Wavelength Music Festival 2026 [Day 1]

Last Thursday, I made the trek to Toronto for the 2026 edition of the Wavelength Music Festival 2026.
This was my first time back since the freezing winter of 2015.
What pulled me in this year will become clearer in my Day 2 recap, but let’s just say it was worth the all-nighter and the 4:30 a.m. train from Ottawa.

This year also marked a new addition to the festival: a conference component hosted at Lula Lounge.
I arrived just in time for the opening remarks from host Emilie Hanskamp alongside Wavelength’s Artistic and Executive Director Jonathan Bunce.
From there, I dove into a series of engaging panels, including Middle Power: Inside Canada–EU Export Pipelines, Meet Toronto’s Persian Underground Scene, and Radio Silence? The Future of Music Media—each offering thoughtful insights into the evolving landscape of music both locally and internationally.

After squeezing in a quick nap, it was time to jump into the evening performances spread across St. Anne’s Anglican Church (both upper and lower levels) and Lula Lounge.
Upstairs at St. Anne’s, the night unfolded with a strong run of dreamlike and atmospheric sets.
Toronto’s Ebril delivered a warm blend of alternative bedroom pop, setting a mellow tone early on.

New York’s Colle (of Chanel Beads) followed with a hazy mix of alternative and dream pop textures, while Dublin’s Maria Somerville turned things up with a louder, more immersive take on shoegaze and dream pop that filled the space beautifully.

Meanwhile, over at Lula Lounge, Lisbon’s P.S. Lucas offered a more stripped-back set rooted in folk and alternative pop.
New York’s Dan English, joined by Eliza Niemi, brought a gentle chemistry to the stage with their blend of folk and indie pop—an intimate contrast to the more reverb-heavy sets across the way.

I closed out the night back at St. Anne’s Anglican Church with performances from Dastgâmachine and Cinna Peyghamy, ending the evening on a captivating and experimental note that tied into the festival’s broader sense of exploration and boundary-pushing.

Check out the gallery.