There is something so different about experiencing a music festival in Prince Edward Island. Maybe it’s the feeling of the next person you meet being even nicer than the first, or noticing you’re the only car on the road despite the large number of people visiting the island. Or maybe it’s simply the feeling of watching some of the biggest names in current music headline such a small stage to a smaller audience than usual, and yet still perform like it’s their biggest gig to date.

On the first day of Sommo Fest 2026, its fourth-edition, the contrast between usual festivals was impossible to miss.

Held in Cavendish on the Island’s North Shore, Sommo Fest has quickly established itself as one of Prince Edward Island’s signature music events. Launched in 2023, the festival was built around a combination of Canadian music, food and drink, and bringing internationally recognized performers such as Hozier, Noah Kahan and Greta Van Fleet to the same part of the island that has long been associated with summer tourism and outdoor music. The 2026 edition ran from September 11 and 12 at the Cavendish Beach Events Centre, with Twenty One Pilots headlining Friday and Sombr headlining Saturday. For anyone unfamiliar with Prince Edward Island, Cavendish can feel like an unlikely place for a festival of this scale. PEI is Canada’s smallest province, but its reputation extends far beyond its size. It is an island known for its coastline, agricultural landscape, seafood, tourism and deep cultural connections. It is also famously associated with Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, whose fictional world helped turn this part of the island into an international tourist destination. I stayed in two different cottages during my time there, and both had Anne of Green Gables art and books as a highlight of their decor!

As for the music, Cavendish has been a destination for large-scale outdoor concerts for years. The nearby Cavendish Beach Music Festival helped establish the area as a popular concert destination in Atlantic Canada, transforming what was once farmland into a massive outdoor festival site and drawing in thousands of country music fans over the years. Sommo Fest feels like a continuation of that tradition, but with a much different musical identity.

Rather than centering itself around a single genre, the festival’s lineup jumps between indie, folk, rock, pop, blues and alternative music. That multi-genreism was especially apparent on day one, when the schedule moved from Canadian singer-songwriters to cinematic country-pop, Icelandic blues rock and, finally, wrapped the day up with one of the world’s most theatrical alternative rock bands, Twenty One Pilots. As a Canadian myself, I felt a huge sense of pride to see so many Canadian names on the lineup, as compared to Osheaga for example, who features a predominately American lineup, despite it being one of Canada’s biggest music festivals.

The morning of the festival, I was up and at the grounds bright and early to ensure my friends got barricade for Twenty One Pilots. Although we were the first ones there, we were soon followed by many more fans shivering from the cold, ocean air, but looking amazing in themed outfits. Once the festival gates opened at 12pm, the run for barricade began and the day had officially started!

The first of the artists I caught was Kellie Loder at the main Colliding Tides stage, whose early-afternoon set provided a calm and intimate beginning to what would eventually become a massive night. The singer-songwriter from Newfoundland has built a reputation around emotionally direct songwriting, and they have even landed themself a Juno nomination and an ECMA award! At this point in the day, the audience has not yet become the enormous crowd it would eventually become. However, the main stage was unusually packed for this hour, and although it was evident many were only there for Twenty One Pilots, the crowd still cheered and swayed to the music, allowing the performance to feel intimate and respectful, despite it being held at a large festival. It was also fitting that a Canadian roots artist would be one of the first voices of the day. Sommo may have been building toward an American headliner to wrap up the day, but the festival’s identity was not at all lost. There was a distinctly Canadian — and, more specifically, Atlantic Canadian — selection of artists running through the lineup that kept hold of the core values of Sommo Fest.

By the time Baby Nova took the main stage, the festival had begun to feel fully awake. Baby Nova’s style is an intriguing blend between country, pop and alternative songwriting. Born and raised in Halifax before moving to Montreal, Toronto and eventually Los Angeles, she brings together influences from all across North America. Her appearance was particularly interesting to Sommo Fest because she already had a connection to the region, having performed in the Cavendish area roughly a decade earlier during the Cavendish Beach Music Festival era. Now, returning under her stage-name, Baby Nova, she arrived with a new musical identity and a debut album, Shhugar, released earlier in 2026.

Baby Nova‘s music has a witty feel to her songwriting, with songs that touch on the themes of romance, self-destruction, humour and vulnerability. It was truly a perfect mid-day set to help pick up the energy of the day as fans began to settle into their spots for the night! Songs including “Jesus, Close Your Eyes,” “Broke Bitch Boogie,” “Death Wish” and “Too Pretty for Buffalo” showed the range of her sound, while the performance also left room for storytelling and interaction with the crowd. She even used the wind — an unavoidable feature of a September day on the Island — as an opportunity to connect with the audience, through laughter and jokes over how the wind was being picked up through her microphone.
Baby Nova’s set was a wonderful switch of energy for the day. If Loder had opened the afternoon with intimate songwriting, Baby Nova pushed things toward something stranger and more contemporary.

Also on the Colliding Tides main stage, Leith Ross followed, bringing another change in tone. The Winnipeg-based singer-songwriter has become known for intimate indie-folk songwriting, with songs that feel deeply personal. Their mid-day set brought a unique challenge of trying to captivate an audience who is growing restless and tired waiting for the headliner. Ross seemed to have no trouble finding the answer; through the lyrics themselves. Ross has a knack for writing in a way that makes a large audience feel like it has temporarily become a room full of individuals. Through powerful vocals and mesmerizing instrumentals, the crowd, despite many not knowing the words, could feel themselves becoming a fan as they swayed to the music and found connection in the words being sung. Despite the audience growing larger, Leith Ross was still able to make you feel like they were singing directly to you. They performed songs from their 2025 album “I Can See The Future”, such as “I Will” and “Grieving,” and closed the set with “We’ll Never Have Sex,” a fan favourite from their album “To Learn, More.”

By the time Down With Webster took the main stage, the festival crowd had spent much of the day settling into slower, more laid-back performances. Their arrival changed that mood almost immediately.

The Torontonian band brought exactly the kind of burst of energy the crowd had been waiting for, turning the atmosphere from relaxed to electric. That energy was evident from the opening moments of the set, with each band member taking the time to have their own “intro” moment to the stage. Down With Webster did not need much time to win over the crowd; the audience was already primed for a high-energy performance, having spent all day waiting for Twenty One Pilots. Songs that have remained staples of their catalogue became communal moments, with longtime fans singing along and responding to every familiar hook. The band frequently had the crowd make their “W” logo with their hands, earning lots of smiles and cheers, and kept the audience engaged by frequently getting the crowd to jump and sway their hands.

Opening with “One in a Million” anyone who listened to Canadian radio when they were younger instantly recognized the band. The same happened with their performance of “Chills.” It was the kind of performance that demonstrated why Down With Webster’s music has maintained such a devoted following: the songs are catchy, and they invite an audience to participate rather than simply listen.

“Whoa Is Me” provided another standout moment. Hearing the classic performed in front of a festival crowd gave the song a renewed sense of fun. Fans knew the words, and the set truly felt like a party with your friends rather than just another festival set.

There was also something fitting about seeing such an iconic Canadian band on the lineup at Sommo Fest. Down With Webster has been a known name in Canadian music for such a long time. For some fans, the performance was an opportunity to revisit songs that had been part of their musical lives for years; for others, it was a chance to experience the band’s live energy for the first time. It was a great mid-day set to begin to ramp up the energy for the acts ahead.

Few artists on the lineup were better suited to the transition from daylight to night than KALEO. The band from Iceland, home to the Midnight Sun, brought a completely different atmosphere to Cavendish as the sun began to disappear and the temperature dropped even lower than it was during the day. Frontman Jökull “JJ” Júliusson has one of those voices that seems almost too big for Sommo Fest’s “small” main stage. KALEO‘s music has always carried a sense of place. Although the band is now an international act, there is something that felt so right about its combination of blues, rock and folk on a Prince Edward Island stage, where the setting sun and ocean in the background gave the music the feeling that this was exactly where it was supposed to be performed. The band opened with “Broken Bones,” before moving through songs including “Still No Good” and “Bloodline.” Júliusson moved between acoustic, hollow-body and electric guitars, while harmonica added another layer to the band’s already distinctive sound.

And then came “Way Down We Go.” As KALEO played the song, the crowd took over large portions of it. People who had spent the afternoon drifting between stages suddenly realized “Hey, I know this song!” and became united by the same chorus. It was one of the first moments when Sommo felt completely transformed from an afternoon, relaxing festival into a night of community and energy.

Finally, it was time for Twenty One Pilots to take the stage. Even the quickest glance around the room would prove that’s what the majority of the crowd was here for, with fans dressed in red and yellow, and wearing merch, tape, paint, and bandanas to represent the band. A fun memory of mine was when a security guard I frequently chatted with throughout the day came up to me and asked “What’s up with the tape and the black paint on everyone’s neck?” How do you explain over a decade of lore to someone who knows nothing about the artist! Their Sommo performance was particularly significant because it marked the band’s first Canadian appearance east of Quebec. For a festival in Atlantic Canada to land an act of that scale was notable, and the response from the audience reflected it. I met fans all throughout the day who had flown from different Canadian provinces, and even different countries to attend this show, as well as many local fans who were so happy to finally be on Twenty One Pilots’ map.

As the iconic “What’s your ETA?” audio played, to which fans chanted back “2 minutes!” a reference to their song “Midwest Indigo” and an indicator that the performance was soon to start, the buzzing in the air was truly electric. From the first piano note of “Overcompensate”, the cheers were deafening. Drummer, Josh Dun, took the stage sporting merch from their “Scaled and Icy” era, and as lead singer Tyler Joseph did his signature jump over the piano, the show was officially on! One thing that makes a Twenty One Pilots performance unique is their ability to use every inch of the stage. From multiple crowd stands during “The Contract,” “Rawfear” and most notably “Trees,” to Josh Dun performing half of “Drum Show” on an elevated platform (not before showing off his “Sommo” shorts while climbing up!), there truly isn’t a bad view at one of their shows.

Rather than treating each song as an isolated moment, Twenty One Pilots moved rapidly between songs, using transitions to fit a huge 20 song setlist (and 2 short mashed-up covers!) into an hour and a half performance that seemed to fly by. “Shy Away,” “Heathens” and “Next Semester” flowed together, while the band also incorporated covers. “Stolen Dance” was
performed mashed up with “One Way,” “Believe” was mashed up with “Tally,” and they played their full length cover of “Seven Nation Army.”
Although there were a few things missing from the performance, such as the iconic “Jumpsuit” jacket and “lore shirt” and a crowd stand during “Ride,” plus the band being a bit less chatty than usual, the set was so polished that you had to have a careful eye to notice.

Whereas most of the day’s sets specialized on Sommo Fest’s ability to make a large festival feel intimate, Twenty One Pilots did the opposite. They aim to ensure that every single person in the room feels seen, and like they are an important piece to the performance. As previously mentioned, “Drum Show” was performed from an elevated tower so that everyone could see. “Rawfear” was performed with both a crowd stand and a barricade walk, where Joseph took items from fans including Canadian flag shaped sunglasses and princess tiaras, and proceeded to high-five the front row. During “Ride,” Joseph invited a security guard named Connor with a classic Canadian accent to perform the second half of the song with him, earning many laughs and cheers from the crowd.

At the end of a long night, the starting slow piano notes of “Trees” began. The band’s traditional closer has become a staple in their performance, bringing many fans to tears, and many rushing in the morning to secure a spot by the tape indicator where they perform a crowd stand during the song. The song truly feels like a celebration of life, and seeing it performed in such a beautiful, nature-filled location surrounded by a crowd smaller than their usual made it one of my favourite performances of the song I’ve had the chance to see. The song ended with them hitting drums on platforms held by the crowd, with red confetti flying in the air and fireworks being set off to close the night.

As Twenty One Pilots took their final bow and said their closing line: “We’re Twenty One Pilots and so are you,” the crowd cheered, took photos by the stage with their friends, and collected confetti as a keepsake of the night.

Sommo has positioned itself as a festival built around discovery as much as recognition. Its organizers describe the event as a celebration of music, food and drink, with the lineup intentionally combining major international artists with emerging performers and Canadian talent.

Day one demonstrated exactly why that method works. Although many fans raced to the main stage from the second gates opened, it gave them the opportunity to experience a full day of new music, and discover new favourite artists they might’ve overlooked. That is exactly what music festivals are all about!

Check out some of our favourite photos of the day below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!

All Photo Credit: Ashely Bellam

Barnside Harvest Festival returned to Paterson Park in Ladner from September 11 to 13, 2026, bringing three days of live music, local vendors, food, family-friendly activities, and plenty of reasons to stick around all weekend. Now in its fourth year, the festival continued to build on its community-focused atmosphere while putting a major spotlight on Canadian music and some familiar names from the Canadian and international music scenes.

Friday kicked things off with a full evening of music on the Barnside Brewing Main Stage. Tsawwassen First Nation artist Bryce Williams opened the day before Uncle Strut and Hotel Mira took the stage. JJ Wilde followed, leading into the first of the weekend’s major headliners, Marianas Trench. The Vancouver band closed out Friday with a set filled with songs familiar to longtime fans and brought a strong finish to the festival’s opening night.

The Dueck Cadillac Stage gave festivalgoers another place to discover local and emerging talent throughout the weekend. Friday’s lineup included Clare Twiddy, Bealby Point and Fake Shark, giving audiences a mix of singer-songwriter, alternative and rock sounds alongside the Main Stage performances.

Saturday expanded the festival into a full day of music. The Main Stage lineup began with HB Wild and The Heels before Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys brought their roots and bluegrass-inspired sound to the afternoon. The Washboard Union followed, setting the stage for Saturday night’s headliners. Big Wreck took the stage at 7 p.m., followed by Smash Mouth, who closed out the night.

There was plenty happening on the Dueck Cadillac Stage throughout Saturday as well, with Annika Catharina, Three Nines Fine, Jackson Hollow, Imogen Clark and Daniel Wesley keeping the music going between Main Stage sets. With several styles represented throughout the day, Saturday offered one of the festival’s broadest musical lineups.

Sunday brought another full day of music and wrapped up the festival with two major Canadian headliners. The Main Stage schedule included DJ Larry Hennessey, the Delta Police Pipe Band, All the King’s Men and Imogen Clark before Limblifter and The Grapes of Wrath took the audience through the afternoon. Kim Mitchell followed at 7 p.m., bringing some classic Canadian rock to the festival, before Tom Cochrane closed the weekend at 8:30 p.m.

The Dueck Cadillac Stage continued the Sunday lineup with Marlie Collins, Daryl Burgess, Miina and Kim Churchill. It gave festivalgoers plenty of options throughout the afternoon and evening, whether they wanted to catch a familiar headliner or spend some time exploring another stage.

Music was only part of the Barnside experience. The festival grounds were filled with vendors and makers, giving attendees a chance to browse local goods between sets. There were also food options, festival activities, and plenty of spaces to hang out with friends and family. Free Chapman’s ice cream was another popular festival treat, while 50/50 draws added another bit of fun throughout the weekend.

For those looking for a more relaxed festival experience, the VIP Lounge offered covered seating, a private bar, complimentary non-alcoholic drinks, snacks, appetizers and desserts, along with views close to the Main Stage.

The festival also continued to highlight local food and drink, with the BC Craft Beer Corner featuring breweries from around the province on Sunday.

From Marianas Trench and JJ Wilde opening the weekend to Smash Mouth and Big Wreck taking over Saturday, and Kim Mitchell and Tom Cochrane closing things out Sunday, Barnside Harvest Festival 2026 offered a little bit of everything across three days. With its mix of established artists, emerging performers, local vendors, and community-focused activities, the festival once again turned Paterson Park into a busy weekend gathering place for music fans in Ladner and beyond!

Check out our favourite photos of the festival below or head to our Facebook page for the full galleries of Friday, Saturday, Sunday!

BARNSIDE HARVEST FESTIVAL 2026

All Photo Credit: Heather Horncastle