Spring is typically the calm before Toronto’s packed summer concert season, but this year it’s a different story.
Even before BTS, Ed Sheeran and Rush roll into town in the heat of July and August, there’s an impressive lineup of global superstars, legacy acts and rising names lined up for local stages.
Here are 15 concerts worth catching before the end of June.
Amber Mark
March 11 at Danforth Music Hall
Four months after opening Sabrina Carpenter’s back-to-back Toronto dates at Scotiabank Arena, the secret weapon of soul music returns with an intimate showcase of her latest album, “Pretty Baby.” Mark first turned critics’ heads with her velvety 2021 single “What It Is,” and has since sharpened her live set with an growing catalogue of sleek, late-night R&B, punctuated by her charming stage presence.
Alexander Stewart
March 13 at Danforth Music Hall
Homecomings matter for Toronto musicians, but playing the Danforth Music Hall carries extra meaning for Stewart. The 26-year-old artist grew up a few blocks away from the venue, and across the street he paid tribute to the victims of the Danforth shootings at a 2018 public memorial, singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” A video of his rendition, with then Prime Minster Justin Trudeau looking on, went viral. Since then, Stewart has grown from aspiring teen star to heart-wrenching pop balladeer, racking up millions of streams.
Rochelle Jordan
March 20 at Opera House
With ‘90s rave culture experiencing a comeback, this could finally be Jordan’s moment to shine. The Whitby, Ont.-raised R&B singer has been earning praise in indie music circles for well over a decade, but her polished, club-ready house feels newly in vogue. It helps that she’s teamed up with Montreal producer Kaytranada — appearing on his 2024 Grammy-nominated album “Timeless” while he produced her 2025 single “The Boy” — and has a live show that offers a unique spin on classic Detroit and Chicago house.
William Prince
March 21 at Massey Hall
Playing Massey Hall is often a career high for Canadian musicians, but for two-time Juno winner Prince, its stage has become a second home. His latest tour marks the third time the First Nations singer-songwriter has headlined the venue, in addition to numerous other appearances, including at Neil Young’s birthday celebration last November. The pairing makes sense, as Prince’s warm, booming voice — often compared to Johnny Cash’s — carries effortlessly into the rafters of the storied space.
The Hives
March 22-23 at History
Nearly a quarter of a century after the Swedish garage rockers burst out of their home country and onto the global music scene, sporting crisp suits and shouting the scrappy hit “Hate to Say I Told You So,” their snarl hasn’t dulled. A sold-out first night at History prompted the band to slap a second show on the calendar — living up to the name of their latest album, “The Hives Forever Forever the Hives.”
FKA Twigs
March 24 at Coca-Cola Coliseum
Avant-garde musician FKA Twigs treats her concerts less like live shows than shape-shifting art projects. If you’re open to an evening of beautifully abstract — if sometimes confounding — visual ideas, her Body High tour will almost certainly deliver. The show centres on her propulsive 2025 album, “Eusexua,” which earned the performer her first Grammy last month.
Cardi B
March 30 at Scotiabank Arena
Fresh off her cameo in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, the feisty rapper — and outspoken foil to Nicki Minaj — brings her Little Miss Drama tour to the city for a night of unpredictable shenanigans. A second date follows on March 31 at Hamilton’s TD Coliseum.
Lily Allen
April 7-8 at Massey Hall
Rarely do tabloids and critics agree, but last year both embraced Lily Allen’s return to music. Her album “West End Girl” — a no-holds-barred takedown of ex-husband David Harbour, whom she accuses of repeated infidelity — helped earn her the praise, and she’s promised to perform it in full on her first tour in seven years. However, the tour got off to a rocky start: days before the March kickoff, she posted a video showing she’d lost her voice in rehearsals.
Triumph
April 24 at Scotiabank Arena
Even if most of the confetti went to Rush, there’s still enough left in the bag to celebrate another ‘70s Toronto band getting back together this year. Triumph made Canadian music history with arena-rock earworms “Lay It on the Line” and “Magic Power,” and the band will play those hits, and more, when they travel North America this spring, joined by Toronto-born Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X.
Karan Aujla
May 9-10 at Scotiabank Arena
Punjabi Canadian singer Aujla is on a historic run. He became the first Punjabi artist to win the viewer-voted Junos fan choice award two years ago, and last summer his third record, “P-Pop Culture,” delivered the biggest Canadian chart debut ever for a Punjabi-language album. If his last tour is any indication, he’ll go big again — with arena-scale visuals, backup dancers and high energy.
Bruno Mars
May 23-24, 27-28, 30 at Rogers Stadium
Nobody delivers a megahit quite like Bruno Mars. If you’ve caught yourself humming his Lady Gaga duet “Die with a Smile” or shaking your tail feather to his Rosé collab “APT.” lately, you’ll be in good company at his five-night Toronto stadium run where the crowd will prove you’re not alone in being seduced by his pop charms.
The Guess Who
May 30 at Scotiabank Arena
Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman are no strangers to drama. The prickly pair spent years sparring in the media over their contributions to the Guess Who, so it was surprising when they began laying the groundwork for a reunion just before the COVID-19 shutdown. Since then, they’ve mounted smaller shows together, but hitting arenas was their ultimate goal. Now, the Winnipeg rock legends are finally putting that plan in motion, against the backdrop of fresh conflict. Earlier this year, they were sued by founding drummer Garry Peterson and founding bassist James Kale — who are both not involved in the reunion — in a dispute over the band’s name and performance rights.
Rosalía
June 13 at Scotiabank Arena
The boundary-pushing Spanish pop superstar is known for delivering live shows that fuse sonic ambition with striking visuals — and her new album “Lux” promises to raise the bar. Harry Styles and Madonna have both praised the project, which sees Rosalía perform in 13 languages while exploring the friction between words and sound. How the two-time Grammy winner translates that to the stage will make this one of the season’s must-see shows. She offered a taste at the recent Brit Awards, where she was joined by Icelandic singer Björk to perform a powerful take on their song “Berghain.”
Arkells
June 17-19 at multiple venues
“We like small little sweaty shows, and the chance to swing for big ones, too,” explained Max Kerman when he announced his Hamilton rock band would stage an ambitious “three-night stand” across Toronto. Each concert will feature a refreshed set list of hits and fan favourites, scaling up the venue size along the way. They start on June 17 at Lee’s Palace, which can cram in about 550 people. The next night, they upgrade to History, with a capacity of about 2,500, and the run culminates at the RBC Amphitheatre, a 16,000-seat venue.
Post Malone
June 16 at Rogers Stadium
Could this stadium tour be a warm-up for a Post Malone Super Bowl halftime show? Some fans certainly hope so. Few artists move between genres as seamlessly as Posty. He’s a rapper, a rocker and a country singer, often within the same concert. With two albums due for release this year, it’s not hard to imagine the NFL eyeing the triple threat for next year’s grand football finale. Catch him at the city’s biggest venue, just in case this is the dry run.
