Thunder Bay’s annual music festival Wake The Giant will take place this year on September 12, 2026, with a lineup that features the following musicians:
- Flo Rida
- The Wallflowers
- Plain White T’s
- Tia Wood
- Sebastian Gaskin
- Shawnee Kish
- LOV
From its inception, Wake The Giant has been envisioned as a way to welcome Thunder Bay’s Indigenous student population, who arrive each September from remote northern communities to attend school in the city.
Eric Gray, a student ambassador for the festival, came to Thunder Bay from Sandy Lake First Nation — his experience echoes that of many Indigenous teens who left their homes at a young age for schooling.
He says the festival “really does help the students feel more intertwined with the community.”
“When I first came to Thunder Bay, I was really scared,” he says. “But then I went to Wake the Giant for the first time in 2024. Being there, I felt like I don’t have to be afraid of Thunder Bay, you know? It isn’t that scary, I guess.”
The week leading up to Wake The Giant involves programming to help immerse the Indigenous youth into their new home away from home, such as an “Amazing Race” event that introduces students to the city’s transit to help them get around.
“That was really fun,” says Gray of the race. “When I first came here… it was a way to get familiar with the buses… it really did help me with getting around Thunder Bay.”
Greg Chomut is a music teacher at DFC in Thunder Bay, and one of Wake The Giant’s organizers.
“I’m really excited for our Indigenous lineup this year,” he says. “We’ve got 3 Juno nominees. We’ve got Juno winners in the lineup. Sebastian gaskin came and wrote a song with the students, and he is just an absolute powerhouse of a songwriter.”
Chomut says proceeds from the festival are exclusively used to fund the event.
“Our goal every year is to keep ticket prices as low as possible for us to break even… If there is a little bit of extra, then that just allows us to book a bigger act next year,” he says.
This year’s event will be the last one for two years, as Thunder Bay’s marina will be undergoing construction over the course of 2027.
Tickets can be purchased from the Wake The Giant website.
