The best (and cheapest) upcoming Canadian Concerts

Summer concert season is upon us—lasting roughly from spring to early fall in this country (a few crazy bands tour in the winter. To you I say BRR!!). Canada seems to have more touring acts than ever before, and there is great music to be had in the months ahead. Here are my top picks for the best (and cheapest) Canadian concert tours to look forward to:

1. Dan Mangan/Rural Alberta Advantage – Fall, Across Canada

BC’s Mr. Nice Guy meets the alt-rock champs of the prairies on a cross-Canada jaunt starting in October. Is this too much cute dude action for one tour to take? There’s only one way to find out…by seeing them live! Tix are mostly under $30, and if you buy them direct from Mangan’s website you can add some music for very cheap. Awesome.

2. Rae Spoon – Right Now, across Western Canada

The enchanting and enthralling Rae Spoon is a transgendered pop artist whose soulful voice and wry witty take on acoustic music transposed into electronica on this year’s I Can’t Keep All of Our Secrets. He’s a tiny and captivating live performer too. Catch him at the Calgary Folk Fest, or at many other gigs across Western Canada this summer. Dance outside! Please! Tix under $25 at most venues, with Calgary Folk Fest being the best deal.

3. Purity Ring – September, across Canada

I have a massive music crush on Purity Ring, a duo from Edmonton (now in Montreal-Halifax) whose hypnotic electronic music is my very favourite thing to listen to while traveling, while cleaning my house, while walking, while…well, you get it. And that’s before they’ve even released an album—I’ve had to make do with various released tracks and YouTube videos. But their album comes out Tuesday, and they’re in my head right now (they even got a NY Times writeup!). And lucky Canadians will get to see them in September at mid-sized venues across the country for less money than it takes to buy a round of drinks for all the friends you’ll want to bring along to groove with.

And that’s barely scraping the surface! Who are you excited to see this summer and why? Tell us in the comments below.

Image via CadenceMag