In a corner of Waterloo Park on a windy and rainy May 3, 2026 afternoon, over two dozen people formed a semi-circle around a picnic table. Some came wearing various shades of brown and beige blazers, some dragging long extension cords behind them and one even had their own crocheted fedora. The plan: put on the best Nirvanna the Band the Show lookalike contest Waterloo Region has ever seen.
Attendees at the Waterloo lookalike contest approached Nirvanna the Band the Show from different angles. Several groups simply stumbled upon the event as they walked by in the park whereas one group of competitors travelled all the way from Toronto to participate.
Lookalike contests involve groups dressing up as a celebrity or notable figure, with the crowds that form acting as judges for the contestant who bears the most similarity to the designated individual.
The creation of Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, Nirvanna the Band the Show is the title of both the original 2007-2009 web series and 2017-2018 Viceland television show where Johnson and McCarrol play fictionalized versions of themselves who get into various misadventures while attempting to book a show at the Toronto bar and music venue The Rivoli. Both the web series and television show feature extensive improvisational dialogue and interacting with unsuspecting Toronto residents and public filming locations.
After an extended run of the festival circuit in 2025, including winning the People’s Choice Award: Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie released in Canadian screens on Feb. 13, 2026. The film grossed over $1 million at the Canadian box office, a feat not often achieved by Canadian English-language productions.
Some had seen the show in passing years ago and others, including co-organizer Faris Alglaieny, found the antics of Matt and Jay through the newly released film.
“[It was] the movie. I had not seen the show. I’d seen clips before, but the movie had been getting a lot of traction on social media. [I thought], ‘this looks good’,” Alglaieny said.
The event featured five Matts and eight Jays. The groups competed in a series of challenges where they were asked to recreate scenes from the show and movie and improvise their own plan to book a show at the Rivoli. A multiverse of Matts frantically scribbled plans to jump off the CN Tower on whiteboards while Jays exasperatedly shook their heads while going along with it.
In the end, a final consensus could not be reached and a Matt and Jay pair as well as a solo Jay finished in a combined first place. The winners took home a handmade Nirvanna the Band zine and sticker made specifically for the event as well as a copy of the Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie soundtrack.
One of the winners, Omar Dzinc, was talked into attending by his striking similarity to Jay McCarrol.
“My girlfriend, Jess, saw the sign and was like, ‘you look like this guy. You gotta go and use your genetics for this’,” Dzinc said.
Reflecting on his win and the grassroots build up to the event, Dzinc felt the love.
“It was an awesome community effort. There’s [sic] so many cool Jays and Matts doing awesome skits. So, it was fun, I really had a blast,” Dzinc said.
After the winners were called, folks stayed even through the harsh weather to chat about their love for the series and get to know new friends with shared interest. For the organizers, the commitment of the competitors and their love for the series shone through even on a rainy day.
“We were expecting a max of like 10 people total to show up so it was very surprising…It went so much better than we expected,” Alglaieny said.
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