Celebrate Indie88’s (Rickroll-free) first birthday

If it seems hard to believe that Indie88 is only a year old, that’s probably because, in a sense, it’s not. It has been ages since Toronto was first promised a democratically programmed indie-rock station, two years since Indie88 took over Ryerson University’s old campus radio frequency, and 13 months since the station soft-launched with a week-long Rickroll. But it was, in fact, last September when Indie88 aptly kicked things off with Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start.” To anyone who has happened to tune in to 88.1 FM since then, it should come as no surprise that the station is recruiting some serious Canadian talent for its first-birthday bash. Local pop siren Lowell and art-rockers The Darcys—both long hailed as Toronto’s next big things—will make way for headliner Dan Mangan, the humble Vancouver folk singer-songwriter whose every album has won critical acclaim. Like any good gig, the show is already sold out, but a few extra tickets are floating around, and Indie88 is even giving a few away to winners of its call-in contests. You’ll want to be there, of course, when Mangan premieres his highly anticipated new single.

Sat., Sept. 13. $8.81. Opera House, 735 Queen St. E., 416-466-0313, indie88.com.