Toronto’s very own Wavelength Winter Fest returns this weekend for three nights straight of live performances some of the most innovative up-and-comers on the indie scene alongside immersive interiors.
I may be biased, but Toronto’s indie music scene — and, more broadly, Canada’s, — is home to some of the most unique and impressive artists around today, which is why the city’s already-bountiful selection of collectives, venues and event series’ that support them are so significant.
Wavelength, a collective founded in 2000 on the premise of uplifting indie music acts across Canada, has been a major player on that scene for the past quarter century; and they’re not slowing down any time soon.
From Feb. 27 to March 1, Wavelength Winter Fest, one of Wavelength’s annual marquee music events, returns to their haunt at St. Anne’s Parish Hall for not only three nights of live music from hidden gems and up-and-comers alike, but a celebration of 25 years of the organization.
“Just as the city has changed, so has Wavelength,” a representative from Wavelength tells blogTO.
“From weekly club-show series to outdoor festivals to curated concert presentations, we’ve presented in venues that no longer exist and hosted bands that have parted ways. Their influence lives on through our collective memory and approach to presenting music: building more excitement for the grassroots Toronto music scene.”
And, marking the milestone of 25 years, they also tell blogTO that they’ve expanded the excitement leading up to the festival with exclusive online Wavelength content, like interviews, guest playlists, and Instagram takeovers.
They’ve also got a few tricks up their sleeves for the upcoming festival.
“We are excited to unveil some exciting new projects and programming for our silver anniversary,” the representative tells blogTO. “You’ll have to stay tuned to see what those are!”
What makes the festival particularly special, aside from the groundbreaking 20+ artist lineup, are the immersive visuals that accompany them in psychedellic projections paired perfectly with the music.
This year, you’ll be able to catch visuals from long-standing collaborator Stephen Lindsey (General Chaos Visuals) and Anthony Piazza, alongside artwork by Stephanie Avery and immersive decor by Roxanne Ignatius.
“Now that we have set up St. Anne’s Parish Hall as our new home base, we can’t wait to make the space our own [both] sonically and visually,” the representative tells blogTO.
Taking over both an upper and lower floor of the venue (the aforementioned visuals and artwork are spread across both), the festival kicks off with an evening themed around Hip-Hop artist and activist pHoenix Pagliacci’s latest album Dichotomy, which she will perform.
The rest of the night one lineup is populated by artists who featured on pHoenix’s album, including Bonnie Trash, The OBGms and Wavelength favourite Cadence Weapon.
On night two, both floors open up, with upstairs populated by dreamy, bright sounds by the likes of Tallies, Alex Nicol and Ducks LTD, while downstairs you’ll find garage punk outfit Priors, indie pop project Essie Watts and the return early-2000’s dance pink band, Controller.Controller.
Rounding out the festival, night three is set to feature two “massive” lineups, including Montreal’s Bodywash, Anishnaabe duo Ombiigizi and, hailing all the way from the U.K., electro-pop artist Mui Zyu.
“In a time when being Canadian is so important, we are proud to be champions of independent music in Toronto,” Wavelength tells blogTO.
“Our lineup is 95% Canadian artists, and we work to partner with Canadian organizations and suppliers. Even in the midst of a snowstorm, you can bet we’ll be there dancing along.”
Tickets for the festival are available online now, with single-night tickets going for $25 or a weekend pass for $55.
Beyond Wavelength Winter Fest, Wavelength hosts a slew of music events from their home base at St. Anne’s Parish Hall (651 Dufferin) throughout the year, including the always lively Wavelength Summer Thing, which takes place in August.
