West End music festival arrives in September with 110 artists
Second Summer brings discovery back to festivals with curated lineups across 13 venues, pre-sale tickets available Thursday.
A new music festival is arriving in Toronto's west end this September with an ambitious mission: bring back the element of discovery to festivals. Second Summer, running September 24–26, will feature over 110 artists performing across 13 venues in the west end, with more than 180 total sets — exceeding Coachella 2026's count.
Founded by Brendan McCarney, label manager at Paper Bag Records, and directed by Claire Rosenbaum, the festival deliberately prioritizes artist experience over algorithmic metrics. "The music industry is steering so much toward data and metrics, and some of the greatest artists are being lost in that," Rosenbaum said.
The lineup spans indie-pop (Ekkstacy), hip-hop (Mike), punk (Downtown Boys), and folk (B.A. Johnston). Venues include Toronto landmarks: Sneaky Dee's, Bovine Sex Club, the Mod Club, the Garrison, and the Horseshoe Tavern — many of which were hit hard during the pandemic.
"Brendan and I are both based in the west end, and there are so many great venues here that got hit hard during Covid," Rosenbaum said. "Second Summer is our love letter to the west end."
A surprise headliner will be announced later this summer — described only as "an incredible woman and multi-hyphenate artist" with an exclusive performance. Pre-sale tickets open Thursday, May 28, at 10 a.m. with password SECONDSUMMER; general sales begin Friday at 10 a.m. The festival bets that depth and curation beat big names alone.