Alt-Punk Is Alive and Well: Cam Kahin Brings The Heat To Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario - February 6, 2026
Fresh off the release of his debut album CHUG, Toronto alt-punk artist Cam Kahin played to a packed crowd in Hamilton, Ontario on Friday night as a part of the Road to the Junos – a six-day concert series celebrating local talent ahead of the Canadian Juno Awards. On CHUG, released last month, he revisits his home town of Dunnville, Ontario, and explores the person he might have become had he never left.
From the first chord, the room was electric. The music is heavy, raw, and downright sweaty with guitars and drums thrashing in alt-punk chaos. Cam’s energy is chaotic and relentless yet sincere. His songs are emotionally charged, carrying vulnerability alongside the intensity, and they hit even harder live. Their grit amplified by his raw vocals cut through the packed room and drew every fan into the intensity of the moment. As a part of filming for the concert series, “can’t hide from you” was even performed twice. Both performances were full of energy and fresh each time, giving fans a rare chance to experience the song twice in one night.
Before Cam even had the chance to leave the stage, the crowd was already demanding an encore, chanting “One more song! One more song!”. To the crowd’s delight, Cam returned to the stage and played a new unreleased song titled “Hamilton”, which was especially fitting. He remarked that the song is about his time visiting a local Hamilton club when he was 14.
“Some basement down in Hamilton / Will turn me into a man again”
The story added a nostalgic layer to the night, and it was clear that Cam himself and everyone in the room has love for the city we were in. He remarked “we should do this every year”. The performance felt like a celebration of place and community as much as of the music. In a sweaty, loud, unforgettable performance, he left the crowd buzzing with the sense that alt-punk thrives not in just sound, but in the shared love of the places that inspire it.
