Popular music venues in Toronto

Popular music venues in Toronto

If you are looking for a good time, there is no doubt that the music venues in Toronto will blow your mind. I mean, we can really consider Toronto to be a mecca for such events. Artists from all over the world always put Toronto on the list of places they need to perform in. And for a good reason. It doesn’t matter how popular the artist is, all of them will want to have a shot in Toronto.

And there is a good reason for this. Toronto is home to a very large population of young people. The more young people you have the higher interest there will be for music venues in Toronto. And from one weekend to another, some event will be taking place there. All of which will have an audience. Sometimes even during the weekdays.

The best music venues in Toronto

In most cases, the best music venues in Toronto that you can find are either mid-sized or tiny. None of the huge open spaces (if you can find any) are going to be on the list of best music venues in Toronto. This list will consist of the cozy, slanted floors, living room styled venues since we strongly believe that they make for the best live experience you can find in this city. Luckily, there are many who share the same sentiment, and hence we have a huge number of places to choose from.

We have taken the liberty of selecting a few music venues that we would like you to see. However, do keep note that there are many more and that we might have missed some good ones. Either way, we hope you find the best one for you!

The Opera House

First and foremost, the size of this place is perfect. Someone will argue that nothing is perfect, and if this is true – this place is as close to it as you can find. Size-wise at least. It houses bands that are too popular for smaller venues, but still not popular enough for an open stadium. I remember this one time when the Gossip had a show in there. It was so funny! We really thought that the balcony was going to give in and crash due to the booming sound and an amazing dance party that took place.

Danforth Music Hall

This place is absolutely amazing. I mean it is so good that some people even consider moving to Toronto to be able to attend concerts there. The place has a very unique incline on the floor. This enables this 1400 person venue to allow everyone the ability to see everything without any problems. There simply are no bad spots in the house due to the magical slant. In addition to this, there is a huge balcony for all those lazy concert visitors.

Lastly, the acoustics and the lights are amazing, and most importantly – there is a lot of breathing room inside.

Lee’s Palace

Many who have visited and reviewed this venue will say that it is cartoonish. And to many, it might seem so. This cartoonish ambiance will give you a very warm feeling of being welcome the moment you slide your head through the door. The entrance is comically narrow, but once you manage to squeeze through you will be entering a much larger concert space. The shows that debuted here are remarkable. Lee’s hosted Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, and even Oasis.

Basically, if you ever get a chance to get inside and see a show – do it!

Horseshoe Tavern

For all of you heavy metal, a heart of steel, rock’n’roll fans – this tavern will be your haven. This lovely place will forever keep making all the lists due to the fact that this is the noisiest and grungiest, most rock’n’roll place you can find. Make no mistake. It may come off as tiny with a flat concert floor, but the energy inside as well as the music genres that are hosted here make all the difference. Some people bring earplugs. Yes, you may have the ability to see your favorite band this close, but your eardrums might disagree.

Massey Hall

Now, even if you are not a Toronto resident, you will have heard of the Massey Hall. This place is famous all over the world. Even the Etobicoke movers speak of it to people moving to Toronto for the first time. This place is famous for many things, one of them being the amazing acoustics and unmatchable views. Furthermore, you have the infamous Massey balcony that has seats arranged in the funkiest of ways. Namely, the seats are dangerously piled together, and if you do try to take one you could probably squeeze half of your but cheeks. However, this place is most commonly used to record live LPs, so you will most likely want to suck it up and go with the flow.

Drake Underground

Lastly, for all you rap and hip-hop fans, there is a cave you can go to as well! It’s called the Drake Underground and it will have the sound that will most likely kick your heart into overdrive. This place is also home to numerous dance or electronic music events, being visited by DJs from across the globe. Aside from international DJs, you can witness a lot of indie bands who are still trying to make a name for themselves.

The place is dark. The place is deep. And it has no cell phone reception, making it almost perfect!

Please refer to our Toronto nightlife guide for further ideas on where you can go and what you can do!