Wavelength Music warms up winter with the launch of their 20th anniversary year and the Wavelength Winter Festival, which will take place from February 13-16, 2020.
The festival launches Thursday, February 13, exactly 20 years since Wavelength’s first show at Ted’s Wrecking Yard. Despite that venue being a distant memory, Wavelength will provide a nostalgic nod to its older days by presenting the first night of the festival at Sneaky Dee’s! Festival venues also include Longboat Hall (Fri & Sat nights), Sonic Boom Records (Sat. afternoon – all ages) and The Garrison (Sun night).
Single-day tickets are on sale Thursday, January 9 at noon for $15-$20 in advance, or $50 for an all-access festival passes (limited number available). Tickets are available in person at Rotate This (801 Queen Street West, Toronto) and Soundscapes (572 College Street, Toronto) and online at wavelengthmusic.ca.
“As one of Wavelength’s co-founders, I’m grateful and elated to be celebrating this momentous milestone of reaching our series’ 20th anniversary,” says Jonny Dovercourt (Jonathan Bunce), Wavelength Artistic Director. “When our original collective of independent musicians came together two decades ago to find new ways to build excitement and a sense of community in the Toronto music scene, we never expected it to have this longevity – or grow into an institution that continues to champion grassroots artists.”
Despite including a glance back at the past 20 years, Wavelength’s winter festival programming is future-forward, a “live curated mixtape” line-up of the newest, freshest and most exciting sounds in the Canadian independent music scene. Guest Co-Curator, Ian Steaman (Different Kitchen, CBC), brings a fresh new voice to the programming mix with the inclusion of more acts from the worlds of hip-hop, R&B, electronica and art-pop, as Wavelength continues to expand the boundaries of “indie” music.
Highlights of Winter Festival include: Global electro-soul pioneers LAL in a 20th Anniversary Performance of their debut album “Corners”, a reunion of Owen Pallett’s manic art-folk trio LES MOUCHES, indie folk-pop collectivists THE HIDDEN CAMERAS performing their first Toronto show in four years, talented woman rapper and 2019 Polaris Prize Winner HAVIAH MIGHTY, and special guest from Los Angeles, hip-hop meets avant-pop artist TORII WOLF, who has collaborated with DJ Premier and Mike Zombie (Drake’s OVO Sound). A free all-ages afternoon show has also been announced for Saturday, February 15 at Sonic Boom Music, featuring no-wave punk trio NEW FRIES.
#WL2020 FESTIVAL LINEUP & SCHEDULE
Thursday, February 13 @ Sneaky Dee’s
LAL “Corners” 20th Anniversary Album Performance (Toronto – Global electro-soul pioneers)
LES MOUCHES (Toronto – Reunion of Owen Pallett’s manic art-folk trio)
SANDRO PERRI (Toronto – Soft-pop connoisseur / Constellation Records)
SLOWPITCHSOUND (Toronto – Ambient/experimental turntablism + dance)
Doors 7 pm
Tickets: $15 advance / $20 at the door
Friday, February 14 @ Longboat Hall
THE HIDDEN CAMERAS (Berlin/Toronto – Indie folk-pop collectivists – first Toronto show in 4 yrs)
LITTLE SCREAM (Montreal – Indie art-pop / Merge Records)
KAIA KATER (Toronto – Neo-bluegrass singer/songwriter & banjo picker)
SHEENAH KO (Montreal – Entrancing ambient pop / member of the Besnard Lakes)
Doors 7 pm
Tickets: $20 advance / $25 at the door
Saturday, February 15 @ Sonic Boom Music (Free Afternoon In-Store)
NEW FRIES (Toronto – No-wave punk trio – Telephone Explosion Records)
MIMICO (Toronto – Space-rock soundscapes / Hand Drawn Dracula Records)
PSYCHIC WEAPONS (Toronto – Post-punk energy wave – ex-Creeping Nobodies/Parts Unknown)
SILVER POOLS (Toronto – Psychedelic dream-pop)
Showtime 2 pm
Admission: FREE
Saturday, February 15 @ Longboat Hall
HAVIAH MIGHTY (Toronto – Mighty hip-hop femcee & 2019 Polaris Prize Winner)
LOU PHELPS (Montreal – Electro-driven rapper & brother of Kaytranada)
YVES JARVIS (Montreal – Soulful indie art-folk / Anti- & Flemish Eye Records)
DESIIRE (Toronto – Afro-pop R&B singer/songwriter)
Doors 7 pm
Tickets: $20 advance / $25 at the door
Sunday, February 16 @ The Garrison
TORII WOLF (Los Angeles – Avant-pop hip-hop savant – DJ Premier & Mike Zombie collaborator)
KEITA JUMA (Mississauga – UK grime meets hip-hop & house beats)
TRP.P (Toronto – Dreamy R&B duo)
Doors 7 pm
Tickets: $15 advance / $20 at the door
For more information and artist bios, please visit WavelengthMusic.ca