Starting in 2007 with a scrappy group of musicians at a single charity show at the Hard Rock Cafe, and growing to 2025 with over 100 musicians over 8 nights and 6 venues. The GovFest battle of the Bands is the premiere event for current and former federal, provincial, and municipal civil servants in Ontario to let their hair down, make amazing music, have a great time, and raise money for charity. This is our 19th big year and we’re looking forward to it!
All the latest Updates
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Battle of the Bands Winners
Thank you to all of our bands, volunteers, audiences, sponsors, and special guests for making this year’s event such a success! The Battle of the Bands Winners are: The Battle of the Bands Winners are: Transit Bound Audience Choice AND People’s Choice RTO (Rhythm to Overjoy) Judge’s Choice Congratulations to them, and all of our…
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Finally! The Grand Finale Lineup is Finalized!
Congratulations to our People’s Choice bands: And our Audience Choice bands: They’ll be playing at the Grand Finale at the newly renovated Mod Club on Friday, December 12! Tickets will go on sale very soon. All bands participating in the Grand Finale will be eligible for the “Judges Choice” award based on which is most…
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GOVFEST NEEDS YOU
Govfest is fully volunteer run, powered by people who care deeply about community, creativity — and honestly, who just love being part of something this fun and meaningful every year. To keep Govfest sustainable for years to come, we need more help. Many of our key leaders and long-time volunteers are moving into their retirement…
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Second weekend of Govfest Battle of the Bands coming up!
We had two great shows at Monarch Tavern last weekend, and two more coming up at Lee’s Palace Dance Cave (529 Bloor W) tonight and Saturday night! You can see who is playing here. A refresher on how it all works: our Grande Finale at Mod Club on December 12 will have six bands Audience…
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GovFest Kingston
The Kingston music community is always enthusiastic to support Govfest and the local United Way. Resuming in 2023 after brief hiatus, Govfest Kingston has transitioned from a battle of the bands layout to a showcase of talent that has been incredibly successful. The 2023 and 2024 events were held at The Buckle, a Nashville-themed bar…
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Call for Bands!
Join us for our 19th year of Battle of the Bands! Click below to find out more! […]Read More… from Call for Bands!
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Congratulations to our winning bands at the Govfest Grand Finale of the 2024 Battle of the Bands!
New Original Cyn, The Regimentals, and The Invisible Hands were our winners in 2024! […]Read More… from Congratulations to our winning bands at the Govfest Grand Finale of the 2024 Battle of the Bands!
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A Banner Year for GovFest
Thanks to our volunteers, the musicians, artists, patrons, audiences, and donors, GovFest 2024 raised over $40,000 for our charity partners, United Way and Ryan’s Well. Since its inception, GovFest has raised over $285,000 for charity. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you all again at our 2025 events! […]Read…
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Join us for our 19th year of Battle of the Bands!
We’ll once again hit the stage in November! Further details coming soon. Use our ‘contact us‘ form if you’re interested in performing or would like to learn more” […]Read More… from Join us for our 19th year of Battle of the Bands!
