The Kensington Market Jazz Festival
Toronto’s Most Beloved Neighbourhood Jazz Festival Announces Its Return — Artist Lineup to Follow
Toronto, Ontario — The Kensington Market Jazz Festival (KMJF) is coming back. Now in its 11th year, the festival returns to the streets, stages, patios, and intimate venues of one of Toronto’s most storied neighbourhoods on September 18, 19, and 20, 2026. Artist announcements are coming, and they will be worth the wait. In the meantime, mark the dates: three days of live jazz, community energy, and the magic that only KMJF delivers, in the one neighbourhood that has always understood what music is for.
Since its inaugural weekend in September 2016, when over 200 Toronto musicians filled 9 Kensington Market venues and the Globe and Mail called it “wildly successful,” KMJF has operated by a principle that sets it apart from every other festival in the country: Better, Not Bigger. No massive sponsorship infrastructure, no distant stadium stages. Instead, year after year, the festival brings hundreds of Canadian musicians into the cafes, courtyards, community halls, and open-air patios of Kensington Market including the new addition of the iconic El Mocambo, giving audiences experiences that feel genuinely intimate, spontaneous, and alive. Over eleven years, KMJF has presented more than 500 Canadian artists across dozens of venues, powered entirely by over 100 dedicated volunteers and sustained by a community that believes deeply in what the festival represents
KMJF was founded by Molly Johnson O.C., in collaboration with Tracy Jenkins of Lula Lounge and the Shaw Festival and remains artist-driven and volunteer-powered in every sense of those words. Johnson—a two-time JUNO Award winner, Officer of the Order of Canada, Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and 2023 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award recipient for Lifetime Artistic Achievement—grew up in Kensington Market and built the festival from a deeply personal vision of what a community arts event could be. “I started KMJF to showcase the cultural tapestry of our market,” Johnson has said. “Your support makes this celebration possible.” That vision has never wavered, and as Johnson continues to be one of the most creatively active figures in Canadian music—her new EP Long Time Running features a soulful reimagining of The Tragically Hip’s beloved anthem alongside Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, as well as a striking new collaboration with JUNO Award-winning rapper Haviah Mighty—KMJF heads into its 11th year with its founder at full creative force.
A typical KMJF weekend sees more than 100 Toronto-based Canadian musicians performing across 10 venues in over 100 shows, drawing upwards of 5,000 engaged audience members and generating meaningful foot traffic for the more than 240 independent businesses that call Kensington Market home. The festival’s programming has always extended beyond performance, encompassing the KMJF Kids Music Series (developed in collaboration with Yamaha Canada Music and St. Stephen’s Community House), artist recording initiatives, seasonal music series, and a busking programme that brings live music to corners of the neighbourhood that rarely see a stage. Tickets are available for cash at the door, ranging from $20 to $25, and audiences are always encouraged to arrive early: these are intimate shows, and they fill up.
Last year’s 10th anniversary edition was a landmark moment for the festival, bringing together a lineup that included Canadian jazz luminary Jane Bunnett, Afro-Cuban piano master Hilario Durán, powerhouse vocalist Alana Bridgewater, JUNO-winning reggae-jazz fusionist Jay Douglas, and festival favourite Alex Pangman, among many others. The debut of KMJF’s Legacy Stage, surprise collaborations, anniversary installations, and live painting by Jared Olsever made the 2025 weekend one the community will not soon forget. The 2026 edition builds on that momentum.
As a registered charitable arts organisation since 2021, KMJF relies on the generosity of its community to keep the music going year after year. Donations above $25 are tax deductible and can be made at kensingtonjazz.com. Volunteers are also a vital part of everything the festival does—if you would like to be part of the team that makes KMJF happen, volunteer sign-up is open now at kensingtonjazz.com. “KMJf exists because of our volunteers,” the festival notes, “and we thank each and every one of you.”
This year's festival is made possible with the help of Canada Council, City of Toronto, Ontario Creates, Canada Life, Slaight Family Foundation, KMBIA.