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FYI

Toronto's Field Trip Fest Takes A Break

Since launching in 2013, this has been one of the city's biggest summer music events, but Arts & Crafts head Kieran Roy has announced a one-year hiatus.

Toronto's Field Trip Fest Takes A Break

By FYI Staff

The diminished summer music fest scene in Toronto has just taken another big hit with the announcement that  Field Trip Music & Arts Festival is taking the year off. 


In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Arts & Crafts President and fest head Kieran Roy stated the following:

"Since its launch in 2013, we have proudly grown Field Trip Music & Arts Festival into a multi-disciplinary, cross-generational event unlike any other. Thanks to the timeless performances of each artist, our partners, supporters, and most of all, our fans, Field Trip has become the distinctive start of summertime in Downtown Toronto, and our favourite weekend of the year.

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"While the festival has grown more meaningful with each passing edition, we have made the difficult decision to take some much-needed time off in 2019. Field Trip will go on hiatus with the goal of returning in 2020 with renewed vision and continued commitment to an unparalleled gathering of music, art, comedy, food & drink, and family.

"We have been honoured by how Field Trip has been embraced by the city of Toronto and the arts community at large. Thanks to every single person that has put their heart into this festival – Field Trip belongs to you. We look forward to seeing you down the line, after a little bit of time to let the grass grow back."

The fest launched in 2013. Acts that have played the fest include regulars Broken Social Scene and Feist, plus Robyn, Alabama Shakes, The National, My Morning Jacket, Interpol, The War On Drugs, Gord Downie, Constantines, Arkells, July Talk, Father John Misty, De La Soul, Phoenix, Matt Mays, and Hayden.

Read an earlier FYI profile of Field Trip here

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Ed Sheeran performs onstage at iHeartRadio Z100's Jingle Ball 2025 Presented by Capital One held at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2025 in New York, New York.
John Nacion/Billboard

Ed Sheeran performs onstage at iHeartRadio Z100's Jingle Ball 2025 Presented by Capital One held at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2025 in New York, New York.

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Ed Sheeran Addresses Controversy at First Show Since Openers, Backing Band Dropped Off Tour, Calls It ‘The Best Show of My Life’

Before his show in Philadelphia, Sheeran read a statement acknowledging the issue of Israel and Palestine, but still tried to keep things neutral.

Ed Sheeran needed to address the situation before he could start playing guitar. It wasn’t how he wanted to start his show, and he’s made it abundantly clear that the last thing he wants around him is controversy or, in his words, to be an “activist musician.”

But here he was, at the first show after his opener and friend Macklemore was kicked off the tour, following pressure by a group of venue owners led by Robert Kraft who took issue with Macklemore’s statement of support toward Palestine. That led to the rest of the tour’s openers and even Sheeran’s backing band for the tour dropping off the tour in solidarity with Macklemore — all of which became a huge news story and PR nightmare for the usually very un-controversial Sheeran. And though he had already made one highly scrutinized statement online while the news story was at its most potent, Sheeran felt the need to address the crowd at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night (Sept. 19) in person, before the show really started.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

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