ONSOUND is Sound Arts’ biennial four-or-five-day festival, taking place in the odd-numbered years, while the biennial Sound Symposium occupies the even-numbered years. Sound Symposium brings an eclectic mix of hundreds of sound explorers and enthusiasts from around the world, while our new ONSOUND festival celebrates a dedicated area of new and experimental music every other year with workshops, soundwalks, concerts, and more.

ONSOUND IV: what is jazz? takes place July 16-19, 2025 and focuses on experimental, improvised, and original jazz (anything but the standards). There will be workshops, evening concerts, and late-night jam sessions. Stay tuned for more details to come!

Past events:

ONSOUND III: Squeezefest took place July 19-22, 2023 and celebrated the accordion in its many varied forms, from contemporary and traditional Newfoundland music, to classical accordion, to Brazilian forró pé de serra, to the experimental and avant-garde. It featured workshops and performances from Dave Penney and Daunt Lee, Gracie Reid, Sawtooth, Michael Bridge, Graham Wells and Duane Andrews, Kyle Gryphon and Kady Meaney, Ana and Eric, and Maria and the Band.

ONSOUND II: Patchwork Quilt (2021) saw St. John’s weirdest and most wonderful performers coming together to celebrate art in some uncertain times. In collaboration with First Light, we welcomed Aaron Prosper as an artist in residence, leading workshops and giving a performance with the First Light Community Drummers. ONSOUND II featuring workshops and performances from Duo Concertante, Pamela Morgan, Jing Xia, Kyle Gryphon, the Nova Collective, David Buley, Chad Feehan, Emma Pope, Nicholas Bendzsa, Arabat Beowulf and Mahina Graham-Laidlaw, Joe Fowler, and the Watershed Ensemble. It also saw the premiere of Cinethesia, a filmmaking project in conjunction with the Nickel Independent Film Festival and DarkNL, featuring works by Krissy Breen, Joe Kisusi, Mimi Stockland, Shaalan, Luke Blackmore, Holly Winter, and Atomic Clock.

ONSOUND’s first iteration in 2019 saw St. John’s come alive with experimental electronic music, featuring workshops and performances by Robert Lippok, Debashis Sinha, Knuckleduster, Bekah Simms, Andrew Noseworthy, Andrew Staniland, Joseph Donaghey, Gillian Sheppard, Mado Christie, Ben Diamond, Bert Power, Former Eraser, Header, DJ Krystle Hayden, Over|Out, Chris McGee, Sleeping Police, Thank, and It Could Be Franky.

Calling All Improvisers!

Night Music is an improvisational music series held the third Thursday of very month at The Ship Pub. Local musicians play a set of their own music, which serves as the basis for the improvisation that follows. Musicians collaborate with organizer Craig Squires to present the evening of music, both planned and impromptu. This is not an open mic, but all players are invited to come down and join the fun.

Find information about upcoming shows on our FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM pages.

Does your band want to anchor an event? Contact us!

The Harbour Symphony is original music written for the horns of the ships in the St. John’s harbour. This signature fanfare of the Sound Symposium transforms the ships in the harbour into an orchestra on water. Each Harbour Symphony begins with a radio countdown transmitted to the bridge of the ships by the Coast Guard where players stand at the helms of tugboats, trawlers, and ocean-going freighters. At the signal, a giant, floating horn section reverberates off the Southside Hills and through the streets of old St. John’s, echoing the soul of this 500 year old seaport.

Filled with 9 days and nights of workshops, improvisation, sound, music, dance, visual and performance art, and everything in between, Sound Symposium XXI was truly a symposium of ideas. From July 16-24, 2024, we were thrilled to host 9 Harbour Symphonies, 17 workshops, 11 live installation/performances, 25 concerts, and countless other unique indoor and outdoor events.

See the line up.      Download our poster

Drone Day

Drone Day is an annual celebration of drone, community, and experimental sounds. It was dreamed up by MCLF of Weird Canada, and vibrated into existence by communities and droners around the world. More info at droneday.org

Drone Day is Saturday May 24th, 2025. Join us to Drone and Draw in the Baird Building garage (on the corner of Clifts-Bairds Cove and Harbour Drive). There will be tables and drawing supplies provided, or bring your own – and bring an instrument for the jam! Doors open at 12:00pm, drone starts at 12:30pm sharp accompanying a special Harbour Symphony.

A co-production between Eastern Edge, Lawnya Vawnya, and Sound Arts Initiatives.

On July 24th, 2024, Sound Symposium XXI came to a close at Cape Spear National Historic Site. This site-specific, land-based work was conceived of by artistic director Erin Donovan of Hear Here Productions, along with co-artistic director and choreographic director Susanne Chui.

Cape Spear 24 was supported by Year of the Arts and CelebrateNL.

For a complete list of credits, please check out the video on our YouTube channel.