How a pair of Toronto twenty-somethings founded a stadium-scale music festival
The city's underground rap scene is getting a major showcase this weekend as First Class Fest takes over Toronto, bringing a lineup of emerging artists to a stadium setting for what organizers say is their "biggest event yet."
Co-founders Jake Pretorius and Leo Strang, both 23, have spent the past four years building First Class Fest from its "DIY" beginnings at Parkdale Hall in 2022 into a festival that now spans across the country, including major entertainment hubs like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
The idea behind these events, which primarily focus on underground rap music, came from a gap the founders noticed in the touring circuit: underground rappers from the U.S. and Europe often skipped Canada.
"We started out because all these underground rappers from the States and Europe were skipping Canada on their tour dates, so we were like, 'We might as well just start throwing the shows ourselves,'" the team tells blogTO.
Leo Strang and Jack Pretorius.
Now, they're bringing their largest attraction to life with First Class Fest, set to take over The Bowl at Sobeys Stadium on Aug. 28 and 29.
The festival builds off the original vision of creating a travelling festival where each city would be a different layover. The aviation theme has since become part of the brand, with tickets called "boarding passes" and the countdown to the festival dubbed "takeoff."
"We're just trying to build a world within the brand as much as possible," Strang says.
Taking an underground rap festival to a venue that can hold 15,000 people hasn't been easy. The organizers point to everything from the weak Canadian dollar to the difficulty of selling thousands of tickets for artists who are often still performing in 1,000- to 2,000-capacity venues.
"There hasn't really been a festival in the world, honestly, at this scale with just this genre of music, like, just these underground acts," Strang says. But they are trying to diversify their audience pool.
Rather than target one specific audience, the founders have tried to make the lineup appeal to different corners of Toronto's youth culture, including the goth, arts, fashion and underground music communities.
"We've really tried to just open it up to the public," Strang says. "It's the last weekend of summer here in Toronto. We just wanna make it an inclusive event where everyone can come and kind of have a big finale."
The festival is now "very close to sold out," which Pretorius says shows demand for the genre in Toronto.
As for what to expect at the festival, they warn festivalgoers to not expect to show up only for the biggest names. First Class Fest isn't releasing set times, encouraging attendees to arrive early and discover artists throughout the lineup.
"We want people to not nitpick and only come for the headliners," Strang says. "We've curated the lineup intentionally. Everyone's amazing. We want people to come discover their new artists."
His advice to festivalgoers is simple: "Leave your ego at the door. Embrace the unknown."
The duo confirms audiences are excited to see a stellar lineup of budding artists from the underground rap community, including rapper and producer OsamaSon, songwriter and singer Lucki, and international rapper Sayso, among others. Day 1 of the two-day-long festival will feature a performance by British rapper and singer Lancey Foux.
The full lineup of artists is available on the event's official Instagram page.
And of course, playing at a venue like Sobeys Stadium brings bragging rights to the resume of any artist.
The Feldman Agency helped Strang and Pretorius secure the opportunity to bring First Class Fest to the stadium after years of building relationships in the Canadian music industry. The event was initially planned as a one-day festival before the organizers learned the following day was also available, which they snagged immediately.
While the move to a stadium marks a huge step for the young festival, the founders say they're not rushing the next one. "We don't wanna skip any steps," Strang says. "We feel like we've built our company very brick by brick."
The immediate goal is to bring First Class Fest back to Toronto every summer, with potential winter editions in cities like Vancouver and Montreal before eventually expanding into the U.S.
Tickets to First Class Fest start at $52 plus applicable taxes and fees; they're still available to purchase online.
Lasko Media
