By barnaby
Boy Golden, Bob Moses, July Talk, The Beaches, Metric, Dear Rouge, The Glorious Sons, Arkells, Billy Talent, The Darcys, Monowhales, Anyway Gang, Mother Mother, and Dear Rouge stand out in the year-end Alt category.
Bruno Mars
The music superstar is bringing his Romantic Tour to BC Place for a record-setting five nights, the most for a single tour in the stadium's history, starting tonight (Oct. 14).
The Bruno Mars hype has landed in Vancouver.
The chart-topping hitmaker kicks off his first of five concerts at BC Place tonight (Oct. 14), and fans are already getting a taste of Bruno Mars mania before even arriving at the stadium. Mars has has recorded a special voice message for the Vancouver SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown station, and he becomes the first musical artist to ever be featured as a guest voice for the transit system, joining the likes of Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair and actor-comedian Seth Rogen.
“Most people don’t expect to hear Bruno Mars while they’re heading to work, school, or a concert. That’s what makes this so much fun, because it brings the concert experience to SkyTrain customers,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn. “It’s a unique way to brighten someone’s trip while generating additional revenue that helps support transit service across the region.”
Mars' announcement will run alongside other regular broadcast messages on the nights of his Vancouver concerts on Oct. 14-16-17-20-21, with two different messages being played. “To everybody taking the train, it’s Bruno Mars. I can’t wait to see you all. It’s about to get real romantic tonight. I love you," he says in one of them. “To everybody on the train, it’s Bruno Mars. Thank you so much for coming to The Romantic Tour. I hope to see you all very soon. I love you.”
With a staggering five shows, he holds the record for the most nights at BC Place by any artist on a single tour, which was previously held by Taylor Swift's three Vancouver shows that rounded out her Eras tour. Vancouver is the second and final Canadian city to get a taste of the Romantic singer's trek after it made its Canadian debut in Toronto in May, kicking off the 2026 concert season at Rogers Stadium.
Just like in Vancouver, Mars took over Toronto's TTC transit system with similar messages that were played at Downsview Park, Wilson, and Sheppard West stations, all of which connect to the 50,000-capacity stadium where he performed. He also made history in the city with a similar record, playing the most concerts at Rogers Stadium by any artist on a single tour, with five.
The Romantic tour is Mars' biggest trek to date, counting 127 stadium shows, and breaking the Ticketmaster's single-day sales record with over 2.1 million tickets sold in one day. It follows Mars' string of viral chart hits with Lady Gaga and Rosé and supports his album The Romantic, which debuted atop the Billboard Canadian Albums chart and simultaneously sent his track "I Just Might" to No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
