Departure Festival Announces 2026 Music Showcase and New Rising Sound Artists Initiative
More than 100 emerging acts from across Canada and beyond will perform during the Toronto indie music festival.
by Sophia Pan
Pictured: the neverminds
- Published on
Toronto’s Departure Festival + Conference is gearing up for another week of discovery this spring, unveiling the lineup for its 2026 Music Showcase, which will feature more than 100 emerging artists performing across venues throughout the city from May 4 to 10.
Presented by Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG), the annual festival—arriving during the same week long associated with Canadian Music Week—continues its focus on spotlighting the next generation of talent. Selected from thousands of global submissions, this year’s showcase brings together rising artists from across Canada, the United States, and around the world, transforming Toronto into a city-wide stage for new music.
Designed as a launch pad for developing artists, the showcase offers audiences the chance to discover breakout acts early in their careers while giving performers access to a range of professional development opportunities. Alongside their live performances, artists can participate in networking events, media training sessions, and industry programming tied to Departure’s conference component.
New for 2026 is the festival’s Rising Sound Artists initiative, which highlights six standout performers selected from the broader showcase roster. This year’s featured artists include Chloe Tang, Bianca Espino, Tyra Jutai, the neverminds, Cherrykim, and Kyle Wildfern, who’s recent album What A Life! was included in RANGE Magazine’s Best Of 2025 coverage.
Beyond performing in a dedicated showcase, Rising Sound artists will receive additional industry exposure through curated networking opportunities, professional development sessions, and exclusive industry events designed to help elevate their careers.
“Departure has always been about discovery, bringing together talented artists and providing a platform for connection and creativity,” says Kevin Barton, executive producer at Departure Festival + Conference. “We were blown away by the artist submissions this year and proud to present an incredible lineup of performers who deserve the spotlight to shine and thrive. We look forward to introducing this talented group to Toronto audiences and can’t wait to see their careers take off to new heights.”
Festival passes, which grant access to showcases and film screenings throughout the week, are currently available for $65.
For tickets, artist information, and the full showcase lineup, visit departureto.com.
By Cam Delisle
The WOR$T GIRL IN CANADA cranked the Commodore Ballroom's volume to the max.
By Kenna Clifford
The surprise-dropped remix album transforms the resting-heart-rate meditations of her previous release into something built for the dancefloor.
By Glenn Alderson
With two albums already behind them this year and another on the way, the New Orleans band are making rock and roll faster than anyone can tell them what to do with it.
By Cam Delisle
The Slovakia-born pop ingenue embraces the messiest pleasures of stardom on her debut full-length, PRIMA.
By Khagan Aslanov
After decades spent pushing against artistic and political boundaries, the Afrofuturist icon confronts familiar cycles of violence, resistance, and reinvention.
By Sarah Housley
Inherited memories and abandoned futures haunt the Montreal duo’s melancholic electronic world.
By Maddie Browning
On her debut album MINI SKIRT WARRIOR, the rising London songstress strikes a balance between nonchalance and yearning.
By Glenn Alderson
Cam D’Eith's new project turns a winter of creative obsession into a pleasantly unpredictable electronic experiment.
By Sebastian Buzzalino
Calgary’s bluegrass-country-punk oddballs turn community, anarchy, and a few mortal enemies into one very crowded kitchen party.
By Glenn Alderson
The Calgary five-piece splice together archival oddities, microscopic life and MuchMusic nostalgia for the first taste of new album, Growth Spurts.
