Wavelength 350 (Feb. 8–11), our seventh anniversary, shows off the organization’s breadth, moving from the long-established Horseshoe Tavern one night to ultra-DIY space Salem’s Loft on Geary Avenue the next. Its increasingly divergent lineup covers everything from free-jazz collective Drumheller to Montreal dance-punks Think About Life in a single night. Plus, the festival starts off with a challenging panel discussion, “Diversity: Our Strength?,” tackling the lack of cultural diversity within Toronto’s independent music scene.
Wavelength makes another big step towards professionalizing, incorporating as a non-profit and receiving its first Ontario Arts Council grant. The WL-adjacent ALL CAPS! Outdoor Show takes place in Dufferin Grove in August, with a slate of acts playing for a family-friendly crowd on a very DIY stage one sunny afternoon.
Memorable shows:
- A direct curatorial outcome of the Diversity: Our Strength? panel, indie-folk collective Bruce Peninsula share a bill with Eritrean krar player Daniel Nebiat, a show co-presented with African music series Batuki Music (WL 356, March 25 @ SD)
- Pianist/electronic music polymath John Kameel Farah alongside future Austra vocalist Katie Stelmanis and Les Mouches’ Matt Smith a.k.a. Nif-D (WL 357, April 1 @ SD)
- Rich Aucoin treats us to his audiovisual electro-pop affirmations for the first time (WL 371, July 15 @ SD)
- Nunca Antes bring percussive sounds from Toronto’s vibrant Latin scene to Sneaky Dee’s (WL 380, Sept. 16 @ SD)
- Remember Toronto! is a night of all Toronto song covers by various local heroes and supergroups (WL 388, Nov. 11 @ SD)
- Montreal trio Sister Suvi, featuring Merrill Garbus (later known as Tune-Yards), play a stunning set (WL 390, Nov. 25 @SD)