For our 13th birthday, a.k.a. #WL13, Wavelength enters its teen years by moving away from its anniversary roots and rebranding as the Wavelength Music Festival (WL 553, Feb. 14-17). The four-night weekend lineup includes Do Make Say Think making their first Wavelength appearance in a decade, Doldrums, Cadence Weapon and Blue Hawaii sharing a visual-heavy night at the Black Box Theatre (formerly the Theatre Centre, now Longboat Hall), and a special collaboration between surf-rockers Legato Vipers and burlesque troupe the Harlettes at the Garrison alongside a reunion by Henri Fabergé and the Adorables. #WL13 also includes free all-ages afternoon in-store shows at Sonic Boom, Soundscapes, and Grasshopper Records.
Sadly, 2013 marks the Final ALL CAPS! Island Festival, after founder Ryan McLaren decides to retire the ALL CAPS! name. Everything comes together perfectly on Toronto Island for the swansong of Toronto’s only camping, music and arts festival, with incredible weather and, for the first time, a fully outdoor stage setup. Epic performances by the Blow (now relocated to NYC), Rich Aucoin, catl., Hooded Fang, Bizzarh, Shotgun Jimmie, and others keep the crowd moving on the grass all weekend — and a beach stage built by Artscape Gibraltar Point residents sees the late night dance party spill joyously into the waves of Lake Ontario. What a sendoff.
Wavelength also launches an Artist Incubator program as a pilot project, working closely with a trio of groups whose work we’re excited by — Del Bel, Fresh Snow, and Most People — on cross-genre collaborations, festival showcases, informal mentorship, and more.
Memorable shows:
- A night of electro-pop co-presented with Silent Shout — in a notorious swingers’ club (WL 555, Jan. 17 @ Wicked)
- Icelandic sound artist Valgeir Sigurdsson (WL 556, March 13 @ Monarch Tavern)
- Wavelength takes over Creatures Creating Gallery on Dundas West for a three-night residency as part of NXNE, with sets by Doomsquad, Petra Glynt, Cellphone and others (WL 561-563, June 13-15)
- The NXNE showcase also marks the kickoff of the Wavelength Roadshow, taking Incubator artists Del Bel, Fresh Snow and Most People on the road across Ontario and Quebec (WL 563-567, June 15-28)
- All Toronto’s Parties, a collaborative two-stage show co-presented with fellow small/DIY promoters Feast in the East, Pleasence, Silent Shout and Weird Canada (WL 582, Nov. 22 @ the Garrison)