Wavelength begins the lead-up to our 25th anniversary year with a slightly scaled-back but still ambitious edition of our Winter Festival (WL 872-874, Feb. 29-March 2). Inspired by the warm reception to 2023’s Reimagining Music Venues study — one of our milestone research & development projects — the fest kicks off with a panel discussion entitled “Meet Toronto’s New Music Spaces,” with the aim of generating optimism about the grassroots music venue ecosystem by highlighting new and innovate spaces that had opened or reopened in recent years. Building on that idea, the festival lineup goes “East to West” across the city over three nights, from Beams and Just Prince exploring contemporary angles on folk music at the new Hugh’s Room Live on Broadview, to a hip-hop/R&B-oriented youth lineup at U of T’s Hart House with visuals by OCAD students, to an epic two-floor finale at St. Anne’s Parish Hall. That Saturday night at the Parish includes a memorable performance with pieces for horns and (yes) cellphones by Charles Spearin as well as a rip-roaring set by Montreal guests Ribbon Skirt (fka Love Language). And it hints at things to come — as that fall, Wavelength begins putting down roots by acquiring our own stage, sound & lighting system and hosting our fall programming at St. Anne’s.
Summer sees TWO free outdoor shows on the Wavelength calendar, the first being a special curated collaboration with Luminato Festival as part of their Luminato in the Square series at David Pecaut Square (WL 878, June 8). Wavelength brings some of sparkly magic to the downtown core with its trademark roster of visual artists, including Stephanie Avery, Roxanne Ignatius, Kizmet and Julia YH, as well as new collaborations with the Indigenous Music Summit, Girls Rock Camp Guelph, and DIY video game crew Dirty Rectangles. The mainstage lineup includes rising US indie stars Cassandra Jenkins and Lael Neale alongside Toronto psych-rock icons Mother Tongues. A freak rainstorm doesn’t keep the crowds away from Detroit post-punk heroes Protomartyr — and only adds to their dystopian dissonance — and people keep dancing in the puddles for Ethio-jazz pioneer Hailu Mergia’s keyboard jams.
In August, the Wavelength Summer Thing returns to the waterfront for its second year at Trillium Park (WL 880, Aug. 10) — condensed from three days to a massive, one-day party. Headlined by Ontario punk idols Daniel Romano’s Outfit — who bring out a hefty volume of denim and leather among the crowd of thousands — the rest of the patently diverse lineup includes glam-rock chanteuse Nyssa (on the eve of a UK move), jazz-fusion gamer crew Lavender Town, Montreal indie folk-rocker Sasha Cay, and experimental turntablist SlowPitchSound with guest dancer, Libydo. Wavelength’s visual arts offerings are enhanced by the addition of Mobile Sweat, a mobile sauna and art experience by Public Sweat, the folks behind Art Spin. The art is both escapist and timely: Julia YH creates a live painting of a musical mermaid, Stephanie Avery contributes seating repurposed from condo-ad waste, and Kizmet’s installation contemplates the Palestinian genocide. And the Summer Thing levels up its vendor offerings with an Indie Market and tasty new food vendors including Gebeta Ethiopian. After just two years at the city’s best lakeside park, it already feels like a tradition.
Memorable shows:
- A youthful crowd packs the Monarch Tavern for a double album release by Tara Kannangara and Montreal’s Corey Gulkin, while upstart locals Essie Watts wow in the opening slot with a performance enhanced by contemporary dance (WL 875, April 12)
- Danish/UK neoclassical soul singer Astrid Sonne headlines the first show of our residency in the Lower Hall of St. Anne’s Parish, and dubs it her favourite new venue (WL 881, Sept. 27)
- Ex-Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo performs “Contre Jour,” a collaboration with his partner, projection artist Leah Singer as part of Project Nowhere Festival, a dramatic combination of swinging electric guitar and stunning cinematic visuals, upstairs in the St. Anne’s Auditorium (WL 882, Oct. 4)
- A spirited discussion takes place at a townhall around the Reimagining Music Venues report and its impacts one year later, marking a dynamic new collaboration with MusicOntario (WL 884, Oct. 29 @ St. Anne’s)
- The final show of the year is a classic WL lineup, including Guelph indie vet Geordie Gordon, Asian-Canadian chamber-pop quartet Tiger Balme, and Quebecoise art-pop/post-rock duo Bibi Club (WL 886, Nov. 28 @ St. Anne’s)