The Great Escape is nearly here, which means Brighton is preparing for four days of excellent bands, no phone signal, chips in tiny cones, and at least one person insisting they saw the next global superstar in a basement at 1:15pm. Every year, the festival turns the city into a giant scavenger hunt for your next favourite artist, with queues around the block for bands you’ve never heard of and will suddenly become obsessed with before the train home.
One of the festival’s best recurring fixtures is Canada House, returning to the Green Door Store with another stacked lineup of artists pulled from every corner of the Canadian independent scene. Presented by CIMA alongside a huge network of regional music organisations, the showcase has built a reputation as one of the week’s strongest discovery spots. Wander in for one act, and you’ll probably leave with five new favourites and a tote bag full of flyers you swear you’ll read later.
Dork is once again partnering with Canada House for 2026, which means we’ve spent a very healthy amount of time staring at the lineup and arguing over who gets the aux cable first. Across three days, there’s punk, indie-pop, goth rock, experimental noise, dreamy electronics and enough emotional damage to power Brighton for the entire weekend. Here are five artists we reckon you need to catch while your legs still function.
The OBGMs
If your ideal festival schedule makes time for a hefty splash of mayhem, The OBGMs are about to make your weekend. The Toronto punks have built a huge reputation on explosive live shows, and their recent JUNO nominations and tours alongside Sum 41 and PUP have only made the hype louder. Expect riffs, shouting, and at least one person leaving the venue convinced they should buy a distortion pedal immediately.
Charlie Houston
Charlie Houston writes indie-pop for anyone who has ever walked around town pretending they’re in a coming-of-age flick after one mildly emotional conversation. The Toronto songwriter has already worked with ODESZA, toured with Charlotte Cardin and picked up millions of streams, and her debut album ‘Big After I Die’ pushes her further into rich production and brutally sharp songwriting. Equal parts dreamy and devastating, her songs feel built for festival evenings where everybody suddenly goes a bit existential near the food trucks.
Yoo Doo Right
Montréal duo Yoo Doo Right specialise in towering psych-rock workouts that stretch, swell and completely scramble your sense of time. Their latest release, ‘From the Heights of Our Pastureland’. earned a Polaris longlist nod and strengthened their reputation as one of Canada’s most respected experimental acts. Live, they lock into hypnotic grooves and overwhelming waves of noise that demand your full attention. Bring earplugs, comfortable shoes and a few spare minutes afterwards to remember your own name.
Bonnie Trash
Bonnie Trash make goth rock with towering riffs, gloomy romance and enough dramatic energy to power the South Coast for a week. Twin sisters Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor channel post-punk, horror soundtracks and heavy rock into songs that feel perfect for sticky late-night festival sets. Their latest album ‘Mourning You’ has already earned praise from heavy music press across the UK and Europe, and every tour seems to pull more people into their dark orbit. Sadness has rarely looked this good under venue lighting.
Annie-Claude Deschênes
Already known to many through Montréal art-punk favourites Duchess Says and PyPy, Annie-Claude Deschênes takes a colder, stranger and more electronic route in her solo work. Her debut album ‘Les Manières de Table’ twists minimalist synths, warped textures and dancefloor rhythms into tracks that feel stylish, tense and impossible to ignore. Expect sharp visuals, fearless performance instincts, and the exact type of set people spend the rest of the weekend aggressively recommending to strangers in pub queues.
Canada House (Presented by CIMA) x The Great Escape takes place at The Green Door Store, Brighton from 14th-16th May.
