The west end is getting a brand new music festival

Do you hear guitars strumming in the distance? Or feel the rumbling of bass? Must be the sound of musicians warming up for a new music festival hitting the west end in September. Second Summer, founded by Brendan McCarney, label manager at Paper Bag Records, aims to bring back the element of discovery to music festivals, highlighting up-and-coming Canadian talent.

“The music industry is steering so much toward data and metrics, and some of the greatest artists are being lost in that,” says festival director Claire Rosenbaum. The artist list was carefully curated by McCarney, Rosenbaum and others to include crowd-drawing names like indie-pop singer Ekkstacy and rapper Mike alongside emerging artists like Downtown Boys and B. A. Johnston. In the search for talent, Rosenbaum and McCarney prioritized feelings over data. “We honed in on artists whose live experience is visceral and memorable—even if they only had a thousand followers on socials or lower streaming numbers.”

The festival will take place from September 24 to 26, featuring over 110 artists performing at 13 venues in the city’s west end. “Brendan and I are both based in the west end, and there are so many great venues here that got hit hard during Covid. Second Summer is our love letter to the west end,” says Rosenbaum. There will be over 180 sets in total—more than Coachella 2026— across legendary venues such as Sneaky Dee’s, Bovine Sex Club, the Mod Club, the Garrison and the Horseshoe Tavern.

The lineup spans an eclectic array of genres from indie folk to punk rock. Rosenbaum says the festival will announce a surprise headliner later this summer. “I’ll give you this: she’s an incredible woman and multi-hyphenate artist whose performance will be exclusive to our festival.”

Pre-sale tickets for Second Summer will be available on Thursday, May 28, at 10 a.m. using the password SECONDSUMMER, and general ticket sales open on Friday, May 29, at 10 a.m. Grab them here.