The countdown to îLESONIQ 2026 is officially on. With less than two months until thousands of electronic music fans descend on Parc Jean-Drapeau, the festival has unveiled its full daily schedule for the weekend of August 8 and 9, giving attendees their first look at set times and inevitable schedule conflicts.

Returning for its 11th edition, Montreal’s premier electronic music festival will once again transform the island into a massive dance floor spread across three stages. This year’s lineup leans heavily into house, bass, techno, trance, and EDM, with major names filling nearly every time slot from the early afternoon through late evening.

Before the main festival weekend begins, îLESONIQ will once again bring the party into the city on Friday, August 7, through its annual “îLESONIQ in the City” programming. Kicking things off will be Adventure Club, who are set to headline a special event at New City Gas.

Saturday, August 8

Saturday’s programming offers one of the strongest opening days the festival has assembled in recent years, with major artists spread strategically across all three stages.

The Bell OASIS Stage serves as the centerpiece of the day. After early performances from MVNGO, Tomas Grey, Matt Sassari, Sidepiece, and Sub Focus, things take an interesting turn with a mystery artist currently occupying the 7:05 PM slot. Festival organizers have yet to reveal who will fill the surprise position, making it one of the biggest talking points surrounding the schedule announcement.

Once the secret set concludes, legendary Canadian producer deadmau5 takes over from 8:10 PM to 9:10 PM before house music heavyweight Chris Lake closes the stage with a lengthy headlining performance running until 10:55 PM. His appearance is particularly noteworthy as festival organizers have promised a unique Canadian-exclusive production featuring surprise guests.

Over at the MIRAGE Stage, Saturday caters heavily to fans of melodic house, techno, and deep electronic sounds. Riordan, KREAM, and Boris Brejcha headline a lineup that steadily builds throughout the afternoon. Two exclusive back-to-back performances stand out as potential highlights of the entire weekend: Cassian B2B Yotto and Boys Noize B2B Tiga. Both collaborations are rare bookings that should attract large crowds throughout the evening.

The Coca-Cola NEON Stage becomes bass music headquarters on Saturday. Artists such as LYNY, OGUZ, Layz B2B Kompany, and ATLiens deliver a much heavier sonic experience compared to the festival’s other stages. The run from OGUZ into Layz B2B Kompany and finally ATLiens creates one of the most intense closing stretches anywhere on the grounds.

Of course, the schedule announcement also reveals several difficult decisions for attendees. Deadmau5 overlaps significantly with the Boys Noize B2B Tiga set, while Chris Lake’s closing performance conflicts with Boris Brejcha and ATLiens. Those late-night choices will likely divide crowds across the site.

Sunday, August 9

Sunday offers a completely different personality, blending melodic festival favourites with some of the weekend’s heaviest bass and techno programming.

The Bell OASIS Stage opens with Tom Duno B2B Yurie before moving through performances from Hayla, Ayybo, and Chris Lorenzo. The evening stretch is especially loaded, featuring Gryffin, Above & Beyond, and Dom Dolla in succession.

Above & Beyond‘s sunset-adjacent set from 7:35 PM to 8:50 PM feels perfectly positioned and could become one of the emotional high points of the festival. Meanwhile, Dom Dolla receives one of the weekend’s most coveted slots, closing the main stage from 9:00 PM until 10:30 PM.

Sunday’s MIRAGE Stage shifts away from Saturday’s house and techno focus and embraces bass music. Fans of heavier sounds will find plenty to enjoy from Hedex, Level Up B2B Infekt, Dabin, Wooli, and Seven Lions. The sequence of Wooli directly into Seven Lions creates a powerful finale that should keep the area packed until the festival’s closing moments.

The Coca-Cola NEON Stage takes the opposite approach by dedicating much of the day to techno. Rising and established names including KI/KI, Holy Priest, and ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U headline a stage expected to become a destination for fans seeking harder underground sounds. Combined with the waterfront setting and views of the Montreal skyline, the NEON Stage continues to offer one of the festival’s most distinctive atmospheres.

Sunday’s toughest scheduling conflicts arrive during the final hours. Above & Beyond overlaps with Dabin and KI/KI, while Dom Dolla competes directly against Seven Lions and Holy Priest. Fans will likely find themselves bouncing between stages to catch portions of multiple performances.

A Weekend Built Around Variety

What stands out most from the newly released schedule is how carefully the festival has balanced genres across its three stages. The Bell OASIS Stage remains the home for mainstream EDM, house, and festival anthems. MIRAGE offers a more immersive experience that changes direction each day, moving from melodic house and techno on Saturday to bass music on Sunday. Meanwhile, the NEON Stage continues serving fans of underground sounds, splitting its weekend between bass-heavy programming and hard-hitting techno.

With headliners including Chris Lake, Dom Dolla, deadmau5, Above & Beyond, Boris Brejcha, Seven Lions, Gryffin, and Wooli, festival-goers have no shortage of must-see sets to circle on their schedules.

Now comes the hard part: figuring out where to be when the inevitable conflicts arrive.

îLESONIQ 2026 takes place August 8 and 9 at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, with îLESONIQ in the City events beginning on August 7. Head to îLESONIQ’s website for more information.