The festival was most frequently held on Canada Day at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario or a venue in Toronto.

The festival was created in 1987 by CFNY-FM staffers Scot Turner, Kneale Mann, Alan Cross, Earl Veale, and Phil Evans to celebrate the station’s tenth anniversary and the 120th Canada Day.

A lineup, including Blue Rodeo, The Pursuit of Happiness, Teenage Head, and the first foreign act, The Saints, was soon arranged, but finding an appropriate location proved to be difficult.

A farmer's field in Oakville, Ontario was considered, but would have involved complications with staging, electricity, bathrooms and parking.

Other suggestions included Mosport International Raceway and Cayuga Speedway, but as they were unavailable, Molson Park in Barrie was chosen.

In 1989, in spite of competing summer weekend activities and Highway 400 leading up to Molson Park being jammed both from both Cottage country and Toronto, the festival was once again sold out.

It was also an early major appearance for Our Lady Peace, who recently had success in Canada with their hit singles "Starseed" and "Naveed".

20,000 people came for the annual Canada Day edition, which featured an all-Canadian lineup including The Odds, Treble Charger, The Watchmen, hHead, Junkhouse and Crash Vegas.

25 bands performed during the tour, with Collective Soul, I Mother Earth, Our Lady Peace, The Tea Party, Finger Eleven, Glueleg and The Age of Electric performing at each show (though The Age of Electric missed the Ottawa show due to their gear arriving too late to the venue).

Other performers on the tour included Big Wreck, Gob, Len, Rascalz, Serial Joe, Silverchair and Wide Mouth Mason.

Locations of the tour included Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montreal.

[15] For the next sold out Edgefest in 2002, emergency crews were busy all day treating sunstroke, heat exhaustion, and dehydration.

Bands were nervous to come play there, and insurance companies refused to underwrite tours, fearing lawsuits in case people became infected at a show.

The show was billed as "The Last Bash in Barrie" because of plans to relocate the festival to Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre the following year.

The lineup for the festival included The Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, Sloan, Stereophonics, Thornley and Fefe Dobson.

That year for the first time there was a side stage designated for a record label, Underground Operations, on which Bombs Over Providence, Closet Monster and Hostage Life, among others, played.

Headliners Our Lady Peace brought fans on stage, encouraged them to use their cameras (use of which was always prohibited) and even allowed them to record an unreleased song, Kiss on the Mouth.

Bands performing at Edgefest II included Yellowcard, The All-American Rejects, Story of the Year and The Miniatures.

The 2008 edition featured headlining band Linkin Park and also included Stone Temple Pilots, Sam Roberts and The Bravery.

EdgeFest 2012 at Downsview Park featured Billy Talent, Death from above 1979, Silversun Pickups, The Sheepdogs, Young the Giant, and Mushy Callahan.

Alan Cross has stated that no suitable venue, the weak Canadian dollar, and too much competition from other festivals driving up band prices as reasons why Edgefest has been discontinued.