LISTEN – Second Summer & Polaris Festival Present Art d’Ecco & Bells Larsen
September 24 – 26, 2026 | Location & Stage Times TBA, Toronto, Ontario | Tickets
The Polaris Festival joins Second Summer in Toronto’s West End for a live music experience centred on independent artists, real-world discovery and the feeling of encountering something meaningful before it reaches everyone else.
This co-presentation brings together Polaris-recognized artists Art d’Ecco and Bells Larsen for performances that reflect the artistic curiosity, individuality and creative risk found across Canadian music.
At a time when algorithms increasingly shape what audiences hear, Second Summer and Polaris are creating space for music discovery to happen in person: inside venues, between artists and audiences, and through the energy of a shared live experience.
Bringing Music Discovery Back to Real Life
Second Summer is a new multi-venue music festival taking place across Toronto’s West End. Built by music people for music people, the Festival puts independent talent at the centre of an experience rooted in discovery, community and artist-first curation.
Its programming responds to a changing music landscape in which recommendations, listening habits and cultural attention are increasingly influenced by digital platforms. Second Summer offers a different path: no endless scrolling, no manufactured hype — just artists doing what they do best in front of audiences ready to listen.
The Festival is not focused on chasing trends. It is about supporting independent voices, strengthening community and recognizing that some of the most important musical experiences still begin in small rooms.
Art d’Ecco
Art d’Ecco combines decades worth of stylish, genre-bending music into his own subversively catchy sound and vision. A unique blend of glam rock, post-punk, and synth pop evoke the likes of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Robert Smith without tracing their lines too closely. In recent years d’Ecco has added more ambition to his releases, giving his reflections on nostalgia a cinematic sweep.
Bells Larsen
On his sophomore album Blurring Time (2025), Bells Larsen collapses past and present into an intimate meditation on becoming. Moving between spacious lo-fi ’90s indie and searing folk ballads, the album is structured around Larsen’s transition: he recorded his previous “high” voice in 2022, waited for his voice to drop after starting testosterone, and asked longtime friend and frequent collaborator Georgia Harmer to arrange harmonies for his new “low” voice. By placing both at the forefront, Blurring Time becomes a living duet — a bold, unyielding devotional that has drawn attention from artists including Katie Gavin and the Japanese House. The album was long-listed for the Polaris Prize, spent five weeks at #1 on the Canadian campus radio charts, and garnered press in The Guardian, NPR, Cosmopolitan, The Toronto Star, Billboard, Paste, The Line of Best Fit, Under the Radar, and CBC, to name a few. Larsen has shared stages with the likes of Buck Meek (Big Thief), Land of Talk, Dan Mangan, and Martha Wainwright, and recently performed at the Pitchfork London Music Festival.
About Second Summer
Second Summer is a brand-new multi-venue music festival in Toronto’s West End — built by music people, for music people. In a time when algorithms decide what we hear, we’re bringing music discovery back to real life. No scrolls, no hype, just great artists doing what they do best. This isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about soul, community, and putting independent talent front and centre.
Because we missed this.
Because the scene needs this.
And because the best music still starts small.
Second Summer was inspired by years spent in packed showcase rooms, tiny clubs, and festival basements around the world, chasing that unforgettable feeling of discovering an artist before everyone else catches on. The idea began with founder and Artistic Director Brendan McCarney, who envisioned a new kind of independent music gathering for Toronto rooted in discovery, community, and artist-first curation. He later invited fellow artist manager Claire Rosenbaum to join as co-founder and Festival Director, helping shape the festival from the ground up. Together, they bring decades of frontline experience working alongside artists, touring internationally, and attending the global showcase festivals and conferences that inspired Second Summer’s ethos. With support from MODO-LIVE on talent buying and programming, and produced in association with Future 5th, Second Summer is building a festival experience centred around independent music, real-life discovery, and meaningful human connection.
About the Polaris Festival
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.
