Canadian Music Week 2012 preview

Canadian Music Week, the annual industry event devoted to homegrown music, gets underway Wednesday. The event brings with it a dizzying number of performances, so to help make sense of all the choices, I've put together a list of some of the highlights. Nevertheless, given all that's going on, make sure to check out the complete CMW schedule for an overview of the festival lest I miss one of your favourite acts.

As with previous years, those interested in checking out more than one show can invest in a festival wristband, which grants entry into almost all concerts — information on both tickets and wristbands can be found here. There are some limitations to these wristbands, which (when applicable) I've noted below.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22

Mise en Scene, Young Rival, and Jenn Grant at the Mod Club Theatre. $10.00.

One of the problems with CMW is that there's a lot of overlap. Thankfully, Jenn Grant's show at the Mod Club is an early one, making it easy to go on and see other acts later in the night. The talented songstress from Nova Scotia brings with her the fuzzed out sounds of Young Rival.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23

Arts and Crafts Showcase with Snowblink, Gold & Youth, Eight and a Half, The Darcys, Zeus, and a special guest at the Horseshoe Tavern. $18.50.

Last year, I failed to include The Darcys as a part of my CMW preview. Well, I'm not making that same mistake again — go see The Darcys at the Horseshoe. Of course, this is the Arts and Crafts showcase we're talking about, so the label has made sure to bring a couple of their best known acts out to perform. Zeus, in particular, has promised to play material off their forthcoming release, and the much-hyped Eight and a Half is also showcasing at the show. Word is there might be a very special guest to close out the night. Excited yet?

Voltaire Twins, Humans, ANGO, BADBADNOTGOOD, Lunice, Zodiac at Wrongbar. $15.00.

Whether they're reinterpreting a song from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or a classic hip hop track through the lens of jazz music, the three members of BBNG infuse each song they touch with a kind of soulfulness and musicality that's missing from much of the Toronto music scene. And while they might be only playing for an hour on Friday night, the three Humber College students are sure to dazzle with their instrumental freakouts and a pig mask or two.

SATURDAY, MARCH 24

Artist Select Series with Brendan Canning, Husky, The Balconies, ALX, Uncle Bad Touch, Yardlets, Teenage Kicks at the Garrison. $10.00.

Starting on Thursday and continuing on through to Saturday, the Garrison, the Young Lions Music Club, and Red Bull are having three venerable Toronto musicians host and showcase some of their favourite artists. The shortlist of hosts include Shad, Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys, and Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene (currently on hiatus). The organizers of the event have even set up a tumblr account where you can hear a musical selection from each artist and read a short blurb from the curators explaining their picks.

Photo by Sara Collaton from the blogTO Flickr Pool.