This Week in Music: Bloor Ossington Folk Festival, Dumpstaphunk at El Mocambo, Kanye West and Jay-Z

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This Week in Music rounds up the latest news, releases and concerts coming to Toronto.

IN THE NEWS

Bloor Ossington Folk Festival beefs up lineup

The Bloor Ossington Folk Festival was already shaping up to be a pretty slick little event, and now, the lineup has gotten even better. The free three-day event, which will run from September 20 to 22 at Christie Pits Park, will now welcome Julie Doiron, Grand Analog, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, By Divine Right, and Ian Blurton's Public Animal. All of these artists, in addition to many more (including Memoryhouse, Catl., Pick a Piper, and Minotaurs), will take to the main stage at Christie Pits Park over the course of the weekend. There will also be vendors, food, craft beer, buskers, and a whole lot more. This upcoming winter is supposed to be pretty cold, so this might be your last chance to have a great weekend of outdoor music. Head on over to the festival's official site for a complete list of artists and events.

THIS WEEK'S HOT TICKETS

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13 / DUMPSTAPHUNK / EL MOCAMBO / 464 SPADINA / $27 / ALL AGES

We never seem to get enough funk around these parts, and that's why this show is going to be such a breath of fresh air. Dumpstaphunk (love that name) is a quintet out of New Orleans, formed in 2003 by Ian Neville, the son of R&B legend Aaron Neville. The band has made a quite a name for themselves in their hometown, and believe me when I say that you're gonna want to check them out - their music is simply fantastic. I reckon that there won't be a single person sitting down at this show, because everyone will be too busy jiving to the tunes.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14 / CALE SAMPSON / WINCHESTER KITCHEN & BAR / 51 WINCHESTER / $15 / 19+

I've mentioned before that I've been a fan of hip-hop for many years. I've always tended to enjoy conscious hip-hop above all else, and perhaps that's why Cale Sampson's music has spoken to me the way that it has. The Toronto-based socially-conscious rapper has just released his new album, The Big Picture, and if you're a fan of hip-hop, I urge you to check it out and support the local scene. This show is the album release party, and unfortunately, it's sold out - I'm including it as a Hot Ticket simply because I feel that Sampson deserves to be heard.

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