Edenfest

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1996 music festival in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

title: "Edenfest" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1996-in-canada", "1996-music-festivals", "rock-festivals-in-canada", "music-festivals-in-ontario", "clarington", "cancelled-music-festivals"] description: "1996 music festival in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edenfest" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1996 music festival in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada ::

::data[format=table title="infobox music festival |"]

Field	Value
music_festival_name	Eden Musicfest
location	Mosport Park,
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
founders	Mark Drost
years_active	1996
dates	July 12–14, 1996
genre	Music festival, arts festival
website	website
::

Edenfest was 3-day concert that took place July 12–14, 1996 at Mosport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

The concert sold over 70,000 tickets total for the 3 day event and was attended by another estimated 20,000 people who walked into the concert site after the outside security broke down. This festival that included music as well as multiple other types of performers was held by Eden Entertainment Group based in Buffalo, New York. The concert was one of the first major concerts to be streamed live over the internet. This event was the largest rock festival held in Canada to date. Artists that performed include The Tragically Hip, The Cure, Porno for Pyros, Bush, Live, the Goo Goo Dolls, Ani DiFranco and over 50 other performers.

The event was considered a creative success; however, the promoter of the event, Mark Drost, was plagued with financial problems due to several forces beyond his control, including the security breakdown. Edenfest was scheduled to go on for 10 consecutive years at the Mosport site; the promoter was bankrupted by the event, and thus, it did not continue past 1996.

Several non-musicians were in attendance at the event including actors Jason Priestly and Rob Morrow plus comedian Mark McKinney.

Band list

Friday, July 12

Main Stage

Second Stage

Saturday, July 13

Main Stage

Second Stage

Hoarse
Supergarage
Hell Billys
Muse (note: not the English rock band of the same name est. 1994; the English band was not yet touring internationally in 1996)
Ruth Ruth
7 Year Bitch
Letters to Cleo
Solution A.D.
Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
Skydiggers
Blinker the Star
Buzzcocks

Sunday, July 14

Main Stage

Second Stage

The Femmes
Jenny Anykind
Rain Still Falls
The Gufs
Blinker the Star
Holly McNarland
Pluto
The Gandharvas
hHead
Universal Honey

References

Gerichter, Daniel. (January 15, 2015). "Remembering Eden Fest's 1996 meltdown". Blue Ant Media.
(July 14, 1996). "Eden Fest Is A Gas Gas Gas; Gravity Kills A Knock-Out!". MTV News.
(July 15, 1996). "Eden Fest Attracts 50,000-Plus Fans". MTV News.
. (July 14, 1996). ["Edenfest Hip Happening; Second Day of Three-Day Music Festival Closes with Tragically Hip"](http://janesaddiction.org/tour/show/janes-addiction/1996-07-13/499/). *Sun Media*.
Grant, Keran. (July 13, 1996). "It's a rock 'n' roll paradise". Sun Media.
Balzan, Chelsea. (July 17, 1996). "No surprise disappoints many". Whitby Free Press.
Boon, Mike. (May 2, 2025). "Brendan Canning: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1684".

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