What’s On This Week: Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa

Labour Day week is doing its best to make sure nobody stays home. From Rush and Iron Maiden in Montreal to Chris Stapleton, TLC and Pitbull in Toronto, plus a five-day festival just across the river from Ottawa, there’s a lot happening between Monday, August 31 and Sunday, September 6.

Toronto

Monday, August 31
Squeeze, with Adam Ant and Haircut 100 — RBC Amphitheatre
Don Toliver: Nitrous – Octane World Tour — Scotiabank Arena
Symphony in the Gardens: Sinatra & Friends Pt. 2 — Casa Loma

Tuesday, September 1
Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show — Rogers Stadium
Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson, with The Hu and Orgy — RBC Amphitheatre

Wednesday, September 2
TLC, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue — RBC Amphitheatre
Jackson Dean — The Opera House

Friday, September 4
Arlo Parks: Desire Tour — History
Toronto International BuskerFest begins — Woodbine Park

Saturday, September 5
RÜFÜS DU SOL — Rogers Centre
Pitbull, with Lil Jon — RBC Amphitheatre
Electric Island Season Closer — Fort York
Canadian International Air Show begins

Sunday, September 6
Toronto International BuskerFest continues — Woodbine Park
Electric Island Season Closer continues — Fort York
Canadian International Air Show continues

Toronto has an unusually deep concert week. The nostalgia department alone could keep the city busy with Squeeze, Adam Ant, Haircut 100, TLC, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue, while Stapleton, Don Toliver, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Pitbull cover an entirely different set of playlists.

BuskerFest takes over Woodbine Park Friday through Sunday, while the Canadian National Exhibition continues at Exhibition Place through Labour Day. The Canadian International Air Show begins Saturday and runs through Monday, September 7.

Montreal

Wednesday, September 2
Rush: Fifty Something — Bell Centre
High on Fire — Foufounes Électriques
Pi’erre Bourne — Studio TD

Thursday, September 3
Iron Maiden, with Megadeth and Anthrax — Parc Jean-Drapeau
Arlo Parks: Desire Tour — MTELUS
Houndmouth — Théâtre Beanfield

Friday, September 4
Rush: Fifty Something — Bell Centre

Saturday, September 5
Piknic Électronik — Parc Jean-Drapeau
Freddie James Project — Le Balcon

Sunday, September 6
Reggae Nation Montréal Festival, headlined by Burning Spear — Old Port / Grand Quai

Montreal gets one of the week’s biggest Canadian music stories with Rush playing the Bell Centre twice, Wednesday and Friday.

Thursday is ridiculous for rock fans. Iron Maiden brings its Run For Your Lives tour to Parc Jean-Drapeau with Megadeth and Anthrax, while Arlo Parks plays MTELUS the same evening.

Sunday shifts the mood toward reggae, with Burning Spear heading up Reggae Nation Montréal at the Old Port, while Piknic Électronik is also active over Labour Day weekend at Parc Jean-Drapeau.

Ottawa-Gatineau

Wednesday, September 2
Festival de montgolfières de Gatineau begins — Parc de la Baie
Matt Lang, Émile Bilodeau and Martin Deschamps — FMG

Thursday, September 3
Smash Mouth — FMG
Jane & Kyle — Red Bird

Friday, September 4
Simple Plan — FMG
The Barr Brothers — FMG
Jackson Dean, with Leah Blevins — The Bronson
Houndmouth, with Brown Horse — History Ottawa

Saturday, September 5
Half Moon Run and Sara Dufour — FMG
Michel Pagliaro: Deux Voix, Une Capitale — The Bronson
Atlético Ottawa vs. Pacific FC — TD Place

Sunday, September 6
Koriass, Fredz and Tire le coyote — FMG

The Ottawa-area story this week is really happening on both sides of the river. The Festival de montgolfières de Gatineau runs Wednesday through Sunday at Parc de la Baie with hot-air balloons, fireworks, amusement rides and a surprisingly serious music lineup.

Smash Mouth plays Thursday, Simple Plan Friday, Half Moon Run Saturday, and Koriass closes things out Sunday night.

Ottawa proper has Jackson Dean and Houndmouth on Friday, followed Saturday by veteran Quebec rocker Michel Pagliaro at The Bronson. Atlético Ottawa also hosts Pacific FC Saturday afternoon at TD Place.

Schedules can change, particularly festival running orders, so readers should check with the venue or event organizer before heading out.