Canadian artists will be heading south come March 2025 to play New York City's New Colossus Festival.
Just announced acts include Toronto rockers The OBGMs, indie rock group Casper Skulls, folk singer Braden Lam, and Montreal jangle pop group Prism Shores. They join a host of previously announced Canadian acts for the 2025 edition, like Polaris long-listers Bibi Club, rising Montreal grunge group Knitting, Toronto singer-songwriter Skye Wallace, and off-kilter pop act Cootie Catcher — who just opened for Alvvays in Toronto.
Launched in 2019, New Colossus has built a reputation as a vibrant music discovery festival in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Its model is focused exclusively on emerging artists — the festival has no headliners — and it operates out of independent venues packed close together, giving the festival a truly buzzy feel for attendees.
Part of the impetus behind the festival was to create a stopover for artists on their way down to SXSW in Austin. (OBGMs and Knitting are both heading down to Texas after their Manhattan gigs.) Thanks in part to its proximity to the Canadian border, though, the festival has become a key play for Canadian acts in its own right. For many, it's their first American gig, and entry point into an important market.
The festival is also growing its industry component: partnerships this year include festivals like M for Montreal, Focus Wales, and Iceland Airwaves, as well as booking agency Anniversary Group, Born Losers Records, and promotion company Planetary Group.
Check out the lineup-to-date below. The New Colossus Festival takes place March 4-9, 2025. Festival badges are on sale here.
Aya NakamuraMarion Gomez/Billboard France