If you’ve never been to Detroit, the Arkells have. And when they played Toronto Urban Roots Fest on July 5, they brought enough of Motor Town for everyone to share. Closing out the regular portion of their TURF set with the Detroit-referencing “Where U Goin” from their 2011 LP Michigan […]
Arts & Culture
The Ontarion’s arts and culture articles cover the local artistic scene, including news, interviews, and reviews.
TURF reviews: Fitz and the Tantrums – July 5, 2012
Filling in the slot just preceding the Arkells’ set, Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick and the Tantrums transported a TURF audience that had so far in the day only been treated to (albeit updated) antique music forms like JD McPherson’s ’50s nodding rockabilly and Justin Townes Earle’s country western music to an […]
TURF reviews: Justin Townes Earle at Fort York – July 5, 2013
Footnoting most of his songs with words of country wisdom (e.g. “Any good country song should be a good blues song,” and “If you can take care of your mama and you don’t, you’re a bastard. Unless she was terrible”), Justin Townes Earle brought his twangy Nashville Americana to a […]
TURF reviews: JD McPherson at Fort York – July 6, 2013
Supplying Toronto Urban Roots Fest with nostalgia-satisfying rock music that turns down the guitar while letting saxophone, upright bass, piano, and percussion take the spotlight, JD McPherson’s band was a reminder of a time when people could call a band rock and say it without summoning images of guitar heads […]
TURF reviews: She & Him at Fort York – July 4, 2013
Zooey Deschanel is still the new girl. What was at first perceived as an innocent request to curb the over-documenting culture that concert-goers have become hyper aware of in recent years soon revealed itself to be a draconian approach to image control when a strict no camera policy demanded by […]
TURF reviews: Joel Plaskett Emergency at Fort York – July 4, 2013
“I was looking forward to playing this in Calgary until it actually happened,” Joel Plaskett told the crowd at TURF while taking a break to introduce his band’s “Natural Disaster.” The song took on a new personal meaning for the singer-songwriter when heavy rainfall and flooding in Calgary forced […]
TURF reviews: Camera Obscura at Fort York – July 4, 2013
“We don’t usually wear sunglasses onstage,” Camera Obscura guitarist Kenny McKeeve told the crowd at TURF amid a break in their July 4 set. “We’re not pretentious, but we’re not used to this; we’re British. Scottish identity crises aside, it is indeed so that the Glasgow twee-poppers have been […]
TURF reviews: The Barr Brothers at Fort York – July 4, 2013
Colliding elements of chamber music, Delta blues, soul, West-African rhythm, and straightforward rock, The Barr Brothers’s Andrew and Brad Barr (The Slip), Sarah Pagé (Esmerine) and Andrés Vial utilized enchanting harp, pump organ, vibraphone, and traditional rock outfit instrumentation to bring something to TURF’s premiere set that was Frankenstein […]
TURF war
Four-day music festival supports city as facility for live music That Toronto Urban Roots Fest is being marketed under the abbreviated “TURF” title is probably no coincidence. The premiere of the multi-day outdoor music festival comes to the city July 4 through 7, and features headlining acts like Belle and […]
Album Review: Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork
Band restores reputation as rock royalty For many fans of the band Queens of the Stone Age, the last 6 years has been a confusing experience to say the least. Josh Homme has been known for bouncing around between different projects (i.e. bands Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked […]
About
The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.