TORONTO: Summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the streets!
The usual round of music and arts festivals once again takes over Canada as they do every summer.
However this year there is one inaugural festival that stands out tall over many others — Roxodus!
At the launch party recently at Grace O’Malleys pub in the heart of the entertainment district of Toronto, Roxodus, Ontario’s superlative four-day music concert from July 11-14, was announced.
Who’s headlining it? Well according to one attendee at the VIP kick-off party “Are you spitting me? Every last act on the roster is a headliner!”
And you better believe it. With names such as Aerosmith, Kid Rock, Peter Frampton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice Cooper, Cheaptrick, Billy Idol and several more dynamite bands, this festival is going to be the experience of a lifetime!
The festival will take place in Edenvale , Ontario near Wasaga beach, world’s largest fresh water beach, about a 90 minute drive from Toronto.
The grapevine has it that this is the North’s answer to the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, featuring musicians more reminiscent of the Woodstock Nation than any other festival that has been announced to honour the Woodstock festival that took place 50 years ago in Bethel, New York where 500,000 fans gathered for peace, love and Woodstock!
For music entertainment at the launch party, Hell’s Bells, Canada’s premier tribute band to AC/DC, the world renowned music wizards from Oz, rocked the place! AC/DC are known for not having a slow number or ballad, just fast-driving tunes- so you can well imagine the high-octane energy in the room that night!
Here is an excerpt from an interview with one of the organizers, Mike Dunphy, also well known as the man behind the uber popular annual Wasaga beach motorcycle rally.
1.Many know you as the smiling and affable Wasaga Beach bike rally organizer . What made you decide to do a music festival?
Mike Dunphy (MD):The idea of the music festival came after going to Sturgis Buffalo Chip for their motorcycle rally and I saw Kid Rock perform in front of 75,000 fans in the rain.
2. Do you have any experience in doing a music festival of this grandeur? I mean, there are granddaddies of the rock scene like Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynrd, Peter Frampton, Kid Rock and more.
MD: Fab (another organizer) and I have spent 25 years each in big construction which has given us the experience to deal with site planning, sub-contractors, big budgets and unrealistic deadlines…LOL. We have a great group of people including the Production Director from Coachella, Stagecoach and Desert Trip.
3. Did the task daunt you at the outset?
MD: While there are many stressful days trying to keep up with emails and demands for our time, there has never been a day in which we were stressed out over planning the Festival. As we get closer to the Festival we are feeling the pressure of getting things in place, but we will be ready.
4. How did the name Roxodus come about?
MD: We had a great branding company in Toronto (Zync Media) come up with the name. It’s brilliant.
5. The classic rock heads in Canada are touting it as Woodstock 50 north, bringing together bands reminiscent of the Woodstock nation more so than similar festivals in the US. What’s your take on this?
MD: That’s quite the honour. Our goal has been to acquire some great classic rock bands and have people spend the weekend rekindling their youth. A weekend of camping, food, music, cold drinks, chef experiences, helicopter rides and much more. Let There Be Rock. For more information please visit www.roxodus.com.
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