Wavelength’s 15th anniversary year starts off a little differently: In the lead-up to our weekend-long winter festival, a Wavelength Pop-Up Gallery sets up at Huntclub Studios on College Street for three weeks. The small storefront exhibits a Wavelength historical poster and photo show, window art by Derek Ma and Alexandra Mackenzie, community concerts, workshops, and talks. The packed opening night (WL 631, Jan. 22) features sets by Petra Glynt (Mackenzie’s musical alter-ego) and Zoo Owl, and the rest of the run includes shows by Saltland, Jason Sharp, the Holy Gasp, and James Irwin. A follow-up talk on the previous year’s “Toronto Music Moment” panel introduces the community at-large to Mike Tanner, Toronto’s new Music Sector Development Officer.
After all that activity, Wavelength Music Festival 15 (WL 647-651, Feb. 13-15) gets tightened up to a three-day fest themed “Past, Present and Future.” “Past” at Sneaky Dee’s includes a reunion by 2004 dance-punks controller.controller and a visit from Canadian punk pioneer (and later Order of Canada recipient) Art Bergmann; “Present” presents Lowell and Last Ex on Valentine’s Day at Polish Combatants Hall; and “Future” offers up Mozart’s Sister, New Fries and beyond at the Garrison.
Summer 2015 sees a full-scale return to Toronto Island, as our August festival is relaunched as Camp Wavelength (WL 678, Aug. 28-30). Now a three-day festival with camping over two nights, Camp WL expands its art programming by transforming Gibraltar Point beach into an outdoor gallery full of sculptures and light installations. The whole site becomes an artsy wonderland, with performance art, dance, games, a VR exhibition, and a synchronized swimming performance. Décor artist Roxanne Ignatius joins the team, creating the iconic Wavelength stage lettering. Amazing weather makes it feel more like a beach vacation than a typical music festival. And the music? A super-stacked lineup with Do Make Say Think, Holy Fuck, the Wooden Sky, the Weather Station, Doldrums, Prince Rama, Pierre Kwenders, Loscil and more. The word on everyone’s lips all weekend? Magic.
Memorable shows:
- Noise-rockers FRIGS when they were still called Dirty Frigs, and before they became Orville Peck’s backing band (WL 633, Jan. 24 @ Junction City Music Hall)
- Hauschka, the lovely German prepared piano player and future Oscar winner for All Quiet on the Western Front (WL 654, April 11 @ Polish Combatants Hall)
- Dutch art punks the Ex make a triumphant return; Leslie Feist is dancing in the front row (WL 670, June 23 @ Hard Luck Bar)
- Del Bel play a live score to silent horror film classic Nosferatu at the Christie Pits Film Festival (WL 673, July 5)
- Canadian noise legends the Nihilist Spasm Band play one of their 50th anniversary concerts along with free-jazz horn man Joe McPhee (WL 679, Sept. 17 @ the Garrison)