*Photo Credit – Chris Lake Instagram
Toronto’s waterfront amphitheatre remains one of the city’s best places to catch a summer dance show. Between the skyline views, open-air atmosphere, and room to actually enjoy the music, it was the perfect setting for a two-hour Chris Lake set. After a week where wildfire smoke lingered over the city and left many wondering what the weekend would bring, Toronto caught a break on Friday. The skies cleared just in time, and the only fire and heat fans had to worry about came from Chris Lake and Riordan behind the decks.
Riordan handled opening duties and proved to be the perfect choice before Chris Lake. His groovy house selections gradually raised the energy without peaking too early. And Toronto is no stranger to Riordan, he won our hearts last year at his Electric Island set. By the time Riordan wrapped up, he had the crowd primed for Chris Lake’s arrival.
IDs, Edits, and Peak-Time House
Chris Lake wasted little time getting into his catalogue, but what stood out most wasn’t necessarily the familiar tracks. It was the amount of unreleased music, edits, and remixes woven throughout the set. Even after two decades in the game, Lake continues to push new material in front of large crowds, and Toronto got a healthy dose of what’s likely coming next.
As I observed the crowd groove that evening, one of the standouts was the unreleased Chris Lake & MPH ID. Over 15,000 people in the amphitheater proved that this sounded like a future festival weapon. As always you know Chris Lake fans never get tired of listening to his classics like ‘In The Yuma,’ ‘925,’ with Sammy Virji, ‘Savana,’ and ‘Ease My Mind’.
Some of the night’s best moments came from the remixes. Chris Lake’s version of ‘Galvanize’ sounded massive on the waterfront. While the Chris Lake, Eats Everything and MPH unreleased remix of Beyoncé’s ‘Crazy In Love’ turned into an instant crowd favourite. It was one of those tracks where you could look around and see people instantly recognizing it before getting pulled into the new groove.
Lake kept fans on their toes with a steady stream of edits and bootlegs. The FISHER remix of ‘Show Me Love’ hit exactly as you’d expect it to. With the entire venue singing along. The Anti Up remix of Cake’s ‘Short Skirt/Long Jacket’ was the kind of curveball that caught people off guard in the best way possible.
Chris Lake’s upcoming summer shows
For two hours, Chris Lake reminded Toronto why he’s one of the biggest names in house music right now. He mixed in unreleased IDs, new edits, unexpected remixes, and plenty of tracks that had fans pulling out Shazam. If you missed him in Toronto, don’t worry. We had a great time at RBC Amphitheatre and left even more excited for what’s next. If you missed this one, fans can catch Chris Lake at his OMNIA Las Vegas residency, while Canadian fans can see the Chris Lake & Friends takeover at ÎleSoniq’s Oasis Bell Stage next month – where I’ll be as well.
Check out his website for upcoming tour dates and festival appearances. Where will you be catching Chris Lake next?
