—– EDIT AUG 11: Location has moved from Muzik to Sound Academy, 11 Polson Pier ——
If you’ve raved in Toronto in the last 22 years it’s statistically probable that you’ve met Destiny.
A pioneer in the rave community, it seems you can’t describe Destiny without using the words “first”, “only”, “memories”, “police”, and “PLUR”. Depending on who you ask, Destiny is an old friend, a hip bandit, a beacon of light, a safe place, or an advocate for the people; regardless of who you ask, Destiny is always present in the underground, swelling and morphing with the cultural and political tides of Toronto’s contemporary party history.
I’m talking, of course, about Destiny Events, whose storied longevity is the subject of celebration at their 22nd Anniversary at Sound Academy next Friday, August 14. The dual-stage bonanza is headlined by twonk lord Brillz on one stage and long-time DnB resident Andy C playing an extended set on the other. Local bass heads will get their fill from favourites like Hydee and Lush, and up-n’-comers like Pusher and Bensley.
22 might not seem that old, but for a promotions company dealing with the fringes of law and underground culture, you might as well count in dog years. Surviving the haggard turbulence of the last two decades is no easy feat, and Destiny has soldered many shiny milestones onto their chain in the process.
While you were syncing up Game Boys to play Pokemon with your friends before dinner, Destiny was putting a hotline number on a poster to distribute the secret location of a 3-day rager whose iterations in subsequent years became WEMF – utter that piece of onomatopoeia and you’ll trigger a major waxing of nostalgic from baby boomers and baby-faced ravers alike. Soon after, Destiny was weathering police barricades and fighting city laws that tried to ban raves, in order to keep the party going for the people at the turn of the millenium.
And while you were donning kandi and spirit hoods for the first (and second and third) Digital Dreams, it was Destiny who had partnered up with Embrace to bring you that event. It draws huge crowds when the weather’s not shit.
Add to this hundreds of shows and innovative events over the years through a wide span of genres, Toronto’s fearless OG promoters draw an organic mixed bag of a crowd: turnt-up bass heads, hippie ravers, and every freak, geek, and unique in between. They’re all-inclusive and it’s all about you.
So come. Whether it’s to get nostalgic or pay respect, to get schooled or to get freaky, or to turn-up/get-down/tune-in/drop-out/shuffle/twerk/step/jive/boogie-like-your-mama; come.
Tickets are available here, $35 and up (500 Early Birds already sold)
The Facebook event has all the info and history lessons you need to get hyped.
