Showlab and the Guelph Youth Music Centre is pleased to invite the community to the Halloween Throwdown, an all-ages bash featuring a mix of punk, hard rock & folk music by bands from across Ontario.

This show is organized and presented by the Showlab team, a group of youth concert producers making live music happen in our community! Find out more about Showlab here!

Featuring:

Bad Waitress

A Horse Named Friday

TRTEL

ALL AGES !

Cost: $10/PWYC/NOTALFOF

Doors at 6:30pm

Music at 7pm

Guelph Youth Music Centre (75 Cardigan St, Guelph)

Bad Waitress emerged from Toronto’s vibrant underground, the four-piece punk band — Kali-Ann Butala (her/she) Katelyn Molgard (they/them), Moon (they/he), and Nicole Cain (her/she) — has redefined modern garage punk with a sound that’s ferocious, clever, and unapologetically alive.

Their 2018 debut EP Party Bangers: Volume 1 announced them with snarling riffs, biting satire, and anthemic rawness that refused to be ignored. In 2021, the band sharpened their edge with No Taste, a full-length release that fused the urgency of early punk with jagged post-punk textures and radical honesty. Exclaim! praised the album as “a new type of rage,” calling it a self-defence record built on noise, rebellion, and conviction.

Renowned for their explosive live shows, Bad Waitress channels the confrontational spirit of acts like The Stooges, Fugazi, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs while remaining unmistakably their own. Their latest single, “Loving Kind” is the first song off their upcoming album “In the Hollow”.

With a new album slated for release in 2026, Bad Waitress is pushing further into louder, sharper territory — reaffirming their relentless commitment to the stage and to songs that demand participation.

Bad Waitress doesn’t play nice — they play loud. No apologies.

A Horse Named Friday is a chamber folk ensemble from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Propelled into motion by singer-songwriter Jo El-Deek, and influenced by alt country, folk rock, chamber, and art pop, their sound has expanded into a full-band dynamic chorus of catharsis that invites listeners to find a home within emotional turbulence.

Their debut album “The Marriage of Loneliness and Continental Bliss”, released on April 14th 2026, is comprised of hearty instrumentation featuring intricate strings arrangements, steady melodic guitars, and flourishes of piano, banjo and synth, giving listeners the opportunity to reflect and transform along with the shifting arrangements and soundscapes.

TRTEL

Justin Haid is a Canadian Punk/Folk artist by the artist name, TRTEL. No, it's not an acronym. He specializes in writing his own lyrics for his songs. While he's writing songs, he tries to say exactly what he's feeling. Everything in them is 100% truth, so he hopes audiences could find exactly what they're looking for. From being an atheist in a catholic school, to the drama and rumors that high school entails, TRTEL has been there and written about it. Maybe it’s too late for him to fix things, but these songs aren’t for him.

Accessibility Notes:

GYMC's Recital Hall is a physically accessible venue, with elevator access to the 2nd floor where the hall is located. There will be a mix of standing room, raised seating and floor seating as well as space for wheelchairs seating in the hall. Attendees are welcome to bring walkers into the space.

Anticipate loud volume throughout the concert. Masks and earplugs will be available at the door. 

There are two gendered accessible bathrooms on both floors, and a non-accessible gender neutral bathroom on the main floor. All bathrooms have free menstrual products available and menstrual product disposal in the stalls.

On the same floor as the event, there is a low sensory room without overhead lighting if anyone needs a break from the sound of the space or privacy. 

We will be selling non-alcoholic drinks and snacks during the show. Allergens will be listed at the concession booth and there will be gluten, nut, and dairy-free, as well as vegan options.

The GYMC is a nut-free and scent-free space. Please refrain from wearing perfume, cologne or strong deodorant.

There is car and bike parking available at the GYMC, and the nearest bus stops are the following:

-Woolwich at London northbound on Bus Route 99, followed by a ~300m walk

-Eramosa at Arthur westbound on Bus Route 13, followed by a ~500m walk

Parents with babies and young children are welcome. (There is no charge for children under the age of 7)

There will be a short break between the two bands, and attendees are invited to come and go from the hall as they please. Movement in and throughout the space is encouraged. 

This is an inclusive event for all ages, with no space for sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia and all other forms of discrimination. Our motto is be respectful, be kind, have fun! 

If you have any other questions or requests about the event please email showlab@gymc.ca