A three-day rave in an industrial warehouse: Sojourn Festival is the newest showcase for Toronto’s underground electronic scene

The building at 131 McCormack St. isn’t exactly pretty. Located just north of St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood, the low, brown-brick warehouse blends naturally into its inconspicuous and blandly industrial surroundings.

But this weekend, the 20,000-square-foot venue will be transformed into the site of Sojourn, a three-day music festival celebrating the city’s eclectic underground electronic music scene.

The inaugural event, taking place Friday to Sunday, will host dozens of local and international acts across four different stages — including outdoor and indoor spaces — plus art installations and cutting edge audio-visual experiences.

“You’re going to feel like you’re in a mixture of an art gallery, a concert and a rave,” says Josephine Cruz, a.k.a. Jayemkayem, a Toronto DJ who will perform on Saturday.

“There’s going to be techno, there’s going to be drum ‘n’ bass, there’s going to be a lot of U.K.-influenced bass music. It’s going to make for a really, like, unique and cool experience.”

The word “sojourn” means “temporary stay,” a fitting name for a community-oriented festival that runs throughout the day and late into the night.

“We want people to come with an open heart, treat the place like their home and get to know everyone,” said Chippy Nonstop, a Toronto DJ and one of the organizers of Sojourn.

Chippy, whose music blends “harder ravey techno” with Indian influences, is a co-founder of Pep Rally, a Toronto electronic music collective for brown and Black queer artists. It’s one of several such collectives in the city, each of which caters to different sounds and audiences of the electronic underground.

The idea behind Sojourn, Chippy said, is to bring these disparate groups together for one big blowout.

“In this city, it’s really hard to throw an event where everyone comes together,” she said. “Our vision was to create a community where we can all come together in a less competitive environment.”

To accomplish this aim, Chippy’s crew teamed up with two other independent collectives with a similar ethos: Last Planet and Format. The building at 131 McCormack St. was the perfect venue.

“We’ve been doing warehouse raves there for the last few years, but we wanted to create a whole new space there. We wanted to redesign and reimagine everything and use every part of it … It’s even bigger than people realize.”

But Sojourn is more than just a party, its organizers say. It’s also an opportunity to showcase some of the lesser-known acts from Toronto’s burgeoning underground scene — a scene known for its unique mix of international sounds and styles.

“Toronto is so multicultural and there are so many sounds and cultures we’re able to pull from,” Chippy said, citing the influence of Latin, Indian and Caribbean music. “I think we have a unique perspective on music and therefore a unique sound.”

The issue, according to organizers, is Toronto lacks the infrastructure to sustain a flourishing live music scene.

“There’s so much talent in this city, but we don’t have a lot of small clubs or medium-sized venues where artists can perform and build up their audience. It’s either tiny bars with no sound system or equipment, or the main stage at a festival. There aren’t a lot of ways to grow and a lot of the big promoters aren’t really tapped into the underground.”

It’s within this vacuum that independent music collectives like Pep Rally and independent parties like JERK — a biannual rave that celebrates Caribbean culture and global dance music — have thrived, creating spaces for underground music without the backing of major promoters.

Sojourn aims to take things to the next level by curating a lineup that includes both major global acts — Ben UFO, Ayesha and Anz among them — and upcoming local acts.

“One of the harder things about being an artist in a city like Toronto is the cost of living,” said Cruz, “A lot of artists feel like they’re getting pushed out of living and creating here.”

In 2019, Cruz founded ISO Radio, a community-led, online radio platform based in Stackt Market in downtown Toronto. “The idea was to create a platform and a community for artists,” she said. “Something that was by us, for us.”

Over the course of the Sojourn festival, ISO Radio will curate one of the four stages with exclusively local talent, offering a chance for young artists to gain exposure to a larger audience.

“Honestly, words cannot describe how ecstatic I am about getting to play my first music festival,” said JJ Roland, a.k.a. Fanndemm, a Toronto DJ who will perform on the ISO Stage on Saturday. “When I got the email from Jayemkayem, I was in disbelief.

“Most music festivals that set up tent in our city are very cis-male oriented,” Roland added. “I was so happy to see so many female, BIPOC and queer DJs on the lineup.”

Indeed, Sojourn’s spirit of inclusivity feels like a refreshing alternative to expensive, intimidating mega-raves like Veld, an electronic festival set to take place in Downsview Park in August.

“The lineup we’ve created is not just based on who’s the biggest, most poppin’ artist right now,” Chippy said. “We curated this lineup to be the best experience for the audience — I think anyone who can appreciate good music can come dance and have a great time.

“I also want people to realize it’s not, like, degenerate to rave,” she joked. “When you think about the most famous cities in the world, it’s often because of the nightlife. I don’t think Toronto knows how to spotlight the kind of cultural impact these festivals and these parties can have.”

“This festival is so special because it’s really like a labour of love,” Cruz said. “As someone who’s been working behind the scenes, I can say that it’s not motivated by making money. It’s actually being put together for the love of the culture.”