Over the last several years Toronto has become a destination city for music festivals. Major events like BESTIVAL and Veld Music Festival bring big acts to the area, but there’s a more modest concert series that’s gaining more traction thanks to its stellar lineup and laid back vibes. That series is called Electric Island; and, it’s giving locals and tourists alike a good reason to check-out internationally renowned artists on the elusive Toronto Island in Ontario for the very first time.
This year’s series kicks off on Victoria Day weekend, a time of great celebration in Canada. Not only does Victoria Day (aka “The May 2-4”) weekend mark the unofficial arrival of the summer season, it also gives party animals an excuse to sling back brews – a favored pastime on this annual holiday. Thankfully, enjoying cold alcoholic beverages goes hand in hand with the all-day concert and picnic event planned for May 23rd featuring artists like German techno legend Sven Väth, UK producer Jamie Jones whom will be making his Electric Island debut, DJ Tennis, Job Jobse and more.
I had a chance to chat with Joel Smye, producing partner Toronto’s Electric Island, as well as, SXMusic Festival in St. Martin about why this year’s series is going to set the tone for Toronto’s summer festival season.
MFC: What makes Electric Island stand out from other festivals?
JS: Firstly, the fact that it’s on Toronto Island is really unique. Even people who live in Toronto know it exists but they never go there. It’s actually a really beautiful area, and I think the adventure of getting on the ferry, and that experience of getting to the island makes it a really unique venue for us to use.
MFC: I love that it’s billed as a concert and picnic event. Do people take advantage of that concept?
JS: Yeah, they really do. People come out for the entire day. We’ve added a lot of food trucks and other options, so people can come eat and hang out on a blanket with their friends. We have ping pong and other activities to do before you really settle in on the dance floor.
MFC: How has Electric Island grown since its inception four years ago?
JS: For our first event we were targeting 1,000 people and we ended up doing 1,500. The next year it grew to between 3,000 and 4,000 people. Now we are in the 6,000 to 7,000 range. We might hit 8,000 attendees this year! It’s just grown every year [in all aspects]. We added more in terms of production and the lineups keep getting bigger. We are attracting talent who are now reaching out to us. It’s a great experience from a DJ’s perspective [because they get] to take the boat ride over and explore the park and parts of Toronto they probably wouldn’t have a chance to see otherwise. This year we are adding a different look so it’s not just a typical stage set up in a park. We are bringing in a decor specialist to create some really unique structures. We see a natural progression in growth. Typically the Labor Day finale is just one date, and we’ve added the Monday, so now we’ll have five concert dates instead of four. With every [passing] event, we try to improve. People are really excited to come and make this a part of their summer.
MFC: Being as Electric Island is a house and techno focused series this summer, do you find that you attract hardcore genre fans or a more diverse crowd?
JS: It’s more diverse because of the environment. We’ve done some things in past years with acts like Jamie XX and other up and coming artists, so [this year’s lineup] is not by design. It fell into place that it was a house and techno focused lineup. We’ll have Get Real making an appearance, and it’s the first time Jamie Jones has played Electric Island. It’s the perfect environment for his sound. This year it just happened this way, and next year it might be different. [The Lineup is also dependent] on the schedules of the artists. Most of these acts spend their time in Ibiza over the summer, so make it a point to look at who is touring North America. The artists who want to play this festival have heard about it, they’ve seen the pictures and they think it’s worth their while to take a weekend away from Ibiza life to come to Toronto.
MFC: I hear May 24th is a big party day for Canadians. How does that work in tandem with this year’s big kick-off?
JS: It’s the May 2-4 weekend! For Canadian beer drinkers, it’s been circled on the calendar for as long as they remember. This is a big one for college students too because it’s the opening of cottage weekend. We have so much cold weather, and typically this weekend is the one where we finally get the summer air and the nice weather. Typically, [Canadians see May 2-4] as game on for the summer! The first date is typically our biggest one attendance wise, because everyone in Toronto is dying to get outside. It’s been grey and cold for 6 months and this is the first outdoor party of the season so people are excited for that.
MFC: Why should every festival goer add Electric Island to their list of destination events this summer?
JS: The first Electric Island was an intimate event, and it took until last year when we really upped our production game [to see out-of-towners in attendance]. Now we definitely have people coming from New York and Montreal, and going forth we’d like to tap into that on a more international level. It could be a destination festival! People can pick one of these weekends for a trip to Toronto. It’s grown organically, which has worked well for us and has allowed us to fine tune our systems. Last year we introduced the season pass, what has been really popular this year more than ever. If you’re in Toronto for the summer, it’s a good value. Our prices are lower than similar Toronto festivals where it’s $200 for the weekend versus $140 for our season pass. Our environment and our lineup is not as in your face as a typical EDM festival. We tend to draw a more mature crowd. It’s a little more of a laid back day because it’s not just an electronic music festival. Digital Dreams and Veld do it that way, which is great, but for this type of sound, we’re unique. There are lots of outdoor parties in Toronto, but we stand out.
MFC: How do you want to see Electric Island change over the next several years?
JS: We’d like to reach our maximum potential, and fine-tuning how many people [we can host] is important. BESTIVAL used the island last year and had twice as many people and they ran into the issue of [the Ferry’s being unable to accommodate all of the guests] and people had to wait for hours to get home. There will be a ceiling on how much we can grow. It will be important to discover what that number is. We are adding a lot more vendors and selling their products, more food trucks, more games and making it a really great experience. We have to figure out the greatest number of people we can have [attending the event] on the island because we want tickets to be in demand. We’ll fine tune the production and experience for that number of people. The right amount of food, the right amount of stage production and sound and getting it tight. It’s important to offer the right festival, the right sound, the right look. It’s not something that can just be thrown together.
MFC: What are some Electric Island survival tips you can offer to first time attendees?
JS: Definitely bring a sweater. When the sun goes down it gets cold. We have Electric Island blankets for sale but it’s good to plan ahead for iffy weather. We allow empty water bottles to come in and fill up, and we have a refill station. All of the basic things that apply to any festival, apply here, except for getting off the island. You can’t just grab a taxi. A lot can happen, and you can’t just get home in 20 minutes, but that’s part of the adventure. Riding the Ferry home is usually pretty hilarious. People are in really good moods, and some characters come out. If you’re looking for good Snapchat material, it’s there.
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