The top 5 dance parties in Toronto March 2015

You can feel Toronto's collective winter cabin fever in the air, but March means it's warming up any minute now, so soon enough all the party people are going to be worrying about getting sunburned at festivals, instead of standing in line for coat check.

March can be a bit of a quiet month for music in town, as the combination of SXSW in Austin and the WMC in Miami pulls a lot of tours south of the border before they swing back up north. Nevertheless, there are so many great parties on March 14 alone that this whole list could have been just for events that day, and Bassweek is bringing in more drum'n'bass talent than many cities see all year.

Danny Krivit (March 7, Revival)

For the 17th anniversary of the Solid Garage parties, the soulful house promoters have booked NYC dance music pioneer Danny Krivit. A true underground icon, Krivit has a expert touch that reflects his 45 years of DJing, and he's sure to bring a huge selection of his acclaimed personal re-edits and remixes. 10 pm.

Hyperdub Tour w/ Kode9 and Ikonika (March 12, Coda)

Hyperdub is indisputably one of the most important UK dance labels of the past ten years, and they continue to lead the way in pushing the boundaries of bass and dub influenced music. Label head and founder Kode9 is joined by rising post-dubstep artist Ikonika for this showcase night, which is sure to test the limits of Coda's bass bins. 10 pm, $15.

Len Faki (March 14, Ryze)

Berlin's notoriously debauched techno palace Berghain is considered by many to be the top underground club in the world right now, so there's lots of anticipation for the Toronto appearance of one of their longtime resident DJs Len Faki. With releases on labels like Ostgut Ton, Figure, and Podium, Faki is almost as well respected for his productions as for his epic DJ sets. 10 pm, $25.

Andrés (Wrongbar, March 14)

Dez Andrés is known to some for his work as the former DJ for underground hip-hop legends Slum Village, but to others for the gritty Detroit house he's released on Moodymann's Mahogani label. As you might guess from the background, his DJ sets bounce around freely between those approaches, as well as dipping deeply into his collection of rare soul and disco classics. 10 pm, $25.

Bassweek (March 20-29, various venues)

The fifth annual Bassweek returns to Toronto for five nights of drum'n'bass madness (and a sprinkling of other bass-related genres), with events at the Hoxton, the Phoenix, and Tota. The lineup is full of veterans and superstars of the genre, including Drumsound & Bassline Smith, DJ SS, Micki Finn, Metrik, Delta Heavy, and many more.10 pm, $89 wristband.

Photo via Bassweek

by Benjamin Boles via blogTO