Well, it’s finally here. Some call it spring, but in dance music land we know this time simply as the beginning of festival season. With Miami around the corner and new festivals announced by the day, we are on the cusp of what promises to be an iconic six months for North American dance music culture. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though; we have an absolutely rammed month of parties in Canada and beyond. While Ultra is the word on everyone’s lips, there is so much happening North of the border as well. This month we have the world’s longest- running white party, Bal en Blanc, returning to Montreal for their 19th edition, featuring our cover stars Sultan and Ned Shepard. We’ve also got Bass Week rattling Toronto for nine days of late March madness, and West coast festivals Northern Lights and Seasons Festival set to give our whole country a taste of dance music’s finest offerings, even for those not making it to Miami.
And for those who do make it down, we’ve got you covered too. Read on for full details on our legendary pool party which has moved to the Delano hotel, a day-by-day rundown of the top parties during WMC, and a full guide to six days of Ultra. On the artist side, we’ve got something for every kind of music lover in this edition, from the biggest and brightest progressive and electro DJ’s, to the deepest and darkest house and techno artists you can find anywhere. You’ll just have to read on to find why the biggest stars in dance music are so in love with the Canadian scene, starting with interviews from two winter wonderland raves, Montreal’s Igloofest and Toronto’s Brrrrr Festival. Strap yourself in!
Drew Barton
K Lea, Ani Hajderaj, Kurtis Hooper, Arda Ozcan, Stef Abrek, Michael Miles, Olivia Weir, DJ Visual Jedi, DJ Infinight, Mark Bockstael, John Mitchell, Si Edwards, Barrie Martelle, Christopher Rich, Markos Polydorou, Olivia Weir, Michelle Rodriguez, Evan McIntyre, Jerome Robins, Joe Wills, Samuel Miller, Kiera Miller, James Kabat, Kristina Outland, Jake Posner, Danielle Desmond Derrek Tucker and Daniel Rajczyk, Claire Hughes, Adam Saville, Joe Roberts, Richard Brophy, Alex Constantinides, Paul Clarke, Beth Crockatt, David McCarthy, Found Sounds, Kutski, Ricky Newson, Jonathan Burnip, Chris Davison, Emmajo Read, Neil Kulkarni, Dan Reid, Mark Gurney, Oli Marlow, Ben Arnold, Kristan J Caryl, Jim Butler, Kate Wright, Steve Braiden, Kristian Dando, Ian Roullier, Tristan Parker, Luke Pepper, Louise Brailey, Tim Stark, Danna Takako Hawley, James Kenyon, Cheech & Francos Café