Palomosa continues to set itself apart from Montreal’s larger festivals by embracing artists who feel niche, internet-driven, and completely unpredictable. The lineup rarely plays it safe, and that unpredictability creates a crowd unlike any other festival in the city. Between sets on the first day, I somehow ended up joining a hacky sack circle with strangers in the middle of Parc Jean-Drapeau, which felt like a perfect summary of the entire weekend. Even during downtime, there was always something happening.
Day One – Friday
Fizz Stage
jamvvis helped kick off the day with booming techno that felt absurdly loud for such an early set. The energy was immediate, though, with people already dancing hard while someone dressed as Spider-Man wandered across the stage, somehow fitting naturally into the chaos.
Ouri followed with a cinematic introduction built around shimmering synths and angelic vocals. The crowd noticeably flooded into the area as her set progressed, slowly building from softer atmospheric moments into heavier electronic sections.
ear brought one of the strangest and most captivating performances of the day. Their movements onstage felt almost unsettling at times, but the abrasive vocals and experimental production created a hypnotic atmosphere that kept pulling more people toward the stage. The weather matched the mood perfectly as the crowd danced through unreleased tracks and increasingly chaotic sounds.
POiSON GiRL FRiEND delivered one of the weekend’s most unexpected performances. The duo completely subverted expectations visually before filling the stage with heavenly melodies and dreamy guitar work. The crowd responded warmly throughout the set, creating one of the most supportive atmospheres of the festival.
xaviersobased created one of the strangest crowd dynamics of the festival. Part of the audience looked completely confused, while another section clearly came exclusively for him, screaming every viral track word for word. The set itself carried inconsistent energy, but his biggest songs still hit hard enough to keep the crowd alive. Seeing DJ Rennessey there only added to the feeling that this performance existed in its own separate universe from the rest of the festival.
MGMT closed the stage with easily the most divisive set of the weekend. Although the festival poster clearly labelled the performance as a DJ set, many people still arrived expecting at least a few songs from their catalogue. Confusion spread almost immediately. At first, it genuinely felt like background music was still playing before people realized the set had already started. Some fans slowly began leaving toward the metro once it became obvious there would be no live renditions of their biggest hits. Still, once expectations were set aside, the performance became much easier to appreciate. Their electronic selections created an immersive atmosphere that worked surprisingly well as a soundtrack for dancing without overthinking anything.
National Bank Stage
sineila opened the stage with ethereal electronic music played to a small but fully committed crowd. Even early in the day, the people there were completely locked into the atmosphere she created.
CFCF slowly began drawing more people in with groovy electronic tracks that turned the stage area into a laid-back dance session. The crowd steadily grew throughout the set as people passing by stopped to stay longer than expected.
yaego brought one of the biggest crowds of the day with bass-heavy production that sounded like something pulled directly out of a nightclub in space. The audience responded immediately, nodding along to every distorted beat.
Doss kept the momentum going afterward with one of the festival’s most openly communal performances. Fans were allowed backstage while nonstop dance music kept the energy high from beginning to end. Both the crowd and Doss herself fed off each other perfectly.
Hannah Diamond closed the stage with a massive turnout that proved people were there specifically for her rather than simply waiting between bigger sets. Even as the crowd expanded and became slightly less energetic, she ended the night with a run of hyperpop anthems that fully justified the booking.
Day Two – Saturday
Fizz Stage
The day started with unexpected news after fakemink cancelled only hours before the festival opened. Palomosa quickly announced twentythree as the replacement, and the decision ended up fitting the festival surprisingly well.
Sophia Stel started the day with a pretty big crowd for how early it was. Her autotune-heavy vocals and melodic production steadily pulled more people toward the stage as the set progressed, ending with loud reactions from the audience.
kinji00 proudly represented Quebec with one of the most locally energized crowds of the weekend. Fans waved fleur de lys flags while multiple guests, including TRAPMAT SAVIOR, appeared throughout the set as light rain started falling over the festival grounds.
twentythree stepped into the difficult role of replacing fakemink and managed to win the crowd over almost instantly. His sound, already exploding online, felt perfectly suited for Palomosa’s audience. At one point, he jokingly described his genre as “six pop” in reference to Toronto before closing his short set with Queen Street, which the crowd screamed back word for word.
femtanyl immediately shifted the atmosphere into complete chaos. The aggressive production and overwhelming volume fully lived up to the artist’s name, while dedicated fans screamed nearly every word back toward the stage.
Lucy Bedroque delivered the standout performance of the entire festival. While much of his online catalogue leans into softer lo-fi and anime-inspired sounds, the live set exploded into full rage territory. Backed by 9lives on DJ duties, Lucy proved himself to be an incredible performer, controlling the crowd effortlessly as massive mosh pits opened across the field. No other set during the weekend matched its intensity.
Thaiboy Digital closed the festival with one of the most wholesome performances of the weekend. Even for people unfamiliar with his catalogue, the set was impossible not to enjoy thanks to his relaxed presence and the crowd’s excitement whenever fan favourite tracks started playing.
National Bank Stage
Nasty Gloss played to a relatively small but deeply committed crowd, filling the stage area with bouncy loop-driven electronic music that kept people dancing throughout the set.
umru continued the stage’s streak of internet-influenced club music, delivering chaotic production that felt perfectly suited for the festival’s atmosphere.
Cannelle maintained the momentum afterward, keeping the crowd moving with heavy electronic production and nonstop energy.
DJ Smokey drew one of the largest and most energetic crowds on this stage all weekend. Distorted remixes and unexpected Justin Bieber edits blasted through the speakers while fans packed tightly together near the front. At one point, people were even allowed onto the stage itself to get closer, turning the set into complete chaos in the best way possible.
Dylan Brady brought exactly the kind of chaotic energy you would expect from one half of 100 gecs. The set bounced unpredictably between blown-out electronic production, absurd bass drops, and moments that felt intentionally overwhelming in the best way possible. Even when the music became almost abrasive, the crowd stayed fully engaged, treating every distortion-heavy transition like another reason to move harder. His performance perfectly matched Palomosa’s internet-fuelled atmosphere, feeling less like a traditional DJ set and more like a complete sensory overload.
By the end of the weekend, Palomosa once again proved why it has become one of Montreal’s most unique festivals. The lineup rarely caters to mainstream expectations, instead embracing niche artists, strange bookings, and sounds that many larger festivals would never take a chance on. That unpredictability is exactly what gives the festival its identity. One moment you are standing inside a massive rage pit, and the next you are listening to ambient synths while strangers start hacky-sack circles nearby. Few festivals manage to make those extremes feel coherent, but Palomosa somehow does.
Review & photos – Nic Cantin
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