MUSIC | Rich Aucoin
Electro pop wunderkind Rich Aucoin gets magical tonight at Lee's Palace, where his tour for his first studio album, We're All Dying To Live, makes a stop before heading to the U.S. and Europe. The Halifax native returns to Toronto for a late night show after one of his most successful years to date, including making the Polaris Prize long list this past June. Tickets to tonight's show are available at the door.
Lee's Palace (529 Bloor Street West) 8PM $15.65

THEATRE | Proud
Michael Healey's story about a Prime Minister attempting to shift the country to a right-of-centre government after years under a centre-left party, Proud opens at the Berkeley Street Theatre tonight. A political satire of Canadian democracy with obvious nods to Stephen Harper--potentially to create a deeper understanding of his rationale--the play is directed by Miles Potter and is set in Ottawa, just after the spring 2011 election, which finds all the seats in Quebec shifting from NDP to Conservative, creating a majority government of novice MPs. A comedy with serious underpinnings, Proud will run until October 6th with tickets are available through Canadian Stage.
Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street) 8PM $30-$45

POLITICS | Inaugural Annual Jack Layton Lecture: Reimagining, Restoring and Reclaiming Democracy
Honouring former NDP leader Jack Layton's legacy, Charles Taylor, a Professor Emeritus of McGill University's Department of Philosophy, will lecture at Ryerson on the topic of "Reimagining, Restoring and Reclaiming Democracy." The inaugural lecture of what will become an annual series in Layton's name, Taylor was credited as having been a profound influence on Layton during his years as an undergraduate at McGill. Prior to the lecture will be the opening of an exhibit in the Ryerson Library of materials that belonged to Jack Layton. Come out for the love of democracy, and Jack himself.
Ryerson Theatre (43 Gerrard Street East) 6:30PM Free

BOOKS & LIT | Northern Touch: Drake and The Rise of Canadian Hip Hop
Journalist Dalton Higgins supports the Toronto Public Library's Make Some Noise programming by discussing and reading from his latest book "Far From Over: The Life and Music of Drake" at the Malvern Library tonight at 7PM. A free discussion, Higgins will cover the changing cultural conditions that have lead to the growth of hip hop in Canada, which, in turn, supported the rise of Drake's career. For fans of hip hop lit, this one is worth the trip to Malvern.
Malvern Library (30 Sewells Road) 7PM Free

FILM | Play Again
Watch young people attempt to unplug and get back to nature in Play Again, the Tonje Hessen Schei documentary that takes a look at what happens when average American kids are removed from cell phones, televisions, tablets and computers. Learning to play again in the natural world though they are buried in a digital one, the film observes a group of children as they abandon their devices and are left to their own imagination, while talking to experts like environmentalist David Suzuki and neuroscientist Gary Small. The film screens for free at the Patagonia store on King West tonight with RSVPs required. Call 416-861-1102 or RSVP through the Facebook event page.
Patagonia (500 King Street West) 7PM Free

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• Walk Off The Earth
• Primo Meets Colin Mochrie
• Night Moves

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by krygene in the blogTO Flickr pool