Festival Preview: Field Trip Festival, June 4-5, 2016

The Field Trip festival is around the corner. Here is all you need to know:

THE HISTORY: 2016 marks the 4th annual celebration of the ‘unofficial summer kick off festival in Toronto’. Initiated in 2013 as Field Trip and Arts & Crafts Festival, the inaugural Field Trip festival line up featured a plethora of artists signed to the Arts & Crafts label, ultimately paying homage to the label’s 10-year anniversary. Such A&C artists on the 2013 bill included Stars, Feist, TRUST, Bloc Party, Ra Ra Riot, Still Life Still, Gold & Youth, Zeus, Jason Collett, Hayden, Dan Mangan, The Darcys, and – of course, the crown jewel of the label, Broken Social Scene.

In celebration of the label’s 10-year anniversary, and the subsequent 10-year anniversary of their breakthrough album, You Forgot It In People, Broken Social Scene played the album in its entirety. I was fortunate enough to witness this set – which in hindsight was perhaps the most delicately crafted performance set list that I have ever witnessed, giving a strong nod to the immaculate track order of You Forgot It In People. Kicking things off with the jaw-dropping horns in ‘KC Accidental’ shook me to the core, yet the encore – which spanned the bands additional discography, was where the band’s hand-selected live bangers (‘7/4 Shoreline’, ‘Fire Eye’d Boy’, ‘Texico Bitches’) had their moment to shine. Since this inaugural show, the festival expanded to a two-day, weekend long event in 2015, as opposed to its origins as a 1-day festival. Furthermore, Field Trip is no longer exclusive to Arts & Crafts-signed bands! This year has a few A&C veterans returning to the bill such as Ra Ra Riot and Jason Collett, along with many must-see Canadian acts such as July Talk and Holy Fuck, and finally – an American band that requires no introduction, The National, whom are headlining Saturday.

THE MUSIC: A celebration of indie music hailing from all over the world, with emphasis on Canadian and North American artists, all while paying musical homage to the inclusivity of the city of Toronto’s diverse culture.

THE SETTING: Fort York & Garrison Common

THE LINEUP:

THE FOOD: Field Trip is also an annual showcase of Toronto’s thriving culinary scene. The festival will be tossing foods from all across the city’s expansive and multicultural palette, with a baker’s dozen of novel dishes, and even a dash of local food celebrities! With the staple of the festival’s food remaining local and organic, the menu will also feature a plethora of vegetarian and gluten-free options. And, perhaps most exciting for piscivorous, coffee nerds like myself, BBQ Fish Taco’s and a vast selection of gourmet specialty coffees are the mainstay of the menu! The list of food vendors includes the following:

Buster’s Sea Cove Fish Tacos, St. Lawrence Market, 93 Front St E, Toronto, ON

Food Dudes Miscellaneous Comfort Foods, 24 Carlaw Ave, Toronto, ON

Thunderin’ Thelma Jewish Deli, 356 College St, Toronto, ON

Fidel Gastro Novel Comfort Foods, 638 Queen St W, Toronto, ON

Portobello Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten free options (truck only)

Summertime Lemonade

Rancho Relaxo Mexican, 1635 Dupont St, Toronto, ON (truck only)

The Poutine Supreme

Steel Cut Coffee Coffee, baked goods, breakfast (truck only)

Ultimate Concession

Heirloom Sandwiches and desserts (truck only)

Tokyo Smoke Coffee, 850B Adelaide West, Toronto, ON

Uncle Smoke Wood-fired BBQ, 907 Queen Street W, Toronto, ON

The Flying Chestnut Local, Canadian Comfort Foods, 199 Pellisier St, Flesherton, ON

Curbalicious Seasonal, ethnic cuisine (truck only)

Chimney Stax Rotisserie Baked Breads (truck only)

JP’s BBQ

Heavenly Dreams Ice Cream

Bread Heads Wood Fired Kitchen, 16 Duke Street E, Kitchener, ON

Ivy Knight Toronto Food Writer

Rose & Sons (VIP) Anthony Rose, Robert Wilder, Christopher Sanderson, 176 Dupont St, Toronto, ON

THE EXTRAS:

Take Field Trip’s word for it, their festival is about so much more than music! We’ve already discussed the expansive food vendors that will be available, but the festival also boasts comedic entertainment, artistic/design/fashion/technology instalments, and family fun! See below for a full breakdown of the following categories:

Comedy:

The Laugh Barracks is an indoor comedy stage included as a part of the festival featuring the following local up-and-coming as well as well-established comedians:

• Dave Merheje
• Rapp Battlez
• Scott Thompson
• The Crimson Wave

Art/Design:

• Justin Cozens Acrylics, ink, pen, chalk-based pastel (Toronto)
• Lido Pimienta Interdisciplinary curator/musician (Toronto, Colombia)
• Wild Altar Large-scale plant installation (Toronto)

Family:

The TD Day Camp brings families together with numerous off-kilter activities! Since kids under the age of 12 can attend the festival for free, the TD Day Camp is a great place for parents and children to bond over ping-pong tables, bouncy castles, hula hoops and mini-concert performances from Jason Collett, Kevin Drew and the Regent Park School of Music, amongst others!

THE PLAYLIST:

THE STANDOUTS: The National, July Talk, Of Montreal, Holy Fuck, Kalle Matteson

THE VERDICT: Field Trip is obviously a growing annual tradition in the city of Toronto, based on its improving artist draw year after year and its expansion to a full weekend festival. This year certainly holds true to that testament with a band as large as The National as a headliner. You would be treating yourself to stumble upon Fort York this weekend and take in some fantastic live music, mouth-watering local food/alcohol/coffee vendors and off-kilter fun activities!

THE TICKETS: Buy now