AMPLIFY – LONG GONE SONGS Feat Dorothea Paas at Open Streets Hamilton
September, 27, 2026 | 3 PM– 4 PM | Outdoor stage @ the intersection of King St. E and Wellington St. North, Hamilton, ON | All Ages | Free
The 2026 Polaris Festival is a month-long celebration of Canadian music as art, bringing together concerts, salons, listening sessions, conversations, artist development initiatives, and the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony at Massey Hall. Through the Festival, Polaris creates space for audiences to listen differently, discover artists in unexpected places, and explore how music can reshape the environments we move through every day.
On Sunday, September 27, the City of Hamilton & Long Gone Songs will present a special pop-up concert event as part of Open Streets Hamilton. Transforming a portion of the city into a vibrant, car-free corridor for the community, Open Streets Hamilton provides the perfect backdrop for a day of live music, exploration, and community connection.
The programming features a full day of independent folk music, including performances by a host of Hamilton-area artists, culminating in a performance by acclaimed vocalist, songwriter and two-time Polaris Music Prize Long List nominee Dorothea Paas.
“Open Streets gives Hamiltonians a rare chance to take over one of the city’s busiest streets, without having to share the space with cars,” says Neil Haverty, performer, organizer and past Polaris nominee with the act Bruce Peninsula. “Bringing live music into that environment gives us the chance to connect with neighbours and local visitors in a way that feels spontaneous, safe and free.”
Dorothea Paas – 3:00 PM
For over a decade, Dorothea Paas has honed her unique, prismatic style of folk songcraft, and has lent her talents as a guitarist and vocalist to artists like Jennifer Castle, U.S. Girls, and Shabason & Krgovich. Her debut album, Anything Can’t Happen (2021), was described by Exclaim as “Joni Mitchell fronting Shellac at a coffee shop.” Paas’ second album, Think of Mist, was called “uncommonly beautiful” by Pitchfork and “wholly mature, fully-formed and intentional — dense but highly replayable” by Aquarium Drunkard. At her live shows, Paas instantly draws audiences in with her disarmingly earnest, occasionally comedic approach to performance, as her playing opens up the space between composition and improvisation.
About Polaris Music Prize
Polaris Music Prize is a Canadian charitable arts organization honouring music as art. Through its Album, Song, and Heritage Prizes, Polaris amplifies Canadian artists based on artistic merit — not genre, sales, or algorithmic popularity.
The 2026 Polaris Festival is presented by SiriusXM Canada and made possible through the support of Experience Ontario, Ontario Creates, the City of Toronto’s Cultural Festivals Funding Program, FACTOR, the Government of Canada, Canada’s private radio broadcasters, and the Festival’s many community and venue partners.
