Inaugural London, Ontario Music Festival Supported Humane Society London & Middlesex with Five Canadian Acts
Warm and Fuzzy Fest 2026 brought Canadian music, community spirit, and a charitable cause together in London, Ontario, on October 11, 2026. Headlined by acclaimed Nova Scotia singer-songwriter Joel Plaskett, the inaugural Thanksgiving weekend event took place at the Side Launch Beer Garden in support of Humane Society London & Middlesex.
Presented by Side Launch Brewing Company and Humane Society London & Middlesex, the festival featured five Canadian acts, including Oliver Orr, Daisy Chain, Marty Kolls, Emily Garber, and Joel Plaskett. The evening’s advertised program combined live music, craft beer, local food, and fundraising activities supporting animal welfare in the London community.
Held at 695 Sovereign Road, the festival was scheduled from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., with Plaskett closing the night as headliner. The event marked the first edition of Warm and Fuzzy Fest, bringing together local performers and an established Canadian music favourite for a community-focused celebration.
Warm & Fuzzy Fest is presented by Side Launch Brewing and Humane Society London & Middlesex, with support from Royal Canin, the Paul Seed Fund with London Community Foundation, and Central Sanitation, with booking and promotion support provided by Oh MG! Productions.
Warm and Fuzzy Fest 2026 Lineup
Oliver Orr opens the night as a 12-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from London, Ontario who plays guitar, piano, and drums. He began performing publicly at eight years old and has become a regular busker at London’s Western Fair Market, also performing throughout the summer in Sauble Beach. Oliver’s music spans country, rock and pop, and he continues developing his own sound through original songs, bringing natural stage presence, energy, and genuine passion for music to every performance.
Daisy Chain, a London-based duo led by Lola of Thunder Queens and Neave of Radio Blue, rework the indie, alternative and rock songs they grew up on, stripping them back to acoustic guitar and lush vocal harmonies that give familiar tracks a quieter, more intimate feel.
Marty Kolls is a London, Ontario based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose work balances lyrical depth with wide musical appeal, blending folk, soul and pop delivered with real emotional honesty. Since releasing her debut album in 2014, she has shared stages with artists including Sarah Harmer, Dan Mangan, Whitehorse, and Cat Power, performed as part of JunoFest and Folk Canada, and appears often at London’s Aeolian Hall. Her recent releases “Drive” and “Waves” have drawn attention from playlists and podcasts including Exclaim! and The Great Singer Songwriter, and she brings new music this fall as part of a growing body of work rooted in connection, curiosity, and the quiet power of a well told story.
Emily Garber is a London, Ontario based singer-songwriter blending sharp storytelling with warm, melodic indie folk. A mother, teacher, and dedicated artist, she has carved out space in a full life to pursue performance, songwriting and recording, bringing unfiltered honesty and emotional intelligence to her work. A two-time nominee at the Forest City Music Awards, Garber has performed at Aeolian Hall, Nathan Phillips Square and the Home County Music Festival, and has opened for Jim Bryson and Matthew Barber. She is currently writing and recording her debut all original studio album, ‘Broken Home,’ produced by Jim Bryson.
Joel Plaskett Headlines Warm and Fuzzy Fest
Headliner Joel Plaskett has spent more than three decades proving himself a constant force of reinvention. The Nova Scotia songwriter’s eclectic catalogue reveals a restless, playful spirit that keeps transforming and expanding even as he celebrates his East Coast roots and musical traditions. His discography spans heavy riff epics like Thrush Hermit’s landmark swansong ‘Clayton Park’ (1999), lo-fi solo records like ‘In Need of Medical Attention’ (1999) and ‘La De Da’ (2005), lean and lyrical rock and roll with the Emergency on ‘Down at the Khyber’ (2001) and ‘Truthfully, Truthfully’ (2003), and a father and son nod to English folk tradition on ‘Solidarity’ (2017), released with his father, Bill. He has also pushed further still with the Emergency’s romantic concept album ‘Ashtray Rock’ (2007), the months long songwriting challenge ‘Scrappy Happiness’ (2012), and the sprawling multi record ventures ‘Three’ (2009) and ’44’ (2020). His most recent release, the four track ‘One Real Reveal’ (2024), strips his songwriting down to its raw materials.
Plaskett has rocked clubs, festivals, and grand old theatres coast to coast and around the world with longtime Emergency bandmates Dave Marsh and Chris Pennell, and drawn audiences in close with intimate acoustic shows, solo and alongside his father. He has headlined Toronto’s Massey Hall, performed at the NAC in Ottawa backed by the national orchestra, and opened stadium sized stages for The Tragically Hip and Paul McCartney. He and the Emergency have been widely recognized within the industry, earning honours and nominations from the JUNOs, the Polaris Music Prize, the East Coast Music Awards, Music Nova Scotia and more. His creative home remains Nova Scotia, where Fang Recording, his studio at 45 Portland Street in Dartmouth, has produced many of his own albums as well as records for artists including Mo Kenney, Steve Poltz, Shotgun Jimmie, and Jimmy Rankin.
Since 2023, he has also hosted Window Inn Wednesdays, a monthly, no-phones-allowed variety show held at the same Dartmouth building, home to Taz Records, Morley’s Coffee and Friction Books, built to push back against the speed of modern life and make room for real engagement between art, artist and audience. In 2025, ‘Songs From The Gang, A Celebration of Joel Plaskett’ brought together a deluxe covers album of his music performed by Arkells, Sloan, Jill Barber, The Sheepdogs, Julian Taylor, Jenn Grant, Bahamas, City and Colour, Rose Cousins, Frank Turner, and many more.
Presented by Side Launch Brewing and Humane Society London & Middlesex with support from Royal Canin, the Paul Seed Fund with London Community Foundation, and booking & promotion support by Oh MG! Productions.
