Toronto is a great city to visit, especially if you are the type who enjoys good food, movies and music.

It might not be a known fact worldwide, but everyone who lives in Toronto is very aware of the vibrant music scene that is slowly making an impression on the global stage. Some of my favorite spots in the city to catch a great band on any given night include: The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, Bovine Sex Club, Dakota Tavern, Danforth Music Hall, Lee’s Palace, Silver Dollar Room, Hard Luck, Smiling Buddha and Cameron House, just to name a few.

To help get you started on where to go, lets pinpoint what local Toronto bands might best suit your flavour.

If you want to forget about your worries and just jump around to some carefree pop punk, rock n’ roll, garage or psych then I would have to suggest PKEW x3, VCR, Kurt Marble, Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs, Plan 37, and First Base.

Looking for something with a bit more noise? Check out Casper Skulls, New Fries and B17.

Or if you just want to sit back and chill with some organs playing and possibly some witches, look up Crosss, Blood Ceremony and Bibical.

Maybe you’re not like that and you just want some bands that play more to the pop side, we have that too in the form of Born Ruffians, Young Rival, July Talk and the cities favourite cover band Dwayne Gretzky.

Hey, we also have some amazing females causing a big splash such as, Twist, Weaves and Meanwood.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on, but I also want you to be pleasantly surprised when you get here! If you want anymore Toronto info find me on Twitter or Instagram @shelbymonita

This is a guest post by Shelby Monita; a Toronto-based artist and writer. You can find her work on social media and on her portfolio shelbymonita.squarespace.com