Big Smoke Brass Band is a leading voice on the Canadian brass scene, born on the streets of Toronto when, in the summer of 2017, a group of friends graduated from the jazz program at the University of Toronto and decided to busk together.
In its almost six years together, this heavy-hitting sextet has successfully completed a crowdfunding campaign for its 2019 debut album From a Block Away, toured Eastern Canada, and collaborated regularly with Toronto’s Drom Taberna Artists Collective. 2022 was an especially busy year for Big Smoke, with the band completing over 130 performances and releasing its newest EP, “House Party” (and accompanying music video, “Lizzo”). 2022 also saw the group appear at TD Sunfest, Beaches Jazz Festival and numerous other festivals & events.
The musicians admire New York City brass bands and buskers, such as Lucky Chops and Too Many Zooz, and other groups that take the traditional New Orleans brass band concept and infuse it with rock, pop, funk, disco, Motown, R&B and hip-hop.
Dedicated to fostering community and connecting people through a joyous, high-energy sound, Big Smoke is the perfect band to raise the heat at this spring’s TD Sunfest Block Party. It’s big, brassy, smokin’ – and not for the faint of ear!