EDM fans will go nuts for the superstar DJs who make the Veld Music Festival the place to be this weekend in Toronto. (Photos courtesy of Veld)
Story by Ofelia Legaspi
Vacay.ca Writer
More than 60,000 fans are expected to hit Downsview Park in Toronto for the sensational Veld Fest.
TORONTO, ONTARIO — It’s good to be a hard-partying EDM enthusiast in the T-dot. For one, this is the Civic Holiday long weekend in Ontario and I was faced with a heart-wrenching problem, a real fork in the road: Head to rural Uxbridge for the four-day Playground Weekend, which is like a mini-Burning Man on a farm with a lake and a mostly local DJ lineup, or go big at the Veld Music Festival at Downsview Park in Toronto? Veld won by a margin, mostly because I don’t know what 60,000 people dressed in crazy outfits look like, and I’d like to find out. And, of course, the lineup ain’t that shabby either:
Caked Up is pretty sweet. They are like batter ingredients: they didn’t quite take off with their solo careers, but together they rose quite beautifully. Their bizarro remixes are your little sister’s playlist sugared up. They take cheeseball tunes like Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” and whip up something rich: complextro-like layers of glitchy trap, fidget house and bitpop. Burp.
There’s something about Iggy. She’s a bombshell blonde who breaks barriers and Billboard records. She speaks with an authentic Australian accent and raps with a fashioned southern one. She has her share of critics questioning her authenticity (Is she really the “realest?”), but her whole package — her image and story — is something to behold.
Don’t be caught asking “Where’s the drop?” around trance fans, especially the ones who favour Armin van Buuren. They vastly outnumber you and are the reason why you read on DJ Mag that Armin doesn’t wake up at 9 am thinking, “How can I beat David Guetta?” He has been squatting on top of Top 100 for so long that you wonder, where the house fans at?
Ingrosso
Actually, the house fans can be found basking in the presence of a certain solo hitman. By “hitman,” we’re talking house and big-room favourites because Ingrosso actually proves engrossing even without the members of Swedish House Mafia. He has landed on his own two feet since branching out and has been landing in the upper tier of the Top 100 chart.
It took 10 long years for Martin Garrix to reach stardom. I mean 10 long years after he hit his eighth birthday and had a cute realization that he would become a DJ. He’s the one to beat on Beatport, topping the chart when a whole lot of you went animals for “Animals.”
Zedd
He’s the 24-year-old who gave away “Beauty and a Beat” to Justin Bieber and whose remix of “Skrillex” landed him with Beatport fame. He is famous for his remixes and collaborations and has earned a Grammy Award for his heart-wrenching electro ballad “Clarity.”
Calvin Harris
This Scottish synthpop superstar is best known for his collaboration with Rihanna on “We Found Love.” He is an electric hit-maker, topping the UK Singles Chart and, not surprisingly, is the highest-paid DJ out there.
These are just seven of the 35 globally recognized acts performing this weekend. It’s like EDM Olympics, the best of the best gathered in one location, except that its attendees, all tens of thousands of us, will also get to burn our fair share of calories in this all-day tail-shaking affair.
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MORE ABOUT VELD FEST 2014
Dates: Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3.
Times: This note appeared on the Veld Music Festival’s Instagram account on Friday night: “Due to the storm that passed through Downsview today, and to ensure that we all have the best possible experience this weekend, we will be moving doors to 12:30pm with wristband redemption starting at 11:30 [am]. ”
Location: Downsview Park, 35 Carl Hall Road, Toronto, ON (see map below)
Public Transit Directions: Travel to the Downsview subway station and connect to bus No. 101 (one-way fare is $3.50).
Tickets: You can purchase tickets online at Ink Entertainment or at the door. Wristbands are required to enter.
Website: veldmusicfestival.com
Social Media: Hashtag is #VELD2014; account handle is @VELDFEST
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