WEDNESDAY

9 pm Lifted @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A weekly eclectic and esoteric dance party, built around a psychedelic, dubby, jazz-laden, electronic sound. Not focused on one particular genre or stuck in any given era, Lifted’s sole purpose is to glorify the groove and revel in rhythm. It is music to move the body and sonancy to sedate the soul, in a space where superior sound is fundamental.

10 pm Liquid Karaoke @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Colin Bergh, James McDonough, Nadia Belerique, and Jeff Hayward are your hosts. $4 Jameson and $5.50 pints before midnight.

10 pm Home Based @ Weldon Park, 569 College St. A night filled with good hip-hop, good people, and good vibes with DJs Sanga Genesis, James Redi, and special guests. Every Wednesday.

10 pm Natural Wednesdays @ Studio Bar, 824 Dundas St. W. Swirve Music and Babylon Warchild present a new hip-hop series by the heads, for the heads. Featuring a fresh roster of up-and-comers and OGs that changed the game + an in-house 12-round battle league, with the winner taking home a $500 cash prize.

10 pm Here’s Johnny @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Iron Head Wolanski spins big hit + near miss. Heart still beating.

10 pm Smiths Is Dead @ Unlovable, 1415-B Dundas St. W. All your favourite cemetary greats + b-sides, deep cuts, and all the Morrissey tracks you can stomach.

THURSDAY

6 pm Bangkok Nights @ Bangkok Garden Restaurant, 19 Elm St. With a new bar and lounge, specialty Thai-themed cocktails, tasty Thai street food, a noodle bar, and a live DJ, this a night you won’t want to miss! $30 advance tickets available online.

10 pm Strangelove @ Weldon Park, 569 College St. The return of a Toronto cultural institution. Every Thursday. $5.

10 pm #ThrowbackThursdays @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Every Thursday, come get a taste of tunes from: J-Lo, DMX, Spice Girls, Will Smith, Aqua, Ludacris, Backstreet Boys, Snoop Dogg, S Club 7, Jay-Z, Hanson, Ace of Base, Savage Garden, Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, and many more. $5.

10 pm DJ Downunda @ Crawford, 718 College St. Trap, rap, RnB, and bangers! Hosted by Miss Olivia and Kermit. $5 bar rail + $4 shots and jello shooters.

10 pm Fat Laces @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Big Jimmy Mills, the scratch-monster, spins old school hip-hop.

10:30 pm Sensitive Thursdays @ The Libertine, 1307 Dundas St. W. With DJs Birthday Boy and Metoux. $5 draft and $5 Jameson before midnight.

FRIDAY

7 pm Friday Night Live: Dinos, Dodos & Disco: Extinction @ Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. Toronto’s most unique social destination, with eclectic eats, drinks, DJs, dancing, live music, and unexpected experiences. This week, FNL explores extinction in the natural and cultural worlds! $12 advance tickets available online.

8 pm Tonight We’re Gonna Fundraise Like It’s 1999: Lion King Edition @ Lucy Brock, 1479 Dundas St. W. Go back to the ’90s with Shakespeare BASH’d and help raise some funds for their upcoming production of Macbeth! There will be prizes, music, and a staged sing-along reading of The Lion King (based on Hamlet) for ’90s enthusiasts and Shakespeare lovers alike! PWYC at the door (suggested $10).

10 pm Damaged Goods @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. A dance party specializing in Britpop, new wave, post-punk, and synth! Free before 11 pm, $5 after.

10 pm Bougie @ Studio Bar, 824 Dundas St. W. Where the classy and trashy collide, where ratchet meets bougie. Music by Christometh, Bambii, and Happy Boy Tona. Guest hosted by Adrift Skateshop alongside Goldie Rocks Grills, who will have an impressions station for anyone who wants to sip some drank and get a grill AT THE SAME DAMN TIME. For guestlist or table reservations, email rsvpbougie@gmail.com.

10 pm Wedding Night @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A newfangled affair that glorifies those qualities which are held in highest regard when it comes to a ceremony of holy matrimony: dancing, drinking, bad decision-making, gussying up, and annoying the DJ with requests for songs that he won’t play. Trust in guilty pleasures for an evening of eclectic musical merrymaking! Overdressing for this occasion is very much encouraged.

10 pm A Summer Fling Dance Party @ The Steady, 1051 Bloor St. W. The Summer Fling DJs play great songs from all of the eras: classic rock, funk and disco, modern indie, and a sprinkle of other dance floor favourites. From Bowie to Black Lips, Blondie to Broken Social Scene. And that’s just the letter B.

10 pm Big Primpin’ @ Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W. Hip-hop and hot times for homos, their friends, and admirers. With DJs Craig Dominic, Phil V, and Nino Brown. For guestlist, email bigprimpin@gmail.com. $5.

10 pm Myth Paradise Music @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. The finest in disco and house music, presented in fashion by local legend Jason Palma with support from Jason Ulrich and Todd Westendorp.

10 pm Yacht Rock @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. A night of dancing to the smoothest music you’ve ever heard in your life. $5 to step aboard.

10 pm Girl & Boy 90s Dance Party @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. A pulsating dance party rocking the retro sounds of the 1990s! All your favourite dance, pop, hip-hop, R&B, and so on and so on and so on. $5.

10 pm SoulSkank @ Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. Funk, soul, reggae, ska, and dancehall in its most raw form! With DJs Gramera and Son of S.O.U.L + Dennis P on the sax. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.

10 pm Marmalade & Buttahfingaz @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Hip-hop, soul, RnB, rap, trap, south.

10 pm No Sleep ‘Til Brooklynn @ Brooklynn, 1186 Queen St. W. Make new friends. No dress code. No bullshit. Mickey “bottle service” available. $5 with guestlist before 11:30 pm, $10 otherwise.

11 pm Y2K: A Millennium Dance Party @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. A party devoted to the best jams of the early-to-mid 2000s, brought to you by Good Kids. Guilty pleasures, one hit wonders, chart toppers, and everything in between! With Chicago’s DJ PHNM. $10.

SATURDAY

9 pm Boom Boom Boom Boom @ Junction City Music Hall, 2907 Dundas St. W. The creators of Shindig bring you a brand new dance party! Featuring an amazing night of dirty jump blues, R&B, and rockabilly spun by DJs General Eclectic and Splattermonkey + a live performance by The Fraser Melvin Band! $5 before midnight, $10 after.

10 pm Celebrate @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. Celebrate with the birthday boys, Cameron and Pooyan. Music? Grown.

10 pm Love Below @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Music made by machines (and people) moving in slow motion. Codeine techno + hypno house + subterranean atmosphere with DJ Andrew Ross and special guest Bordello.

10 pm Ignition @ Crawford, 718 College St. DJs Caff and The Dirty Frenchman play bumpin’ ‘n’ grindin’ R&B, hip-hop, dancehall, new jack swing, and slow jamz (plus more than enough R. Kelly classics). $5 before 10:30 pm, more after.

10 pm Beam Me Up Disco @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A Digital Needle DJs and Cyclist present an evening of funky, soulful disco delights for a dance floor of like-minded boogie believers, all shepherded by the transcendent Cynthia from the door. Special guest Zohairwill get the night started. $10.

10 pm Bump N’ Hustle @ The Rivoli (upstairs), 334 Queen St. W. Soul, funk, house, disco, reggae, latin, hip-hop, and boogie tunes with resident DJs Paul E Lopes and Mike Tull. Hosted by Carlos (Hot Stepper). For $5 early bird guestlist (before 11 pm), email hotstep@sympatico.ca;
$10 otherwise.

10 pm The BRTHDAY PRTY @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. Who doesn’t love a birthday party?! Music provided by Styles of Tigers and RVM. Cupcake hour provided by Baken Toronto. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.

10 pm Funk Off @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. Get down to music of the funk variety! TNT on the tunes. $5.

10 pm Shake, Rattle & Roll @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Spend the night together with the Bangs & Blush ladies! ’60s pop, soul and rock ‘n’ roll to drink, dance, and get messy to. $5.

10 pm Bush Beat @ The Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St. W. Where ladies meet! With DJs Pony and Shoegayz. $4.50 bar rail before 11:30 pm.

10 pm Secret Models @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. One big room, full of bad bitches! DJs Secret Models play hits straight from your high school semi-formal.

10 pm Hi-Jinx @ Parlour, 270 Adelaide St. W. When you’re ready to get loose, and the evening calls your name. When you’re mentally opening that bottle of vino before you get home. When you anticipate a night of revelry before it’s even started, you’re ready for some: HI-JINX! With resident DJ Simon Jain and special guests Raf & Chorniy and Craig Anderson.

11 pm Shake A Tail @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. ’60s pop, rock, soul, funk, garage, ska, ANYTHING! Always humid. $5.

11 pm Stuck On Stupid @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. DJs Fase and Dougie Boom throw a no-holds-barred, anything-goes, sky’s-the-limit, all-out dance-a-thon! Expect hits and not-so-hits, jams old and new. $10.

SUNDAY

10 am Gluten Free Garage @ Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St. Toronto’s original pop-up gluten-free marketplace is back with the city’s best in gluten-free eats and lifestyle. Like a farmers’ market with a gluten-free twist! Come hungry and discover more about happy, healthy gluten-free living. Featuring 60+ vendors, guest speakers, food trucks, and beer/cider tasting. $10.

1 pm Borrel @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Traditional Dutch comfort/soul food, every Sunday afternoon. Drinks, tunes, and food you didn’t know that you love. Until 6 pm.

7 pm Brass Facts Trivia @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Test your knowledge and win prizes! Hosted by Famous Kirk Hero. Until 10 pm.

~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com