I’m almost resenting having to post about this year’s Festival Music House, running as part of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). It’s not that the event isn’t worth covering – it is, and in a big way. Instead, it’s because it seems like I’m letting out a really good secret. This year, it’s happening at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club, but isn’t open to the public.

Over the last few years, Festival Music House has presented some of Canada’s most exciting and reputable talent to TIFF delegates to promote cross-platform business opportunities. Past years have featured acts like our Sept./Oct. cover band Metric, Tokyo Police Club, Stars, City & Colour, and more. This year’s lineup is pretty special as well, and it all began last night with Jeremy Fisher, Adam Cohen, Monster Truck, and Wintersleep. Our favourite Voyageur, Kathleen Edwards, was supposed to play, but a bit of a medical emergency (she’s okay now) forced a last-minute cancellation.

All of our images were snapped by JJ Thompson/medianeeds.ca.

We missed Jeremy Fisher. A crime, I know. His 2010 release Flood is full of upbeat pop gems and, thanks to this thing, has been a part of every beach playlist I’ve made over the last two summers.

As for Mr. Adam Cohen, it’s refreshing to see the offspring of a well-known musician (well, legendary in this case) carve his own path and resist the easy road of following in his father’s footsteps. His music career began relatively late, but the man still has the ability to write love songs that don’t come across as melodramatic or cheap. The energy that goes into them is enhanced on the live stage. His 3-piece outfit at FMH had a great chemistry and concentrated the passion of his works.

Nova Scotia natives Wintersleep did a bang-up job of motivating the crowd. The band’s live show is quite the extension of the well-known singles and could even take some listeners aback – in a great way. Seeing them play offers a glimpse at what it would’ve been like to catch some special Sub Pop acts in their prime.

As for Monster Truck, big, loud, and awesome. Not much else to say than if you’re after some classic-tinged hard rock, these are your guys. We’ll be out tonight as well. Report coming soon…

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