Cicada Festival 2026 @ Cicada Festival 2026

Performers

• 

  Metric

  Emily Haines & Jimmy Shaw formed what would become Metric in 1998. They left Toronto for NYC in search of like-minded artists & found themselves at the center of the city’s burgeoning alt-rock scene alongside bands like LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes, TV On the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, & more. But unlike their peers, Metric stayed independent & refused major label offers, choosing instead to release albums that pushed boundaries on their own terms. “The battle as a band is not just to exist & thrive creatively 20 years in, but to be owning all our own material, to always be bringing our music to a wider audience & standing for something,” says Haines.

  Metric’s relentless pursuit of timeless songwriting & fiercely independent ethos have cemented their place as one of the most essential & ahead-of-the-curve bands of the last two decades. By constantly upping themselves across nine unpredictable & adventurous studio albums, the trailblazing Toronto outfit founded by songwriting & production partners Emily Haines & Jimmy Shaw along with bandmates Joshua Winstead & Joules Scott Key is proof that you can amass an untouchable catalog without ever signing to a major label or changing your lineup. Their latest LP, Formentera II, out October 13 via their label Metric Music International & Thirty Tigers, is a testament to their singular purpose. It stands among their best & most genre-defying work & closes the 18-song cycle started by 2022’s critically acclaimed Formentera.

• 

  Bahamas

  Afie Jurvanen isn’t from the Bahamas. He’s a Finnish-Canadian from Barrie--a working class town in rural Ontario. But his chosen epithet is fitting. Since 2009 he’s been making music under the name Bahamas--writing songs about sunsets, love affairs, and making out with crooked smiles. Through simple arrangements, he charts an escape route from the snow belt to the coral reefs.