Wavelength Music Announces Conference Programming for WMFC26

Wavelength Music today announces the full conference programming for the Wavelength Music Festival + Conference 2026 (WMFC26), taking place March 19th and 20th at Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W., Toronto. Running 9 am to 4 pm across both days, the Wavelength Music Conference is the first dedicated two-day gathering of talks, panels, workshops, and conversations in the organization’s 25-year history and arrives at a pivotal moment for independent music in Canada and around the world.

The conference’s framing is both honest and galvanizing. Artists across Canada live in a state of precarity. Fewer emerging professionals can afford the financial risk of entering the industry. Grassroots venues face closure while iconic spaces disappear. Corporate consolidation stifles diversity and drives up ticket prices. And globally, the dominance of streaming and social media continues to reshape what it means to build a sustainable music career.

And yet, the reasons for optimism are just as real. Unsigned artists can now reach global audiences with albums made in their bedrooms. Global tensions are highlighting Canada as an increasingly attractive touring destination for international artists. And Toronto is on the ascendant as a diverse, dynamic hotbed for new generations of talent across multiple genres. “We have work to do,” says Wavelength – and this conference is where that work begins.

Building directly on Wavelength’s acclaimed ongoing talk series and research projects – including the nationally recognized “Reimagining Music Venues” report, which proposed bold new models for the conservation and innovation of Ontario’s live music spaces – the Wavelength Music Conference places special emphasis on the independent live music sector in Canada. Programming will bring together local and international guests for forward-looking conversations aimed equally at music industry professionals and the general public.

Wavelength Music 2026 Conference – WMFC26

The organization states:

“This will be an incredible opportunity to learn and discuss topics affecting live, independent music, and to empower delegates to be change makers in the sector.”

Wavelength Artistic and Executive Director Jonathan Bunce (aka Jonny Dovercourt) frames the conference as both a natural evolution and a timely act of community building.

Bunce reflects:

“Wavelength grew out of the ‘think globally, act locally’ ethos of the ’90s, and this lineup still embodies that a quarter-century later.”

The conference takes place alongside the full WMFC26 festival, which runs March 19th to 21st across Lula Lounge, Wavelength @ St. Anne’s, The Baby G, The Garrison, InterAccess, and the Art Gallery of Ontario – featuring 30+ live acts including Melissa Auf der Maur, Alex Cameron, Ada Lea, Bibi Club, Ribbon Skirt, Bad Waitress, Maria Somerville, Sook-Yin Lee, and many more. Cross-border co-operation is a particular theme this year: Auf der Maur’s events are co-presented with Basilica Hudson, her independent venue in upstate New York, underscoring what Bunce calls an urgent need for solidarity between arts communities on both sides of the border.

The Wavelength Music Conference is open to all. Conference passes and All Access passes for the full WMFC26 festival are available now. For the full conference schedule, speaker announcements, and all festival details, visit wavelengthmusic.ca/festival-event/wavelength-music-conference.