Beaches Jazz Festival 2026 – Toronto, ON

Beaches Jazz Festival 2026: 38 Years of Free Music

A month of free jazz, soul, salsa, and street music across Toronto’s east end

🌐 Official Website Full Schedule

One of Canada’s largest free jazz festivals returns for its 38th year, spreading live music across parks, a record shop, and a two-kilometre street party — every single event free to attend.

🎷 100% free 🗺 4+ neighbourhoods 👨‍👩‍👧 Family-friendly 🎉 ~1M attendees yearly

💡 This isn’t one weekend — it’s a month of separate events at different locations. Check which weekend and venue you’re heading to before you go, since the festival doesn’t run continuously at a single site.

Why Go Schedule StreetFest TD Weekend OLG Weekend Essentials Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ One of Canada’s Biggest Free Festivals

The Beaches International Jazz Festival has been running since the late 1980s and now draws close to a million people over its month-long span, making it one of the largest free jazz festivals in the country. What sets it apart from a typical single-weekend festival is its structure: rather than one big event, it’s a series of distinct happenings spread across July, each with its own venue, vibe, and crowd.

The festival opens with Sounds of Leslieville & Riverside at Jimmie Simpson Park, moves through Salsa on the Beach and TD Weekend at Woodbine Park, runs a weekly Workshop Series at DROM Taberna, and builds to its biggest moment — StreetFest, a three-night takeover of Queen Street East — before closing out with OLG Weekend back at Woodbine Park.

Every event, every weekend, every stage: completely free. The festival runs on sponsorship and fan support rather than ticket sales, which is part of why it’s become such a fixture of the Toronto summer.

📅 The Month at a Glance

Six distinct events make up the 2026 festival, each at a different location.

🎶 StreetFest: The Festival’s Biggest Night

For three nights, July 23 to 25, Queen Street East between Woodbine and Beech Avenues shuts down to traffic and turns into an open-air concert. The street closes at 6 PM, bands start at 7 PM, and dozens of acts play simultaneously outside shops, pubs, and parking lots along the strip until 11 PM each night — jazz, blues, rock, funk, and more, all within walking distance of each other.

🎺 Toronto All-Star Big Band 🥁 Samba Squad 🎸 Sly Fox 🎷 The Metro Big Band 🎵 Sweetback Papa 🎼 36+ bands citywide

Bands and locations are subject to change without notice — the festival posts the most current StreetFest line-up on its website closer to the dates.

🎤 TD Weekend: July 17–19

Three days on the Main Stage at Woodbine Park, with food trucks, vendors, and a beer garden alongside the music.

🏁 OLG Weekend: The Closing Stretch, July 24–26

The festival’s final weekend overlaps with StreetFest and runs back at Woodbine Park, building to the last day of the whole festival on Sunday.

📋 Essentials

🚗 Getting There & Parking

Most events centre on Woodbine Park and the surrounding Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto’s east end.

By TTC: Take the 92 Woodbine South bus from Woodbine Subway Station, the 22 Coxwell bus from Coxwell Subway Station, or the 501 Queen Street Streetcar east from Queen or Osgoode Subway Stations.

Driving from the north: Take the 401 to the Don Valley Parkway South, exit at Lake Shore Blvd E, travel to Coxwell Avenue, turn left (north), then right onto Queen Street East.

Parking: Metered street parking is available along the Beach area’s main streets, with several Toronto Parking Authority lots scattered throughout the neighbourhood.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

🗓️ Pick your weekend. This is six separate events spread across a month, not one continuous festival — double-check which dates and venue match the vibe you’re after before heading out.

🚇 Take transit for StreetFest. With Queen St E closed to vehicles and street parking restricted, the streetcar or bus is by far the easier way in on those three nights.

🚶 Walk the whole strip. StreetFest spreads dozens of bands across roughly two kilometres — wander rather than planting yourself in one spot to catch the variety.

📄 Grab the program. With this many moving parts, downloading the official festival program ahead of time makes it much easier to plan which sets you don’t want to miss.

❓ Common Questions