As Canadians' ideas of staycations take root, Oshawa steps up with an April music line-up packed with homegrown talent. This talent, which has a distinctive mix of metal and Bluegrass, makes up the sound of The 'Shwarock City. Thanks to the students in Durham College's Music Business Management program and the annual Oshawa Music Week they are tasked with creating, live music is available throughout the city.
Oshawa Music Week, celebrating 25 years, occurs at various venues from Tuesday, April 1, through Saturday, April 5. It features everything from Hip-Hop to Bollywood to Punk and Pop.
Oshawa Music Week kicks off on Tuesday, April 1, with Songs Revealed, a showcase of Durham Region’s singer/songwriters, at the TwoTwoTwo inside the Bond|St. Events Centre. Wednesday, April 2, Genre Swap takes place also at the TwoTwoTwo. Wednesday, April 3, has a stacked line-up with the Desi Party at the Biltmore Theatre, Country Night at The Atria, Rap in the Diezel Room on the second floor of the Atria, and indie rock at the TwoTwoTwo.
On Friday, April 4, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) hosts an Emerging Artist Showcase. This is also the launch party for the 2025 season of the Gallery’s monthly RMG Friday events. On Saturday, April 5, activities return to the Durham College North Campus for a Music Summit and Gala. Passes are available for the week or individual events.
Back downtown, Canadian rockers Goddo, who played a sold-out show at the Regent Theatre in October 2024, returns to the city to perform a set at Kops Records on King Street, also on Saturday, April 5. Goddo is performing at a book launch for his friend, promoter Gary Topp, of the legendary Toronto duo the Two Garys. Topp has chronicled his journey as a promoter of punk and new wave shows in Toronto in his book ‘He Hijacked My Brain,’ which will be available for sale at the afternoon event.
Later the same evening, alt-country outfit Cuff The Duke will play a rare hometown show. The band has been on hiatus for a decade but has returned with a great new album and is playing at the Biltmore Theatre in the first of the Portal to Convergence series which leads up to the Convergence Music and Art Festival on September 19 + 20. Our fellow Shwarock scenesters Darren Roy Clarke and Matt Holtby will open the show.
There’s another hometown gathering at the Biltmore Theatre on Sunday, April 13. Hometown Sounds, presented by Crosswalk Promotions, features a whole slew of Oshawa artists and sponsors. Musicians include Dean Povinsky of indie rockers Wildlife, Doug & Dellie, Poor Pelly, The Howies, Daniel Scott, and Myke Pulito. Businesses supporting the showcase include Tastoria Kitchen, located in the Markets at 70 King, Whitby-based 5 Paddles Brewing, Wunderlit Magazine, and Kops Records.
The Easter Weekend in Oshawa begins Thursday, April 17, with DJ Domn8t at the Biltmore Theatre. DJ Domn8t has been part of the Oshawa dance scene since he was a teenager, helping out in his parents' clubs, and he brings all those years to bear on the turntables. During the day, Domn8t is the proprietor of Avanti Trattoria, a very fine Italian restaurant located close to the Biltmore Theatre and a popular spot for those going to the music venues for the night.
On Saturday, April 19, at the Biltmore Theatre, Oshawa’s iconic metal band, Harem Scarem, are back to performing live after a hiatus. Metal is never far from the heart of Oshawa; the city is, after all, the birthplace of heavy metal by way of native son Mars Bonfire, who wrote ‘Born To Be Wild’ and the lyric ‘Heavy Metal Thunder.’
There are, of course, many more live events throughout the core: at the Atria, at the Regent Theatre, the Bond|St. Events Centre and in all of the pubs and clubs in the suburbs, but as the nation of Canada looks inward to its own culture for solace and celebration, pride and purpose, the incredible musical talent in the city of Oshawa is already there celebrating its own voice in harmony with those across the country and providing one more reason to stay home and support local culture.
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