The hottest band in rock right now has rarely played outside of Quebec.
Since releasing a KEXP performance video just two months ago, Angine de Poitrine has taken over the music world with rare speed.
Since the internet got hold of their black and white polka dotted costumes and virtuosic microtonal instrumental rock, things have exploded quickly for a band that was previously near-unknown outside of their home province. Their performance videos have racked up millions of views, rock stars as big as Dave Grohl have rhapsodized about them, and major newspapers like the New York Times have tried to get to the bottom of the phenomenon.
But it’s not just an internet phenomenon. Vinyl plants have increased production of their just-released Vol. II record to meet the demand, concerts have sold out immediately with resale tickets going for upwards of $500, and their live schedule is now packed with shows across Canada, the United States and Europe. Major acts like Jack White are calling on them for support.
So how do you strategize around a band that’s blowing up? That’s the enviable job of Steven Himmelfarb, vice president of The Feldman Agency, one of Canada’s biggest booking agents. Himmelfarb started working with Angine de Poitrine just recently, and he’s fielding major offers from festivals all over the world and gigantic artists asking for them to come open for them.
“It all happened very quick,” Himmelfarb says, speaking on the phone after a weekend spent in Montreal for their headlining release show at Club Soda and earlier hot-ticket secret show at the much-smaller Quai des Brumes. “I don’t think anyone was anticipating it to get so crazy so soon.”
But though it’s happening in hyper speed, Himmelfarb is used to this. As the agent who steered Orville Peck from Toronto’s tiny Monarch Tavern to the Kardashians’ inner circle in six months, and the strategist behind the record-breaking Canadian runs of Shania Twain, Himmelfarb has carved out a niche as the architect for “outside the box” artists who turn mainstream on the strength of a singular vision.
His artist roster is diverse, including bands like PUP, BadBadNotGood, Good Kid, Lord Huron, Mt. Joy, Swedish psych experimenters Goat and legacy indie icons like Our Lady Peace and Feist (who’s had a big bump from a recent sync in Heated Rivalry), but his work speaks across all of them. No matter how niche or weird-seeming a band might be, he has a plan to break them across stages.
In this week’s Billboard Canada Executive of the Week, Himmelfarb breaks down the plans for Angine de Poitrine, why “vision” is the most important trait an artist can possess, why online view or listen counts can sometimes lie, and why “the entire ticketing operation” of the music industry needs to change.
Read the full interview here. — Richard Trapunski
Live Nation Canada Releases Economic Report on Rogers Stadium
Live Nation Canada has released an economic report looking at the first season of Toronto’s Rogers Stadium in 2025.
According to the findings, the 50,000-capacity Toronto venue generated more than $500 million in economic activity during its inaugural season.
A formal assessment by Nordicity found that the 14 concerts last summer drew 700,000 fans and contributed $388 million in GDP and $115 million in federal and provincial tax revenue, supported the equivalent of over 3,000 full-time jobs and created $218 million in labour income for employees.
“Rogers Stadium was designed to keep Toronto competitive on the global music circuit while delivering an exceptional experience for fans and artists alike,” says Wayne Zronik, president of business operations at Live Nation Canada. “The scale of impact in our first season — from supporting thousands of local jobs to driving new customers to neighbourhood small businesses — shows how a world-class music venue acts as a force for good in our city.”
Rogers Stadium received mixed reviews in its first season, creating a new hub for major acts like Oasis and BLACKPINK while also receiving bad press from Coldplay, who made light of the venue‘s hard-to-reach location and logistical issues, while some complained about noise and traffic in the area.
It was also a major boon to Toronto’s stadium concert landscape, which has become one of the biggest touring markets in the world, and helped expand Live Nation’s already major footprint in the city. It’s one of the reasons why a trio of the company’s executives, Riley O’Connor, Erik Hoffman and Melissa Bubb-Clarke, were named Billboard Canada’s 2025 Power Players of the Year).
Read more here. — R.T.
Boi-1da & Nelly Furtado Release ‘Electric Circus,’ First Single From Canada Soccer Foundation’s ‘Perfect Pitch’ Album
As the World Cup approaches, Canadian artists are in celebration mode.
All-star producer Boi-1da and Hall of Fame pop singer Nelly Furtado have teamed up on the single “Electric Circus.” It’s the first taste of Canada Soccer Foundation’s Perfect Pitch album, What If It All Goes Right? out June 5.
Powered by punchy production, captivating melodic rhythms and Furtado’s bold vocals, the anthemic track is perfect to kick off the project, which celebrates Canada’s cultural and athletic momentum on the global stage. Its title is an homage to the live dance music TV show that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from 1988 to 2003. It’s a classic Furtado melody, harkening back to her early 2000s golden period.
“We were watching Electric Circus in Boi-1da’s studio during the session and the vibe of the dancers on Electric Circus inspired the feeling of ‘everybody outside’, which is the feeling of the World Cup when everyone is outside on restaurant patios watching the games and celebrating together,” Furtado says. “We wanted to capture that energy.”
Last month, Billboard Canada received a sneak peek of the track, joined by Boi-1da, Furtado and members of the Canadian men’s soccer team. It marks the first single since Furtado was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at this year’s Juno Awards and claimed she was stepping away from performing for the foreseeable future last October.
Led by the Canada Soccer Music Ambassador Boi-1da, What If It All Goes Right? will bring together a diverse range of homegrown acts featuring original music and re-imagined tracks. Spanning generations and genres, the album celebrates the country’s passion for music and soccer with artists from across Canada.
“It was originally supposed to be a song, but we thought bigger than that,” the Grammy-winning producer told Billboard Canada. “We have so much talent, so much culture in Canada. You know, it’s the World Cup, it’s the biggest moment, the biggest stage. We have an amazing team.”
Listen to the song and read more here. — Heather Taylor-Singh
