📋About

Prepare the Ground 2026: Toronto's metal and post-rock festival

Prepare the Ground is a boutique festival held at Lee's Palace, an iconic venue in Toronto. Dedicated to extreme and experimental music, it brings together each year a sharp lineup combining metal, post-metal, and drone in an intimate and committed atmosphere.

The 2026 edition gathers 22 artists, headlined by Amenra, Torche, and …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The programming explores stoner rock, psychedelic rock, and the dark territories of atmospheric black metal.

The festival casts a wide net across the heavy music universe: doom metal, sludge metal, funeral doom, and drone metal sit alongside more experimental propositions like blackgaze and neocrust. Post-hardcore and occult rock fans will also discover artists like Oathbreaker and Pallbearer.

From May 29 to 31, 2026, Lee's Palace becomes Toronto's temple of extreme music. Check out the full lineup and book your tickets for three intense nights.