The 2015 Toronto Urban Roots Festival
Where were you on the last weekend of summer? The Xtra Mile was in attendance at Toronto Urban Roots Festival, better know as TURF, which took place this year at Fort York National Historic site in Toronto, ON. With thousands of people in attendance, and talented musicians from all over the world, this was definitely the place to be for an amazing last weekend of summer.
The vibe of this music festival was unlike any other I have experienced up to date, and what a wonderful experience it was. Not only did TURF promote urban music, but also an urban, happy, and overall well being kind of life style. With their choice to go water bottle free this year, TURF encouraged attendees to be eco friendly and refill their bottles as there was free cold water throughout the site. Another awesome fact was the food vendors, unlike most festivals I found there to be a larger variety of healthy options to choose from and many including vegan and vegetarian friendly. If the great food wasn’t enough to keep you busy in-between performances, there was tons of pop up shops of vendors selling home made clothing, jewelry, instruments, and so much artist merchandise to choose from as well. This festival really made you consciously or subconsciously appreciate the ‘roots’ of mother nature, as yet another unique quality of a music festival, the crowds were very different than most. TURF music lovers sat peacefully amongst the ground, on hills or in front of the stages.
I can’t express how friendly everyone in attendance was, this including staff and security as well. All people in attendance shared and expressed a common happiness, and positive energy throughout this last weekend of summer. The great thing about TURF also was that it was a very family friendly place to be, with babies, children and people of all age welcomed, and even two ‘Kids Acoustic Stages’. The weather was just right and the music kept the energy high. Some of the many talented artists to take the stages this year included Punch Brothers, Of Monsters and Men, Passenger, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Shakey Graves, Steve Poltz and The Avett Brothers. I have to say that this festival was refreshing, to see so much raw talent in all of these artists and bands. Much of these performers really made you appreciate their crafts at singing, song writing and playing an instrument, as it was just them and their music, no need for stage effects or backing tracks. Pure, hard working talent.
The Avett Brothers, were my personal favourite band of the festival, as I was overwhelmed by their energy, musicality and involvement with the crowd. Each member is so passionate and talented with their instruments and seamlessly coming together to create a beautiful collective sound. It’s hard not to get very excited and dance along, when you see them on stage jumping so high and smiling with cellos, violins, and banjos in hand. You could see that they were truly excited to be performing in Toronto, and they even mentioned that Canadians are always so sweet to them. Hopefully this means they will keep coming back to us.
A delicate farewell to summer, as well as to festival season. We can’t wait until next year!
