Toronto’s heavy music and arts festival Prepare the Ground is set to come back in 2026 between May 29 and 31 for its third annual incarnation, and the lineup so far is already pretty sick!
The initial lineup for Prepare the Ground 2026 includes two sets, heavy and acoustic, from Belgian doom luminaries Amenra, a special set from Finnish avant garde black mettalers Oranssi Pazuzu, the first and last North American performance from the UK’s Svalbard, and full album playthroughs of two landmark albums – Pallbearer‘s Foundations of Burden and …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead‘s Source Tags & Codes. Minsk, Habak, Malevich, The Keening, Unholy Altar, Wrekmeister Hamonies performing a film score round out the first offering of bands.
That makes the full first wave of Prepare the Ground 2026 bands:
- Amenra (two sets)
- …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead (Secret of Elena’s Tomb and Source Tags & Codes)
- Habak
- The Keening
- Malevich
- Minsk
- Oranssi Pazuzu
- Pallbearer (Foundations of Burden)
- Svalbard (first and last North American Show)
- Unholy Altar
- Wrekmeister Harmonies (scoring their original film Flowers in the Spring)
- Many more TBA
Prepare the Ground is a three day arts and music festival taking over two full blocks of downtown Toronto. Containing an outdoor arts market, four music venues (Trinity St. Paul’s Church, Lee’s Palace, the Cave, Transac) and a dedicated theatre for movie scores amongst so much more. If the first year drew the blueprint and the second year laid the foundation, year three promises to establish and adorn its walls to make this festival the home for challenging, promising art for years to come.
Three day passes for Prepare the Ground 2026 are now on sale as well as a limited number of Under-19 passes at a reduced rate for the two venues that will admit those under the age of 19, including the legendary church venue Trinity St. Paul’s. Get ’em here.
Want More Metal? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter
Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.