Wavelength Music Festival 17 launches with a line down the block at the Garrison, the festival’s home base for the weekend (WL 720-724, Feb. 17-19). TOPS and DIANA co-headline a Red Bull Sound Select showcase on the opening night, while on Saturday a stacked lineup of Canadian indie/art-rock is topped by Julie Doiron’s latest band, Julie & the Wrong Guys. The rest of the lineup includes Helena Deland, Fet.Nat, Han Han, Phèdre, Whoop-SZO, and a special appearance by NYC’s one-time post-punk child star Chandra. Daytime programming includes an all-ages DIY/punk show at the Monarch and a “Drone Brunch” at the Gladstone featuring ambient artist Kat Estacio of Pantayo. A few weeks later, the community tries to process recent events in the world (namely the election of a certain individual) with a panel discussion entitled “Music as Disruption” tackling the topic of art as activism (WL 725, March 5 @ Gladstone Hotel).
Sadly, climate change disrupts our plans for 2017’s summer festival. High water levels on Lake Ontario cause historic flooding of Toronto Island, and the team makes the difficult but necessary choice to move Camp Wavelength onto the mainland. Reimagining it as a “Day Camp in the City,” the festival (WL 737, Aug. 18-20) consists of evening shows at Longboat Hall and the Garrison as well as free daytime shows in Sherbourne Common Park on Queens Quay East. None of the musical acts are cancelled and most of the arts programming is maintained, but overnight camping is no longer an option. But what a lineup: Deerhoof, Jessy Lanza, Rich Aucoin, Haviah Mighty (2019 Polaris Prize winner), DJ Shub, Dilly Dally, Duchess Says, Witch Prophet, SlowPitchSound… we can only imagine what it would have been like if it had happened on the Island as planned. Still the “great lost festival.”
Behind the scenes, Wavelength crew members can be spotted on Spadina Avenue, where the org maintains a production office in the Centre for Social Innovation building over the summer.
Memorable shows:
- A collaboration with Doors Open Toronto for a musical “bike tour” (hosted by Bike Pirates) between three historic buildings: Fresh Snow outside the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant; Contact Contemporary Music at Evergreen Brick Works; and Kurt Marble at the Masonic Temple a.k.a. the Concert Hall (WL 730, May 27)
- Camp Cruise is our pre-festival party, a harbour boat cruise hosted by Red Bull Sound Select aboard the River Gambler with Cadence Weapon, Greys, Pony, Tika and Vallens (WL 738, Aug. 11)
- Toronto Public Library’s Make Some Noise series hosts a free double bill of Arcade Fire member Jeremy Gara’s ambient project and conscious hip-hop emcee Emay (WL 742, Nov. 2 @ Bloor/Gladstone Branch)