Year in Review: The Best Concerts of 2016

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Fowler
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: Brian Wilson
Venue: Massey Hall
City: Toronto
Date: July 4

At 73 years old, it was an amazing experience to watch and listen to one of the creative driving forces of such an iconic band as The Beach Boys, perform before us.  The songs. The memories. The pure enjoyment of this show did not disappoint.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: Baroness
Venue: The Opera House
City: Toronto
Date: May 3

Entering into this concert with little knowledge of Baroness, by the time the show was over, I was a fan. Head-banging, hair whipping metal accompanied by brilliant lighting made this a concert worth seeing again.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: Phantogram
Venue: The Phoenix Concert Theatre
City: Toronto
Date: October 19

This trip-hop duo and band melded their dynamic music with captivating visuals, first show on a mesh screen and then on screen behind the band.

I think what made this show so enjoyable was the energy level and excitement of both the band and the fans in the audience.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: Various
Venue: Riverfest Elora 2016
City: Elora, ON
Date: August 19-21

What a fantastic festival! Beautiful village of Elora hosting huge bands such as the Sheepdogs, Chromeo, Hey Rosetta!, Walk Off The Earth, Matthew Good, Wintersleep and more.

I had a wonderful time covering all of these bands over the three day festival. With three stages, and non-stop music, food trucks and merch tents, what more could you ask for?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: Rick Astley
Venue: The Phoenix Concert Theatre
City: Toronto
Date: October 9

On the heels of his 50th birthday and album of the same name, Rick Astley was never gonna give it up.

Amazing voice and stage presence kept the audience singing and cheering for more. I have to admit that it was difficult at time photographing this show while trying to sing along to the songs at the same time.