By Kasandra Bracken

The combination of DJs, electronica, and dancing usually renders images of dark, sweaty clubs pulsing with drum ‘n’ bass into the late hours of the night (or the wee hours of the morning). Sometimes it’s hard to put a face to your favorite spin doctors between black lights and dry ice, dimly lit clubs and small DJ booths. But on the west side music scene this weekend, the times, they are a-changin’.
This Sunday’s first-ever TIME Festival sheds some light on the electro-pop dance world in a natural scene with a rich city history―certainly a unique backdrop for a music genre that’s rarely associated with the great outdoors. The historical Sunnyside Pavillion, which started out as a public bathing station and has previously been part of a popular amusement park, is now providing public amusement when it plays host to the electronic greats of our time―Belgian imports Soulwax are headlining the fest (check out their unbelievably catchy, ultra-current version of the Stone’s classic lullaby “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”), and play with eighteen other brilliant of-the-moment acts on two podiums―the “On Time” and “Time Out” stages. We suggest Brit Erol Alkan (who put on a messy Monday-night show at the Social earlier this year), A-Trak (who also played a recent show at The Social), and Matthew Dear (who will be playing Wrongbar in October). Also, trusty locals Fritz Helder & the Phantoms, VND/LSM, Nasty Nav, and Vaneska will ensure that you keep booty-shaking from 1-11 p.m. No typo, it’s ten hours straight. Unfortunately Red Bull isn’t among the sponsors for this fest (and thankfully, neither is an annoyingly overly-branded cell-phone company)―but there will always be beer gardens.
Photo by Stephen James from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.