categorical performer who collapses time and genre with one hand guided by tradition, while the other hand carves out a shining future. Santigold is neither calm nor mayhem, but from her lungs burst every color in between.

After four years of hide and seek in which blogs blew up at the sudden release of any track with her name attached to it, Santigold returns in a moment of global aggression and vulnerability. Honing in on the hyper-media cult of personality, in her unmistakable voice she asks the listener: Into what fantasy do you hurl yourself as you gaze into the glow of your machine? The answer to this question is central to what drives Master of My Make-Believe, her latest work to be released this spring on Atlantic Records.

As an antidote against self-celebratory status updates in a climate where the focus on fame outweighs a day’s emotions, Master of My Make-Believe summons pop culture zombies back to life. This is sound proof of an artist on a diligent journey, measuring the power of individual mood against social clamor. Sifting through a wondrous wreckage of airplay, upload, and anguish, Santigold’s talent lies in filtering reality through freakdom, to find in desire a timeless spark of raw magic.

Anyone caught referring to Master of My Make-Believe as a sophomore effort is only half right. Though relatively fresh as Santigold, Santi White’s history of writing, production, and performance stretch beyond the century’s flip. Her collaboration with the industry’s most recognized and respected talent is something continuous and wide reaching, making her musical lineage all the much richer. Declared Best Breakthrough Artist by NME in 2008 and Pop Music Vanguard by ASCAP in 2009, the voice that defines Santigold is as complex as the faces that pack a subway car, as intimate and honest as conversation on a weathered stoop.

Through chopped pianos, the clink of glass bottles, and the peaking blast of motorcycle engines, Master of My Make-Believe accounts for 21st century details of life from the heart’s center to the mind’s periphery. In her pen and in her voice, the breadth of substance presented in Santigold’s newest songs is immediate and complex. There are valleys here wherein the drudge of daily living is met with caution and confronted by mortality, but underneath it all there is the celebration of each person’s power and vision to fight toward what they believe. Consider this your invitation.

Catch Santigold at Field Trip on June 4th and 5th 2016 at Fort York & Garrison Common.

http://www.fieldtriplife.com/

Robyn and The National to headline Field Trip Music & Arts Festival 2016 (Fort York & Garrison Common on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5, 2016)

Arts & Crafts today announced the lineup for Field Trip Music & Arts Festival 2016, headlined by indie rock band The National and dance pop icon Robyn. The city’s favourite community festival returns to historic Fort York & Garrison Common for its fourth year on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5. With early Explorer Pass now sold out, Field Trip tickets officially go on sale Monday, February 22 at 10 a.m. EST.

Recognized as the essential boutique music event in Toronto’s very own backyard, the two day showcase of top Canadian and international artists also prides itself in a parade of the city’s top food trucks and culinary pop-ups, as well as a range of collaborative and family friendly programming highlighting art, fashion, technology and more. This year’s diverse lineup features a mix of talent from across genres, including local pop-rockers July Talk, rapper Jazz Cartier, ethereal singer-songwriter Basia Bulat; as well as funk and soul singer Charles Bradley from Brooklyn, New York, dreamy folk band Boy & Bear from Sydney, Australia, and many more.

“There are many amazing festival experiences these days, but we take pride in the intimacy and diversity of Field Trip, and the deep connection we have with the city of Toronto,” Aaron Miller, programming director, Arts & Crafts. “Field Trip has something for all of us, and something new every year.”

2016 will expand on popular Field Trip traditions like the Mess Hall, the Comedy Stage in the Barracks building, and a custom, on site virtual reality experience for the technologically curious of all ages. With free festival admission for children 12 years old and under, 2016 also marks the expansion of Field Trip’s ‘Day Camp’ programming for youth.

Arts & Crafts entrants to 2016 programming include indie rockers Ra Ra Riot, singer-songwriter Tei Shi and Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett.

FIELD TRIP 2016 LINE UP

THE NATIONAL
ROBYN
JULY TALK
SANTIGOLD
OF MONTREAL
DIIV
CHARLES BRADLEY & HIS EXTRAORDINAIRES
JAZZ CARTIER
BOY & BEAR
BASIA BULAT
HOLY FUCK
BULLY
PLANTS & ANIMALS
RA RA RIOT
DEAR ROUGE
JASON COLLETT
TEI SHI
LENNON & MAISY
ELIOT SUMNER
MEG MAC
TOR MILLER
BRAVE SHORES
CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON
MOST PEOPLE
KALLE MATTSON
And more!

Stay tuned for full lineup and programming announcements in the months to come. Ticket prices start at $75 for single day general admission and can be purchased online via FieldTripLife.com, TicketMaster or LiveNation.com. Field Trip is a joint production by Arts & Crafts Productions and Live Nation Canada.