Second Summer Festival is a multi-venue west end festival in Toronto taking place September 24-26, 2026. It’s built for music lovers, by people who love music. With over 100 artists performing at 12 different venues between Spadina and Landsdowne, Bloor and Queen St, this festival is about reigniting the age of discovery – IRL. With a focus on indie leaning genres, emerging talent performances will dovetail with international acts playing super special underplays.

The Festival concept was born of years filled with long nights spent in packed showcase rooms, chasing that feeling you only get when you discover an artist before the rest of the world catches up. That feeling sparked the idea that inspired Second Summer Festival Founder and Artistic Director, Brendan McCarney (artist/label manager), who coined the festival’s name and envisioned a new kind of global independent music gathering based in Toronto.

McCarney invited fellow artist manager, Claire Rosenbaum, to come onboard as co-founder and Festival Director. They’ve both spent their careers traversing the international festival circuit. Their vision is simple: to create the kind of festival they themselves fell in love with from their round-the-world experiences.  A festival where independent artists are treated as the centrepiece rather than filler, and where audiences walk away knowing that they will inevitably one day say: “I can’t believe I saw them in that tiny room.” Instead of chasing trends or being a puppet of the ‘algorithm’, Second Summer is about soul, community and putting independent talent front and centre. 

To help bring the vision to life, MODO-LIVE was brought on board to support talent buying and programming. The festival is produced in association with Future 5th.  Art and design for Second Summer is created by JUNO nominated Toronto visual artist, Anne Douris.

Toronto’s own pop-punk rockers, PUP, have signed on as guest curators for the inaugural edition of the festival.  Few bands better embody the spirit of independent music, and for more than a decade the band has built a devoted following through explosive live shows, sharp songwriting, and a genuine connection with music fans at home and around the world. PUP are no strangers to the Toronto live scene, appreciating the support this city has been in building them from the ground up.  In 2025 the band celebrated the release of their fifth album with their MegaCity Madness Tour which saw them play six shows, six different venues in just seven days – Secret House Show, Sneaky Dee’s, Lee’s Palace, The Concert Hall, Danforth Music Hall with their victory lap at HISTORY.

Second Summer asked them one question “Who’s on your festival dance card?”. PUP hand selected nine not-to-be-missed artists.

PUP Picks
High vis
Casper Skulls
Truck Violence
Klokwise
Status/Non-Status
Eucalyptus
Cam Kahin
Kid Sistr
Spirit Desire

Visit Second Summer website for a listing of performances, artist updates, venue locations, and tickets. See the full schedule

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.