SPILL FESTIVAL REVIEW: SECOND SUMMER FESTIVAL – DAY 1

SECOND SUMMER FESTIVAL – DAY 1

@ VARIOUS TORONTO VENUES (ST. ANNE’S, THE MOD CLUB, LEE’S PALACE, THE DANCE CAVE)

SEPTEMBER 24, 2026

Second Summer is back and Day 1 came out swinging. Spread across tons of Toronto music venues, this festival’s line up is stacked.

At St. Anne’s, Vancouver hardcore band Emma Goldman played a bunch of material off their debut album all you are is we such as “at rock bottom I was a piss girl,” and “this is your brain on minimum wage.” Their sound is extremely heavy with Victoria Brindise’s rough vocals piercing through the speakers. The guitar playing and drumming is reminiscent of metal core from the early 2000s, but with a modern unstructured twist to it. The heaviest part of this band may actually be the realism of their lyrics: Confronting the stigma around drug addiction and mental health, capitalism, and modern-day alienation.

Truck Violence, the Alberta-bred, Montreal-based hardcore band started things off by playing a downtempo instrumental version of our national anthem, things were about to get real heavy in here. The song “Along the ditch till town” was a major highlight, beginning with its solemn strumming, and lead singer Karsyn Henderson’s dejected mumbling, the track quickly blows up with gnarly distorted guitar and aggressive screaming. The crowd was going crazy the entire time without letting up. This band is one of Canada’s finest and the audience knew it.

High Vis kicked things into high gear with “Drop Me Out,” “Walking Wires,” and “Talk For Hours.” By this point the venue had filled to the brim and if you were to walk in from the brisk autumn air you would be hit with a brick of humidity. Lead singer Graham Sayle engaged with the audience a lot and even let the fans borrow the mic to sing along. It was obvious there were a lot of long-term fans in the room, the passion was palpable.

Vancouver post-punk band Concrete Vehicles played to a filled-up Mod Club. Their set was a noisy mix of wiry guitar, reverb, and impulsive screaming, which was offset by the beautiful saxophone playing of Jackson Bell. They played songs off their latest album Station On The Hill including “Now In A Vacuum,” and “Dissolution use” the latter of which is super chaotic in the best ways possible, it’s all over the place, starting off sounding like a classic punk song, before mixing noise rock and jazz together over lead singer Ben Locks impassioned vocals.

One of the best parts about Second Summer Festival is being able to catch one of your favourite bands twice! Truck Violence played a second show at Dance Cave. Ripping through songs such as “Jaundiced and reaching for a mother,” and “Stomach as a tower and the globules descending,” the crowd went wild, with audience members jumping on stage and sharing the mic with Henderson. What a treat!

At Lee’s Palace Los Angeles punk band Militarie Gun kicked off their late-night set with “God Save The Gun,” before diving into loads of other songs from their 2026 album of the same name, such as “God Owes Me Money” and “Kick.” Their latest album is a bit of a departure from their older stuff. It’s still post-hardcore music but boasts more melodic sensibilities, and complete and anthemic choruses. The crowd formed a massive mosh-pit that never died the entire night. They ended the night with the song “B A D I D E A” as the audience brought the pit to new heights.

(Photography by Cory Barter)

Emma Goldman Photos

Truck Violence @ The Dance Cave Photos

Truck Violence @ St. Anne’s Photos

Concrete Vehicles Photos

High Vis Photos

Militarie Gun Photos

Festival Links

Emma Goldman Links

Truck Violence Links

Concrete Vehicles Links

High Vis Links

Militarie Gun Links