Toronto’s celebrated indie music non-profit Wavelength Music is expanding its annual winter programming with the inaugural Wavelength Music Festival + Conference, set to take place the first weekend of spring, March 2026. Following its landmark 25th anniversary in 2025, the festival will spotlight emerging Canadian artists alongside international guests from Australia, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Portugal, and the United States, blending live performance with panels, workshops, and interactive activities across Toronto’s west end.
A highlight of the festival will be the book launch for Melissa Auf der Maur, the Canadian-born alternative rock icon (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins), hosted in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).
Musical Lineup
The festival will feature over 30 live acts, including:
Ada Lea, Alex Cameron, Bad Waitress, Bibi Club, bikebike, Burs, Casper Skulls, Cinna Peyghamy, Colle, Ebril, Dan English, Dastgâmachine, Dumai Dunai, Fortunato Durutti Marinetti, Hélène Barbier, Lucid Express, Mad Iris, Maria Somerville, Melissa Auf der Maur (book launch + DJ set), Orbital Ensemble, Paul Chin, Pizza Bush, P.S. Lucas, Ribbon Skirt, Salar Ansari, Sheenah Ko, Slash Need, Sook-Yin Lee, Status/Non-Status, Tara Kannangara, Tarek Funk.
In addition to music, the festival will feature panels, workshops, walking tours, poetry sessions, and the interactive Synth Petting Zoo, creating a holistic platform for both artists and attendees to engage with music and culture.
Festival + Conference Experience
The Wavelength Music Festival + Conference 2026 will center on Wavelength @ St. Anne’s, an arts hub offering intimate performances within a historic church hall. Additional events will take place at Lula Lounge, the AGO, The Baby G, The Garrison, and InterAccess, reflecting the festival’s deep ties to Toronto’s west-end creative community.
The programming balances local and international talent, with global guests such as Alex Cameron, Maria Somerville, and Lucid Express, while returning favorites like Bibi Club and Ribbon Skirt maintain continuity with past Wavelength editions. Special events include Nowruz celebrations, Indigenous music showcases co-presented with Tkaronto Music Festival, and global hip-hop nights co-presented with Uma Nota Culture.
Melissa Auf der Maur will celebrate her new memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry, with three Toronto events: a book launch at the AGO, a late-night DJ set, and a curated lineup inspired by her venue Basilica Hudson in New York.
Artistic Vision
Jonny Dovercourt (Jonathan Bunce), Artistic/Executive Director and co-founder of Wavelength, shared:
“After celebrating our 25th anniversary all throughout 2025, I’m thrilled to present the lineup for our first-ever Wavelength Music Festival + Conference in March ‘26. Wavelength grew out of the ‘think globally, act locally’ ethos of the ’90s, and this lineup embodies that vision today. Melissa Auf der Maur exemplifies artist-run culture at the highest level, and we hope her talks and readings will inspire future generations of musicians and organizers.”
For the full festival schedule, artist bios, and more details, visit wavelengthmusic.ca. Tickets and passes go on sale Friday, December 12th at 10am, with free tickets for Melissa Auf der Maur’s AGO book launch available in February 2026. Conference programming will be announced in early 2026.
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