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.

Dedicated to fostering community and connecting people through a joyous, high-energy sound, Big Smoke is the perfect band to bring the heat to TD Sunfest. It’s big, brassy, smokin’ – and not for the faint of ear!

In its five years together, this heavy-hitting sextet has successfully completed a crowdfunding campaign, toured Eastern Canada and released a variety of original music tracks and videos. Those videos include covers of The Jackson’s “Blame It on the Boogie” and Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next,” and, most recently, “Underthink,” a collaboration with Toronto’s Drom Taberna Artists Collective. Last year, saw the release of Big Smoke’s debut album, From a Block Away, and the EP Bass Camp.  Londoners brave enough to have visited Dundas Place before the storms hit will recognize Big Smoke as the opening act for our inaugural Summer Festivals’ Block Party this past May.

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 NOLA brass band concept and infuse it with rock, pop, funk, disco, Motown, R&B and hip-hop.  They also have tremendous respect for the New Orleans and drum corps traditions.