A free weekly concert series every Thursday at noon, featuring incredible Toronto-based artists. Take a break and experience the sounds of our city.
Sound Break is your weekly chance to experience live music for free, right in the heart of the city. Returning for its third run from October 1 to December 17, 2026, the series invites you to spend your Thursday lunch hour enjoying relaxed, intimate performances from 12 to 1 pm.
Discover a different artist and sound each week, with emerging talent performing alongside established and award-winning artists. From rock, opera fusion, and hip-hop to Brazilian psychedelic jazz, traditional Chinese music, Arabic flamenco, Cree fusion, and more, there’s always something new to hear.
Performances alternate each week between St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts downtown and Meridian Arts Centre uptown. Bring your lunch and stay for the full performance, or stop and listen as you pass through. It’s free, no tickets are required, and every Thursday offers a new way to discover Toronto’s vibrant music scene.
Published schedule Thursday, October 1, 2026: 12 pm
Lucas Silveira · Alternative folk | St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Bluma Appel Theatre lobby
Thursday, October 8, 2026: 12 pm
Orbital Ensemble (Quartet) · Brazilian psychedelic jazz | Meridian Arts Centre, lower main lobby
Thursday, October 15, 2026: 12 pm
Rosary Spence (Piisimonapii Iskwew) · Traditional Cree vocal styles with modern urban fusion | St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Bluma Appel Theatre lobby
Thursday, October 22, 2026: 12 pm
Christina Smith · Opera fusion | Meridian Arts Centre, lower main lobby
Thursday, October 29, 2026: 12 pm elle de Lyon · Spoken word | St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Bluma Appel Theatre lobby
Thursday, November 5, 2026: 12 pm
Polky · Alt folk / Eastern-European fiddle folk | Meridian Arts Centre, lower main lobby
Thursday, November 12, 2026: 12 pm
DJ Dopey · Turntablism – live vinyl manipulation & sound design | St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Bluma Appel Theatre lobby
Thursday, November 19, 2026: 12 pm
Grace Scheele · Ethereal noise harpist | Meridian Arts Centre, lower main lobby
Thursday, November 26, 2026: 12 pm
Tichaona Maredza · Zimbabwean contemporary and traditional music fusion | St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Bluma Appel Theatre lobby
Thursday, December 3, 2026: 12 pm
Dora Wang · Chinese traditional music / cross-cultural fusion | Meridian Arts Centre, lower main lobby
Thursday, December 10, 2026: 12 pm
Diar (دْيَار) · Arabic music infused with flamenco | St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Bluma Appel Theatre lobby
Thursday, December 17, 2026: 12 pm
Mas Aya · Ambient / experimental / jazz / cumbia / rumba fusion | Meridian Arts Centre, lower main lobby
Ticket pricing
Free!
Lucas Silveira
Lucas Silveira, frontman of The Cliks and now a solo artist, made history as the first openly transgender man signed by a major label. He has shared stages with Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry, and The Cult, co-hosted Vice TV’s Shine True, and is preparing to record his ninth studio album.
Orbital Ensemble (Quartet)
Orbital Ensemble (Quartet) is a multicultural band that fuses vintage Brazilian tones with psychedelic and jazz influences, creating an immersive, eclectic sound. The band released their second LP, Contínua, in June 2026, earning international critical praise for its dynamic grooves, soaring melodies, and explosive soundscapes.
Rosary Spence (Piisimonapii Iskwew)
Rosary Spence (Piisimonapii Iskwew) is a Mushkego Cree traditional singer, recording artist, cultural worker, and multidisciplinary artist from Fort Albany First Nation. Her work weaves together music, ceremony, cultural teachings, community wellness, and collaborative arts practices rooted in Cree teachings and Indigenous knowledge systems.
Christina Smith
Toronto-born soprano Christina Smith is redefining classical artistry in the digital age. With a voice that fuses operatic power, theatrical depth, and pop, Christina has quickly become one of Canada’s most exciting emerging vocal talents. Guided by her mission to make classical music more accessible and inclusive, Christina continues to blend genres, stories, and sounds that reflect both her heritage and her heart.
elle de Lyon elle de Lyon (pronounced EL-thee-LION) is an award-winning Guyanese-Canadian storyteller, poet, spoken-word music artist, author, creative educator, and cultural producer. Grounded in the belief that literacy is liberation, she explores the power of language through poetry, spoken-word music, storytelling, and creative writing. As a storyteller, she often returns to an African proverb that continues to guide her work: “Until the lion learns to write, the hunter will always tell the story.” Whether performing, speaking, teaching, or writing, elle leaves audiences with language to live by.
Polky
Polky is a fiddle-driven feminist alt-folk band bringing rural Polish music to North American audiences. Led by Canadian Folk Music Award winner Ewelina Ferenc, the group blends traditional melodies with bold contemporary arrangements, featuring the rare suka from Biłgoraj. Based in Toronto, Polky bridges raw village traditions with the energy of a multicultural music scene. Their sound is both deeply rooted and strikingly fresh. Touring across Canada and the U.S., Polky offers a powerful, cross-continental reimagining of Polish folk music, one that honours tradition while pushing it forward.
DJ Dopey
Dopey, born Jon Ryan Santiago, is a 2003 DMC World Champion and founding member of the Turntable Monkz, with more than 20 years of experience as a DJ and turntablist. A key member of Toronto hip-hop crew Notes to Self, he has performed alongside artists including Eminem, Kanye West, Steve Aoki, and Kardinal Offishall, and was a member of the Gemini Award-winning MTV Live. Now also working as a recording artist, Dopey continues to push the boundaries of DJing, turntablism, and music production.
Grace Scheele
Grace Scheele is an unconventional harpist noted for her innovative take on experimental and ambient forms. She masterfully interweaves harp rumblings, cinematic drones, textural loops, and candid tape confessions into music that celebrates that liminal “in-between;” a place of question, blank existence, or wonder. An interdisciplinary artist, electroacoustic harpist, and composer, she works across a wide range of disciplines.
Tichaona Maredza
Tichaona Daniel Maredza is a Juno and Canadian Folk Music Award-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer whose music, while rooted in traditional styles of Zimbabwe, has a contemporary flair. A guitarist and drummer, Tich's compositions have rhythmic drive, melodic intelligence, and lyrical messages of challenge and hope based on his experiences not only as a musician but as an immigrant. He also shares stories about his culture through his music. He is the band leader of The Tich Maredza Band, a five-piece multicultural band based in Toronto, which he formed in 2009. He is also a member of the award-winning Okavango African Orchestra, made up of artists from different regions of Africa who are now living and performing in Canada.
Dora Wang
Dora Wang began studying bamboo flute in 1998 and won a national competition in 2003. She’s active on multiple stages and at various events in the Chinese community. She has performed internationally, joined Canada’s Kuné orchestra in 2016, toured Canada and the U.S., and released two albums with the group, winning Canadian Folk Music Awards.
Diar (دْيَار)
Diar (دْيَار) is a Toronto-based ensemble blending Syrian and Arabic musical traditions with flamenco influences. Founded in 2018, the duo performs traditional Arabic songs, instrumental Maqams, and original arrangements featuring fretless guitar and percussion. Their performances celebrate cultural heritage, foster connection, and have been presented at festivals and venues across Canada.
Mas Aya
Mas Aya is the pseudonym of acclaimed Nicaraguan-Canadian composer, producer, and musician Brandon Miguel Valdivia, performing eclectic, unclassifiable, rhythmic music teeming with subtle contradiction and restless intrigue.
Choose a date
Dec17Thursday, December 17, 2026, Thursday12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.Meridian Arts Centre5040 Yonge StSelected date