Best EDM Music Festivals in Canada
Yes, turns out our sweet-natured northern cousins do know a thing or two about music festivals after all. From the land of moose and maple syrup comes some EDM magic to rock your world!
Escapade Music Festival (Ottawa, Ontario) – June
If an explosion of trance and techno strikes your fancy, this is the music festival for you. Watch the nation’s capital light up in a dazzling celebration of life, unfolding against the beautiful city landscape – a view matched only by the pure euphoria of being in the midst of it all. Since 2009, Escapade has established itself as a premier music festival and placed Ottawa on the map as a rave-enthusiast must-visit. With musical sensations like Markus Schulz, ZedsDead, and Chris Lorenzo taking the crowd by storm, you’re sure to lose track of time out there on the dance floor.
ileSoniq (Montreal, Quebec) – August
Informally crowned the EDM capital of Canada, Montreal can thank ileSoniq for securing its fanbase. Clearly an elite music festival in terms of both its star-studded line-up and complexity of décor, ileSoniq really offers a taste of what the future of EDM holds. Guess you have to see it to believe it. I mean hello, Marshmello, Bad Bunny, and Excision on the same stage? Sign me up!
Chasing Summer Music Festival (Calgary, Alberta) – August
As one of the coldest cities in the entire world, Calgary sure knows to savor the few months of sun it is granted. Therefore, it comes as no doubt that Chasing Summer Music Festival is fueled entirely by a genuine carpe-diem mentality that trickles into every element of this long-awaited event. Earning the title of Canada’s largest EDM festival in the West, Chasing Summer is committed to treating you to two days of unparalleled fun and festivity. And if the joy of finally sporting a natural tan doesn’t win you over, I’m certain that the jaw-dropping performances by The Chainsmokers, Slushii, and Alesso will!
MUTEK Montreal (Montreal, Quebec) – August
Calling tech-geeks and EDM lovers alike to Montreal this fall for the marriage of cutting-edge technology and quality music. Like a modern-day fairy godmother, MUTEK transforms the pride and joy of Quebec into a futuristic wonderland complete with elaborate stages and elegant sets. With the line-up regularly boasting up and coming artists like Akufen, Jlin and Gudrun Gut, even the hardest-to-please of ravers are sure to find new EDM idols to swoon over.
Bass Coast Music and Arts Festival (Merritt, British Columbia) – July
If you’re bored of big mainstream music festivals and would like something with a little more edge, Bass Coast Music and Arts Festival is the answer to your (musical) prayers! Since its inception in 2009, this festival has made the curation of a unique and diverse line-up its top priority. So prepare to be wowed by moving performances by trailblazers like Sticky Buds, Yheti, and Nightmare on Wax. Made for artists, by artists, you’ll feel right at home at this vibrant and inclusive homage to creative expression.
Contact Winter Music Festival (Vancouver, British Columbia) – December
Witness the nation’s largest indoor stadium transmute into the littiest club you’ve ever had the honor of setting foot in, right before your very eyes. Complete with elaborate sets and backed up by high-production value, Contact is sure to have you cozy up to chilly Vancouver this winter! With a line-up boasting the world’s most beloved EDM powerhouses like Tiesto, San Holo, and Kaskade, this iconic music festival will have you losing contact with reality and wishing you could freeze time so as not to have to grapple with the withdrawal symptoms that will inevitably follow.
Shambhala Music Festival (Salmo River Ranch, British Columbia) – July
Voted ‘North America’s Best Festival’ by the readers of DJ Mag in 2019, Shambhala sure lives up to its reputation as a fan-favorite. Yes, I’m talking four days of party-rocking with six separate themed stages teeming with EDM goodness! Watch out for homegrown Canadian superstars like Black Tiger Sex Machine and Ekali, while you take a break from going gaga over international acts like Dion Timmer and Channel Tres. The best indie music festival to hit the shore this side of the Pacific, Shambhala will make you sham-holla at the Canadian EDM scene.
Igloofest (Montreal, Quebec) – January
You know what they say, when you can’t get to France, French Canada it is! But jokes aside, prepare yourself for a musical fiesta that stretches over twelve unforgettable nights this winter, because Igloofest is about to knock your socks off. Even bundled up in five warm layers to beat the Quebec chill, the jaw-dropping performances by powerful acts like Regular Fantasy, Lauer and Anjunabeats are certain to give you chills. And between sampling delightfully weird alcoholic concoctions at the ice-bar and killing it at the ‘Iglooswag’ snowsuit contest, you’ll forget that your teeth are chattering at all.
Veld Music Festival (Toronto, Ontario) – August
If you have any doubts about why the east coast is the best coast, let Veld Music Festival convince you once and for all. Drawing over 60, 000 ravers each year to its gorgeous venue in the heart of Toronto like moths to a magnificent flame, Veld has proven itself as the perfect amalgamation of hip-hop and electronic music time and time again. Let show-stopping performances by musical powerhouses like Illenium, Don Diablo and Marshmello cement your love for the genre and make a lifelong fan of both EDM and Toronto out of you, this fall. You’re in for a s-Veld time!
AIM Electronic Music Festival (Montreal, Quebec) – July
With its mission to bring ‘Art, Innovation, and Movement’ to the next level embedded in its very name, AIM Electronic Music Festival remains one of the largest hubs of free-spirited yet immersive artistic showcases. Armed with a plethora of multi-media performances and as Canada’s only festival currently possessing the highly-coveted license to play music for over thirty-two consecutive hours, AIM is guaranteed to treat you to an unforgettable feast for the senses. Let the likes of Danny Tenaglia, Pig&Dan, and Getter leave you dazzled and star-struck, as is their aim.
Think it’s time to drop by Canada for a quick EDM fix, don’t you? Check Discotech for the latest festivals in Canada!