Latest news with #Downsview
National Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
Raymond J. de Souza: Memories of Live Aid and a different era
Article content Yet it was as a cultural phenomenon that Live Aid seems from an entirely different era. Would it be possible today to assemble a cast of musicians sufficiently well known across the generations to attract the viewers that Live Aid did in 1985? The stadium show itself no longer has the cultural power it did in the 1980s, when it was a staple of summertime. Article content Taylor Swift's recent tour, concluded in Canada, attracted such attention partly because it was so unusual — a pop star selling out massive stadium after massive stadium. It happens, but not like the 1980s, when Springsteen and Jackson and others packed football stadiums night after night, summer after summer — and it didn't require debt financing for the fans to attend. Article content Perhaps Swift marks a return to popular live music. A new outdoor concert facility — capacity 50,000 — opened on the old Toronto Downsview airport site last month. Coldplay did four shows there, part of their multi-year Music of the Spheres tour that has now sold more tickets than any other tour in history. Article content Article content But Swift and Coldplay are more likely exceptional. Which is a shame, because the joyous exuberance of the stadium tour is not replicable in the privatized music listening environment of the digital world. Article content Article content In 1985 the Sony Walkman was still relatively new, launched only in 1979, and had not yet reached its peak. Still running on audio cassettes, the Walkman was a cultural earthquake, converting music from an ambient communal experience to a singular, even private, one. Article content It was still possible in the early 1990s to walk around a university campus and to hear the current anthems wafting out of open windows; now everyone is wearing earbuds and no one hears each other's music. Something was lost when parents and children — and brothers and sisters — fought over what was on the radio or the home stereo. The first act to play the new Downsview site was Stray Kids. It's a K-pop group I have never heard of. To be fair, I don't know any K-pop groups. To be honest, I had to look up what K-pop is. Article content Article content The stadium and arena tour is not entirely dead. Springsteen is still performing and Elton John's farewell tour went on so long he may still revive it. Article content In 2019, Princeton economist Alan Krueger, chairman of the council of economic advisers under Barack Obama, wrote a fun book called Rockonomics on the music industry. Pre-digital, artists could earn well from sales of recorded music. Streaming killed that off, similar to declining sales in printed media. The big money now is in live concerts. According to Krueger's research, even McCartney, who dominated the world of records with his long list of No. 1 songs, now earns 80 per cent of his income from live concerts. Article content
CTV News
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
TTC, GO Transit offering free rides from new 50,000-capacity Toronto concert venue
A photograph of the brand new 50000 seat Rogers Stadium front gates for concerts in Toronto on Thursday, June 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Fans heading home from a concert at Toronto's newest concert venue this summer will be able to ride the TTC and GO Transit for free. City and provincial officials made the announcement on Thursday during a media tour of Rogers Stadium, the largest purpose-built outdoor concert venue in Toronto. With limited parking on the site, fans are urged to use public transit to get to Rogers Stadium, as it is about a 10-minute walk from Downsview Park TTC and GO Station. Concertgoers can also get off at Sheppard West Station and Wilson Station as alternatives. The temporary, open-air venue, which has a capacity to host 50,000 people, is located at the former Downsview airport. Rogers Stadium shouldn't be confused with Rogers Centre, which is located downtown. Rogers Stadium People stand on the stage at the brand new 50000 seat concert venue, Rogers Stadium, in Toronto, Thursday, June 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette (Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS) It will open its doors for the first time on Sunday when K-pop group Stray Kids brings their Dominate World Tour to Toronto. GO Transit says it will add three southbound Barrie Line trains from Downsview Park GO to Union Station on Sunday to help fans get home. Meanwhile, the TTC says it will roll out extra subway trains based on crowd size. Other music acts set to perform at Rogers Stadium include Oasis, Coldplay, Hozier and Blackpink. During Thursday's announcement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford invited Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on a date to one of the upcoming concerts, touting their 'phenomenal' working relationship. 'Come to Rogers Stadium and we're going to have a great time. And I'll be there with the mayor one of these concerts. You pick the concert, mayor, okay, and I'll take you along there,' Ford quipped. The stadium is expected to operate in the summer months and will eventually be demolished as the area will be turned into a $30-billion mixed-use urban space over the next three decades. With files from Phil Tsekouras
