Up Here 12 Rest, Renew, Resist

Urban art, live murals, and 50+ emerging Canadian musicians reshape Sudbury

🎟️ Official Website Festival Details

Up Here transforms Sudbury into an open-air gallery where 50+ Canadian musicians perform, muralists create large-scale street art in real time, interactive installations emerge across the city, and pop-up shows surprise you in unexpected corners. Three days to unplug from the dormant, rest, renew, and resist.

🎨 Live mural art 🎵 50+ live shows 🌆 Urban installations 🎪 Pop-up surprises

💡 Download the FEST app for the full lineup, venue map, real-time pop-up alerts, and to build your own schedule across all 50+ shows.

Why Go Festival Days Murals & Art Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why Up Here Stands Apart

Up Here isn’t a typical music festival with stages and crowds. It’s a three-day urban takeover where Sudbury becomes a canvas. You’ll walk streets you know and suddenly encounter a massive mural being painted in real time by a visiting street artist, stumble into an immersive art installation in a parking garage, hear live music pouring out of unexpected venues — a brewery, a side street, a pop-up anywhere — and discover 50+ Canadian musicians you’ve never heard of but will want to hear again.

The theme this year is “Rest, Renew, Resist”—an invitation to unplug from what’s keeping you dormant, to reset your perspective, and to get creative. For twelve years, Up Here has been run by We Live Up Here, a nonprofit arts organization that starts with a simple idea: hand creative people a city and get out of the way. The result is a boutique cultural experience on a human scale, somewhere between a music festival and an art movement.

It’s intimate. It’s weird. It’s wonderful. And it transforms Sudbury into a place where art shapes community rather than the other way around.

📅 Festival Days

Three days of live performances across multiple downtown venues, real-time mural creation, pop-up surprises, and art installations throughout the city. The full schedule and lineup are available on the FEST app and the official website.

Full schedule details: Download the FEST app or visit uphere.com for the complete lineup, performance times, venue map, and real-time pop-up alerts.

🎨 Live Mural Creation & Art Installations

One of Up Here’s signature draws is watching street artists and muralists create large-scale public art in real time across Sudbury’s downtown. Throughout the festival, multiple murals are in progress — you can watch artists work, talk with them, and see the city transform block by block. There’s also a legal graffiti wall for hands-on artists.

Interactive art installations pop up throughout downtown, from immersive experiences to site-specific works that transform Sudbury’s streets and alleyways into a gallery. These installations change yearly and are part of the festival’s commitment to making public space a place for art and connection.

🖌️ Real-time murals 🎭 Immersive installations 🌆 Outdoor gallery ✍️ Legal graffiti wall

🎵 2026 All-Canadian Lineup

Up Here 12 showcases Canadian emerging artists making waves. This year’s lineup includes electronic, indie, hip-hop, dance, and experimental music from across the country. Featured artists include SadBoi (Toronto), Weird Nightmare, Sook-Yin Lee, Boutique Feelings, Tedy, Hologramme, Quinton Barnes, and more.

Full lineup: Download the FEST app or visit uphere.com for the complete artist roster, set times, and venue assignments.

🚗 Getting There

Up Here takes place across downtown Sudbury and multiple venues throughout the city. Most performances are within walking distance of the city center, though some pop-up events may be in unexpected locations announced via the FEST app or social media.

By Car: Sudbury is accessible via Trans-Canada Highway 17. Downtown parking is available throughout the city core. Check sudbury.com for parking information.

Lodging: Sudbury has a variety of hotels, hostels, and Airbnb options. Book early — August is peak summer season in Northern Ontario.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

📱 Download the FEST app first. This is your festival buddy — it has the full lineup, venue map, schedule builder, real-time pop-up alerts, and mural locations. It’s essential for navigating the festival.

🎫 Get a weekend pass if you’re staying all three days. The $130 pass saves you $40 versus day passes and includes skip-the-line access at the pop-up bar.

🚶 Wear comfortable shoes. You’ll be walking downtown exploring murals, discovering unexpected venues, and hunting for pop-ups. Comfy sneakers are your friend.

📸 Bring a camera and curiosity. Murals and installations are constantly changing — photograph them before they’re painted over or replaced. Some of the best discoveries happen when you wander off the main path.

🎵 Explore artists you don’t know. Up Here is about discovery. Check out performers outside your usual taste — emerging Canadian musicians will surprise you.

❓ Common Questions