POP Montreal turned twenty-five this year, running September 23 to 27 across the Mile End and the Plateau. Five writers and five photographers covered it, in different rooms on different nights, and what follows is what each of us saw, in our own words, night by night.
Ashtyn Turner: I’ve been describing POP Montreal as the craft beer section of the grocery store. Very few bands are well known, but many have loyal fans trekking out to see them. It’s a fantastic festival for someone who wants to dip their toes into the indie scene. It’s easy to grab a discovery pass, look at the lineup, click on a photo, read the short bio and decide if you want to take the plunge. And if you don’t know what shoegaze is, that’s okay; you’re definitely not alone. It’s like the first time I picked up a black IPA; sometimes you just gotta take the plunge and experience it for yourself.
Wednesday, September 23
Ribbon Skirt, Mario Park
Jamie Siddall: Is there a better way to get this year’s POP Montreal started than meeting your friends at the opening party in Mario Park? Personally, I do not think there is. The weather was crisp but perfect, a clear sky above our heads as we gathered underneath the overpass at 6PM to watch Ribbon Skirt play their set. An outdoor show is quintessential Montreal! People drinking beers with their loved ones, their children, their dogs, all ready to hear some good music.
I sat on the grass but eventually had to move, as I could barely hear the vocals. I did wish that the volume was turned up, but I can’t complain too much, once I had moved to a spot closer to the crowd I was able to hear the show much better.
Ribbon Skirt, an Indigenous-fronted band based in Montreal, played incredibly. Their indie-rock vibe was a great way to get the festival started. The crowd did not dance enough for my liking but you’ll find that this is an unfortunate running theme with me this year. People just don’t dance like they used to!
The passion behind their project can be read very clearly while Ribbon Skirt performs. Lead singer Tashiina Buswa took a moment to bring the crowd’s attention to the brutality that Indigenous women face from the police everyday. Women get stolen from their communities, their families, they get murdered and these injustices are not spoken about nearly enough. Ribbon Skirt have written many songs about these injustices with the goal of bringing everyone’s attention to it. Listen to their music, donate to The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, continue to speak about these injustices and help amplify Indigenous communities’ voices.
Annette Aghazarian: Luckily, I caught Ribbon Skirt on Wednesday night. Only because it was a free outdoor show. It was my first time seeing them, and they blew me away with their incredible energy and powerful sound.
Steve Gerrard: I’ve seen Ribbon Skirt a few times now, always indoors, and it was good to catch them somewhere completely different. Under the overpass in daylight, with families and dogs spread out on the grass, is about as far from a packed club as this festival gets. The songs still landed. They just didn’t hit as hard as they do in a small room with the volume up. Some bands need that compression, and I think Ribbon Skirt are one of them.
cistern, Quai des Brumes
Ashtyn Turner: cistern is one of the bands that I saw accidentally. They’re a four piece post punk DIY indie rock slowcore band hailing from Squamish, BC. They ended up lumped in with cherry pick, Poolgirl and Mad Iris and were my official first show of POP Montreal 2026. I recommend their album Head Full of Questions and, in particular, their song Fast but not Far. I love when punk sentiments are wrapped up in indie rock sounds; it makes me feel like I’m in Mile End Kicks. I enjoy its jaunty rhythm paired with its melancholy lyrics.
NIIVI, l’Escogriffe
Ashtyn Turner: This is my second time seeing NIIVI, and they just get better with time. They hold a lot of identities, but they wear them with pride. Being Inuk and Two Spirit lends them a unique perspective to sing from. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: throat singing absolutely belongs in alt and punk. They started their set by getting everyone in the audience to get in a circle while they played a qilaut and sang a song in Inuktut. Everything they do on stage is charged with activism and pride. They move as if fire is crackling just below the surface of their skin; if you listen, you can hear the smooth sharpness in their bite, and if you watch them perform, you can see it shine through. My favourite song of theirs continues to be No Pride in Genocide.
anaiis, Le Ministère
Steve Gerrard: Everyone in the room was charmed by anaiis, and a good number of them looked plainly in awe of her. She is French-Senegalese, based in London, and she writes about diaspora and collective liberation without any of it landing as a lecture. The lineage she draws on is stated outright: Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Alice Walker. Her 2025 album Devotion & The Black Divine works through self-love, the complications of new motherhood and the fact that healing does not happen in a straight line, and it turned up on year-end album lists at The New Yorker, Apple Music and BBC 6 Music.
Elliott Skinner opened and then stayed on to play in her band, which is a long night for one person. He is a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, and he had more than enough presence to hold the room on his own before she came out.
Mad Iris, Quai des Brumes
Jamie Siddall: After chatting with my loved ones and listening to the DJ set that closed off the Mario Park opening party, I made my way over to Quai des Brumes on my bike in hopes of catching Montreal’s Poolgirl. There had been a change in scheduling, though, and when I arrived at around 9PM, Mad Iris, from Toronto, was up on stage.
It was a nice surprise I must say, cause I really enjoyed the songs I could stay for! The vocals had a raspy, sultry vibe. The drums and guitar were slow and quite intoxicating. They played like they owned the stage they stood on, and that is something I can always respect when seeing a band perform.
I could not stay very long though, I had another set I wanted to catch at l’Escogriffe! Back on my bike I took off.
Ashtyn Turner: Mad Iris and Poolgirl swapped set times. This is why you always have to be on your feet for POP Montreal; it’s like a constantly transforming mythical creature. Mad Iris themselves sound straight out of the garage bands of the 90s. The five of them hail from Toronto, and they look like the only way they’d end up in the same band is if there was a Breakfast Club scenario. But, upon saying that, their sounds all work well together. Intentional shoegaze and noise, with a thick layer of grime and grunge levelling out with punk whines and roots in riot grrrl vocals. I recommend Poor Baby and The One I Wrote For You.
Birds of Prrrey, l’Escogriffe
Jamie Siddall: I made it to l’Escogriffe just in time to catch the start of Birds of Prrrey’s set at 9:30PM. The bar was packed full, it was difficult to get around but I managed.
They had a really strong start to their set. Their sound is something I would describe as otherworldly, a variety of different musical influences that come together in such a beautifully unique amalgamation. I found the crowd to be taking the talent in front of them for granted. Everyone was stiff! Very few people were moving, and it clearly frustrated the members of Birds of Prrrey because they tried to encourage the crowd to dance a few times.
I was reluctant to leave, but again, had to hop back on my bike for the next set. As I was wriggling my way through the stiff crowd, I heard one of the members tell the crowd: “Okay, we’ll play a sad one I guess, since none of you want to dance along.” and I thought: YES! Call out a boring crowd!
Ashtyn Turner: Birds of Prrrey is a three-piece band based in Montreal. I thought I’d lost my ability to count, but they brought an extra guitarist along for their POP Montreal show. Remember when I said POP Montreal reminded me of craft beer? Yeah, well, every time I twisted a can around on the POP website and it said Riot Girrrl movement, I tossed it directly in my cart. When I heard the high-pitched scream in OMGCROWSEVERYWHERE.COM2003! I was hooked. I am the band’s 34th follower on Tidal, and I can’t wait to see what they do next! They remind me of a more punk and mildly less religious version of The Last Dinner Party. Birds of Prrrey have a gritty but still prevalent rock opera vibe that I hope they will fully swerve into in the future. Luckily, they have both an EP and a live album out so far. I highly recommend He’s a Liar and a Thief and Noelle’s Emo Song.
Poolgirl, Quai des Brumes
Ashtyn Turner: POP Montreal really front-loaded their festival with Riot Girrrl movement inspired acts. I explicitly promised my physiotherapist that I would not mosh this week, and the only way to guarantee that was to remove myself from the crowd completely. Even while shooting, I was dodging moshers. I did manage to save both my cider can and the guitarist’s beer can from destroying their pedalboard after a supersonic and snaking mic cord was pulled taut as Poolgirl’s lead singer leapt off the stage. Now my camera bag smells like cigarette smoke AND Moosehead. By the time I finished taking photos for Poolgirl, I was sitting on the merch table swinging my feet like a five-year-old on a swing set. Imagine my surprise when, instead of walking around me to get to the merch booth after their set, the lead singer ran and slid under the table like something out of Halloween Horror Nights. Everything about Poolgirl is electric and full of energy and I will definitely be seeing them again! I’ve had Triple A, Money, and You Make Me Sick on repeat.
Irene Wang: While I didn’t make it to their official POP performance, this riot grrrl band played a set to a smattering of people holding soft drink cans at an industry event in Divan Orange. They are a classic combination of shredded guitar riffs and raw vocals, girls creating a space in which to jump around and scream. Lead singer Randy Powell-New is a firecracker and a joy to watch.
Dutch Interior, La Sotterenea
Jamie Siddall: I met back up with my friends for this set, all of them were excited for this one and so was I. After seeing three rock-heavy bands, it felt like Dutch Interior’s indie twang was the perfect way to wrap up my night.
They’re from Southern California, I believe. Their set was quite magical. I danced along to their songs with my friends, feeling refreshed even though I was trying to ignore the oncoming migraine. The members of Dutch Interior gave me a serious impression at first, but throughout their set they cracked jokes with one another, making their audience laugh along with them. It was like we were in on the joke.
It’s always nice to enjoy a performance where you can tell the band just plain loves what they do. They had a sort of casual passion in the way they played, and I think it made the crowd quite comfortable. I was feeling quite comfortable.
cherry pick, Quai des Brumes
Ashtyn Turner: It was cherry pick’s first time in Montreal, and she went to Schwartz’s Deli. Once she opened the show, she asked if that was a super touristy thing to do, to a resounding yes from the crowd. By the time we got to the last show of the night, I was thanking my lucky stars that I’d invested in hearing protection; the shoegazeyness was THICK. I also asked after the show if cherry pick was a band or a singular artist with a touring band, and the answer I got back was that it was a hybrid. The lyrics could very easily have been indie pop, but instead, thanks to the level of distortion, it’s pop goes grunge gaze. I popped daze onto my personal playlist; I’m afraid I’m more of a synth girlie than a shoegaze girlie.
Thursday, September 24
KT Laine, O Patro Vys
Steve Gerrard: KT Laine is one artist I keep coming back to. She’s based here, she writes quietly and carefully, and the songs ask you to actually listen, which is not always what a festival crowd wants to do at 8:15 on a Thursday. Her catalogue is still mostly sitting on Bandcamp, Knock Knee included, and that is more or less my point: she is a local songwriter who deserves a great deal more attention than she currently gets. Opening a bill that also had Puberty Well on it is an awkward slot, and she had no trouble with it.
Le Ministère, top to bottom
Annette Aghazarian: On Thursday night I went to Le Ministère to check out True Mountain Laurel which I had never heard of before. They were sharing the bill with three other bands that I knew nothing about except for the fact that they were all female led, which influenced my decision.
Sheenah Ko. First up was producer and composer Sheenah Ko who brought some fantastic energy as she danced behind her keyboards and encouraged us to do the same. She warmly addressed the crowd and instructed us to form a circle and dance as freely as we wanted to, which we did. I honestly wished that her set wasn’t so short because her joy was infectious. I want to give a shout out to her accompanying vocalist, Sola Nkani, because her power and range were unreal. She had an incredible voice and she was doing these crazy vocals, from gospel and soulful to operatic. She was phenomenal. I loved Wake Up.
shishi. I was not prepared for what came next. Lithuanian surfer rock goddess, mermaid, power trio also known as shishi busted on to the stage and made sure that we would never forget them. Riot grrrl edginess, clever and quirky lyrics, angelic harmonies and a musicality that you can not fuck with. Their entire performance was brilliantly punk. Even when the guitarist had some tech issues and we thought the show was over, the bass player with the funky fluffy pants that would make Flea jealous began talking to the audience and she was hilarious. Remarking in her adorable Lithuanian accent how difficult it was crossing the street with so many cyclists on the road.
Their set was also too short, and they ran out of time, but the crowd begged them for one more song to which they happily complied. A song that got stuck in my head and I can’t stop singing it. Before introducing this song, they made sure to let us know that there were three particular people who they want to fuck off: Putin, Trump and Netanyahu. We all went wild, screaming out and singing along to I Cannot Believe.
Orchidae. The third artist was Orchidae who describes her style as ethereal avant pop. She has a lovely voice and I really would’ve enjoyed her performance if it were not for the spell that shishi had cast upon me. It’s like being served a hot fudge sundae first and then a bowl of lentil soup right after. I love lentil soup however I won’t eat it if I just had ice cream. Her vibe was too mellow and melancholic after shishi’s high octane performance and I was feeling tired. Orchidae should have been the first one up to gently build the excitement.
So I went outside for some air and found shishi on the steps having a smoke and had a little chat. I’m not going to lie. I did fan girl a bit, but it was well deserved. It was their first time in Montreal and they seemed to be having fun. We talked about music and I told them to check out Les Shirley’s new album that was just released that day. And I insisted that they must come back to Montreal because I needed a longer set.
True Mountain Laurel.
Steve Gerrard: One of my favourite discoveries of the week, and I went in blind enough that I only realized Haley Blais was in the band once I arrived at the venue. I’d seen her play twice before. True Mountain Laurel is Blais with Sam Lynch, out of Vancouver, and their debut Angel So Bad came out at the end of August, so POP caught them early into the Canadian tour behind it. Two songwriters who can each carry a record alone, sharing one, and visibly enjoying the arrangement. They looked like they were having such fun on stage that it carried across the room.
Elbow Kiss, La Sala Rossa
Irene Wang: Elbow Kiss was a standout act. I was floored. The first note she sang gave me an instant jawdrop. Her vibrato is deeply rich and controlled, while her lyrics span the uncertainties of love and a witch who lives on her island. She belongs on the shelf of canonical folk singers, nestled between Linda Perhacs and Joni Mitchell.
Pony Girl, La Sotterenea
Irene Wang: I caught the end of their set at La Sotterenea. They have an intellectual musicality that slips between genres and musical structures. Yolande Laroche on keys held down the band’s charismatic cool factor; frontman Pascal Huot cut a more puppy-like figure onstage.
Heaven For Real, La Sotterenea
Irene Wang: I’ll keep it short. The vocals were off-key and the music too middle-of-the-road to gain a foothold.
Charlotte Cornfield, La Sotterenea
Ashtyn Turner: Charlotte Cornfield was haunting and shimmered like a mirage. I don’t think there are any other words to describe her lyricism. Sad emo music might make me dance, but sad indie folk rock always gives me a thousand-yard stare, wraps me in a blanket and makes me stop dead in my tracks. Her music makes me want to sit on the steps of my balcony and call everyone I’ve ever loved to tell them that they matter to me until my girlfriend calls me back inside. I clearly wasn’t the only one affected by her music; there weren’t many dry eyes in the crowd. Hailing from Toronto, she spent six years in Montreal working on her sound, and you can definitely hear the Montreal influence when she says Saint-Denis in Squiddd and when she talks about playing POP Montreal in Long Game. It certainly felt adjacent to a homecoming concert to me. A love letter to a place you no longer live but has held you at your absolute lowest until you got back on your feet. Cut and Dry and Lucky are both going on my personal playlist.
Divan Orange: Sasha Cay and Plants and Animals
Jamie Siddall: I was excited to see Montreal’s Sasha Cay perform, of course, but I was also quite looking forward to seeing Divan Orange as a venue space! I did like how open the space was, and it made me kind of jealous that I never got the chance to see a performance there before it had closed. What a treat, though, to be there for this set!
Sasha Cay’s set was vibrant and intimate, their voice rang through the room with ease and serenity. I had met a few friends there, who were all there to support Sasha Cay as well as I was. We watched our friend perform with grace and ease, always a lovely sight to see! As much as I wanted to stay for the whole set, my bike was calling to me so I could make it to the next show. And, boy, was I really excited for this one!
Steve Gerrard: This was only my second time ever inside Divan Orange, which is technically closed down. The washrooms were cubicles out on the street and there was no air conditioning, and somehow all of that added to the occasion rather than ruining it. There is something fitting about watching a Montreal band with a Polaris-shortlisted record behind them in a room that is barely still a room. Plants and Animals have been at this long enough that they don’t need any production to carry a set, and they had none available to them anyway.
Chad VanGaalen, Théâtre Rialto
Jamie Siddall: I met up with my brother for this one. I bought him a ticket for his birthday. Chad VanGaalen, from Calgary, is an artist that we’ve loved since I was 18 and he was 17. I shared a memory with him then, of seeing the music video for Molten Light on the TV when I was 8. It scarred me for the next 10 years of my life. And when we finally found the video I was talking about, we both fell in love with his projects, especially Soft Airplane.
Getting to watch Chad VanGaalen’s set with my brother was one of my favourite moments of POP Montreal this year. His performance was short but so, so sweet. His music is transcendent, it explores so many concepts of life and death, love and grief, it’s always hit close to home for my brother and I. We sat in the Théâtre Rialto, smiling ear to ear.
At some point during his set, he invited Montreal’s Marlaena Moore up on stage to lend her amazing voice and smack around a tambourine. She’s an artist my brother and I share admiration for, it was such a lovely surprise to see her join another artist we adore.
My brother and I left the show wishing he had more time to play, of course, but still felt satisfied. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to see Chad VanGaalen perform!
O Patro Vys: Douance and Puberty Well
Ashtyn Turner: I was surprised that it took me till day two to hear someone singing in French. Douance, from the Saguenay region of Quebec, sings about love, loss and grief. Her music is raw and filled to the brim with grunge. POP Montreal’s bio for Douance says there’s a heavy 90s sound, which makes sense for her grunge influences, but her album À la prochaine also draws heavily from late 80s synth, which was a fun surprise. However, no amount of lo-fi, synth and grunge can cover up the truths of her lyricism. Despite naming herself giftedness, she seems a little nervous and self-conscious on stage; it seems like it should be paradoxical, but that lends itself perfectly to the vulnerable places that she sings from. J’attends and Maladie are my favourite songs of hers so far.
I did it! I FINALLY saw Puberty Well! I’ve been trying to see them for years, but there always seems to be a scheduling conflict on my end. Missing their Dyke Knight tailgating party is up there with missing Slayyyter for me. Puberty Well is tied with Towa Bird for my favourite performance of the festival; their all-trans women alt rock band calls to me like a siren’s song. Their lyrics are the perfect balance of horny, angry, grungy and lovergirl. The bass was so rattling it was vibrating the wooden pew I was sitting on at O Patro Vys, and I think there’s a future Puberty Well song somewhere in there. Plus they sell muumuus that have a bikini-clad cartoon woman emblazoned with tattoos that the band members actually have. All the members seemed like they were right at home on stage, but Nadia, their drummer, had several quips and also requested that people slow dance as the disco ball turned on. It was so refreshing to see such an abundance of queer and trans joy at this concert that it made all the festival writing and photo editing worth it. So thank you Puberty Well, you’re going on my playlist!
frown line, Casa del Popolo
Irene Wang: I was craving some catchy riffs and feeling nostalgic for indie rock. frown line scratched the itch. Playing nonchalantly to a packed room of alt kids, the band had a solid chemistry and accurately baggy pants. It put a smile on my face. The kids are alright.
ESPRIT 空想, Satosphère
Irene Wang: Electronic musician George Clanton returned with ESPRIT 空想, an ambient electronic project accompanied with light show projections on the SAT’s iconic dome ceiling. It was packed and sweaty in there. The music was at times euphoric, at times trance-like, at times beautiful, inviting the listener to get lost in the space. My friend was expecting some harder beats, but ESPRIT 空想 gave me a blissful feeling riding home.
Friday, September 25
Annette Aghazarian: POP Montreal is one of my favourite music festivals because I get to discover so many new artists. I was planning to attend every night, however on two of the four nights that I showed up, I was denied entrance. After spending hours in traffic, paying for parking and then waiting outside in long lineups, I was told that the venues had reached capacity.
Le Ren, Rialto Rooftop
Steve Gerrard: I’m a big fan, and I got lucky, because plenty of people did not make it up there. Lauren Spear playing on the Rialto roof as the sun went down was the moment of the festival for me. She writes plain, unguarded songs that could go either way outdoors, with nothing to hide behind, and the fading light did half the work for her. Leftovers came out on Secretly Canadian and she has followed it since with Don’t Be Funny Without Me. She brought friends out to join her through the set, which stopped it feeling like a showcase and made it feel like something happening once.
Mother Soki, Bar Le Ritz PDB
Ashtyn Turner: I’ve been around the internet for a long time, but Mother Soki might be the final boss of singing in cursive. She uses a lot of dreamy synth, mic effects and autotune to achieve a sound that sounds as if it’s coming from another plane of existence, and you have to strain your ears to hear an intergalactic prophecy. I think she was an odd choice to open for Towa Bird’s loud guitar, but I suppose opposites attract.
Towa Bird, Bar Le Ritz PDB
Ashtyn Turner: I truly believe Towa is one of the best guitarists of my generation, and Rolling Stone appears to agree with me. Towa may be tied for my best outfit of the festival award after she arrived on stage in a beautifully tailored suit, which was particularly impressive because if you’ve ever been to Bar Le Ritz, it gets HOT AS HELL. After a handful of songs, she gave up and stripped down to a white wife-pleaser, and while her queering the concept of an old-world gentleman into a lesbian symbol isn’t new, looking at you the entire history of butch lesbianism, Victoria made me cry the first time I heard it, and I am getting a little misty-eyed as it plays now. I was expecting more songs like Drain Me! and B.I.L.L.S and I definitely got that in Dog. It’s always amazing to see her play live, and I hope she’ll play Montreal again. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate POP Montreal for bringing the only Canadian date of the Gentleman tour here. I’m also chuffed that the Torontonians finally had to come to Montreal instead of me lugging all my worldly possessions across the Ontario and Quebec border.
Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Théâtre Rialto
Steve Gerrard: Nardwuar is the interview legend, and watching him work a stage is like watching a cartoon character come to life. He has more stories than anyone on the planet! The video vault and Q&A format gives him the room to tell them, and the thing worth understanding if you only know him from the clips is that the persona is not a persona. He has also fronted The Evaporators for decades, which explains a certain amount of it.
Saturday, September 26
Martha Wainwright, Rialto Rooftop
Annette Aghazarian: For Martha Wainwright I showed up at 5:20 and the show was at 6:30. A cranky staff member said they were only allowing 10 non-ticket holders in as he placed an orange cone directly at my feet and loudly told everyone to leave. I was number 11.
Irene Wang: I don’t know, I couldn’t get in. But I assume she was really good.
La Monarque, O Patro Vys
Ashtyn Turner: La Monarque, the stage name for Ariane Drapeau, is another Québécois powerhouse. But instead of being grungy like Douance, she’s an EDM princess. Listening to her in headphones is like experiencing a one-person silent disco, and I fuck with it. I’m a fan of hyperpop, but La Monarque is like hyperpop on speed, with sounds flying at you like a TikTok that’s been sped up several times. Almost entering shoegaze, her blend of hyperpop and EDM makes you want to stand up and dance. Combine that with staunchly feminist lyrics that could make even the slowest straight person walk at gay speed, and she’ll be going on my wake-up playlist with CTRL and FAIS_LE.
Trinisha Browne, O Patro Vys
Ashtyn Turner: There’s only one word that popped into my head when I saw Trinisha Browne for the first time and that is lavish. She was dressed head to toe in ruby red with gold jewellery and sunglasses, accented with a glass of blood red wine. She was a sight to behold. If it wasn’t for the immaculate tailoring of Towa Bird’s suit I’d say Trinisha won my best dressed award in a landslide. They’re both great examples of queer masc fashion excellence. Trinisha’s voice is smooth and has a velvety vibrato as she changes from rapping to singing. Her music is a mix of dancehall, Afrobeats, gospel, Afro-Caribbean, hip hop and R&B. Her song What U Want has been on repeat in my house all week. I need to dive further into the Québécois rap scene, especially since Trinisha launched Browne Records and is the Head of Artists and Repertoire for Nnamani Music Group.
Semiah, l’Escogriffe
Ashtyn Turner: Semiah is pure dreamy pop, a hint of synth and some freshly picked optimism. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a performer be genuinely bubbly, but it was such a nice treat. Her beats are deadly, and her custom leather fit slayyyeeedddddd. Coming from Toronto and the Six Nations, it’s so refreshing to have a homegrown pop princess in the lineup. If it were possible to have digital sparkles and hearts shimmer around her head, they definitely would. Shake some ass and stream Semiah today! I’d start with Clementine, Withdrawals and North Star.
Lucrecia Dalt, Le Ministère
Ashtyn Turner: Lucrecia Dalt had maximum Matrix vibes with her indoor sunglasses and blunt bob. Combine that with her experimental sound and a crowd filling the room to the brim, I knew I was in for a fantastic show. It’s my goal for next POP Montreal to try to see an act from every continent possible (my goal this year was to find a bunch of cool local talent), but with Lucrecia originating from Colombia, Trinisha Browne being born in Trinidad and Tobago and combining that with some Montreal flair, I feel like we got a solid representation of the Americas. agüita con sal is my recommendation for where to start in Lucrecia’s discography.
Shad, La Sala Rossa
Irene Wang: Shad got La Sala Rossa bouncing to some old-school beats for the Secret City Records showcase. A seasoned performer, he delivered verses specifically written for POP and a raw acapella verse. DJ Nkusi danced behind the decks wearing a Rwanda jersey, a heritage he shares with Shad. A performance full of gratitude and joy from a veteran of Canadian music.
La Force, La Sala Rossa
Irene Wang: Broken Social Scene member Ariel Engle delivered a confident and sultry performance. The music crawled at a moderate pace and it looked and sounded like an aesthetic hangover from the 2010s. But to be fair, I don’t think I was the target audience.
GoodBoyNikko, Casa del Popolo
Irene Wang: I went into this one blind, and I was pleasantly surprised. The UK duo have developed a Japanese city-pop act that is as addictive to watch as its music is earworm-y. Pairing funky electronic beats with awkward choreography, the nauseatingly saccharine duo had everyone in the room bobbing.
Basil No!, O Patro Vys
Ashtyn Turner: As I stood at the front of the stage waiting for Basil No! to start playing, I never would have guessed what would have happened next if you’d paid me a million dollars. Before my very eyes, they all counted down before stripping down to their skivvies. Now it’s been an awfully long time since I’ve seen a man standing before me in his drawers, and it took about 30 seconds for my brain to reboot and start taking pictures. The band seems to thrive on comedic music like Blue Man Group, which ruminates over whether they could join the Blue Man Group on the basis of being bald and blue, promising to be “a clown for you.” Honestly, once I heard their setlist and realized most of this comedy is peak Anglophone Montrealer horny music, them stripping down to boxers made a lot more sense. Some of their horniest tracks include Bixi Bike, which asserts, “If I was a bixi bike I would get ridden by every guy, I would get slammed up day and night,” Throw It Back, which is perhaps the least convincing song to throw ass to, but it does get bonus points for being gender-inclusive, and Jesus Penis, where his girlfriend dumps him for Jesus and discusses getting a purity ring and a chastity belt. Luckily, my girlfriend is Jewish and a lesbian, so I think my chances of her leaving me for Jesus are pretty low. Basil No! also have a nu metal cover of Ayesha Erotica’s Yummy, and my favourite song by them is My Lady My Lord, which is an 80s medieval revival, so there’s truly something for everyone. Listening to their music on shuffle is An Experience™ similar to a cartoon character going through a bag that contains an implausible amount of items, both in terms of size and quantity; how could they possibly fit 100 Million Bitches in their pocket?
Sunday, September 27
Less Toches, Bar Le Ritz PDB
Jamie Siddall: I wasn’t able to make it to a few POP shows that I initially planned on going to, so I was glad to have the chance to end the festival on a good note. Bar Le Ritz hosted Less Toches, another band from Montreal. They blew my mind to say the least.
Accordion heavy, rhythmic drums, total passion in every voice, they had everything! A beautiful explosion was happening on the stage in front of my very eyes, and my ears could not get enough. Less Toches combines a few Latin American styles into the most lively and beautiful sound you’ll ever hear. They heavily encouraged the crowd to participate, to clap and sing along, they really got us to join them in their partying! They play shows quite often so if you’ve never seen them, I urge you to catch their set sometime!
Minyo Crusaders, Bar Le Ritz PDB
Jamie Siddall: Following up Less Toches was Minyo Crusaders, all the way from Japan. They played a lively set as well, so many members up on stage, I think I counted 7.
Partway through their set, one of their members read from a sheet of paper explaining that min’yo is an old, traditional style of Japanese folk music. This style was for the people. It was used to celebrate, it was sung by fishermen, and continuously brought people together. He explained that min’yo is, unfortunately, not commonly performed in today’s modern age. Hence their name, Minyo Crusaders.
As they performed, you could tell that they really put their own spin on min’yo. Of course, they made it their mission to revive the genre, but I could hear some Latin elements in there as well.
They played with passion, and encouraged the crowd to participate in the singing as well. Bar Le Ritz was one huge party! People were dancing along, which was such a relief to my eyes and heart. This was definitely not a boring crowd! It was quite a wonderful way for me to end POP Montreal this year. I didn’t catch as many shows as I usually do, but I am beyond satisfied with the ones I did see. This festival is always a great opportunity to experience a variety of talents, and I’d say we had another successful year.
Final Thoughts
Ashtyn Turner: I am constantly amazed that radio DJs have a hard time and are frustrated about having to find Canadian musicians to feature in order to meet their Canadian content requirements for music on Canadian radio. They should be writing off POP Montreal as a business expense and really getting weird with it. This city that I love and proudly call my home is FULL of bilingual talent in every genre that I can think of, especially punk, queer and alternative rock. But maybe that’s just because I love the genres so much that I notice those bands more.
Everyone who claims to love Montreal and its culture should be tripping up dive bar stairs and going to small gallery openings and buying niche merch if they’re able to. If the only Montreal band you know is Arcade Fire or Simple Plan, I beg you to dig deeper, get a little beer crusted on your shoes and dance like no one is watching. Grip that millennial optimism and hold on tight. Because the spirit of Montreal is arts and culture, and you can’t claim to love someone you know nothing about. Love has to be cultivated, and POP Montreal isn’t just music. It’s also films and artworks and markets and symposiums and experiences and memories.
And this year, devastatingly, it was also a celebration for the amazing life and work of Susan Moss. I never thought I’d miss being flipped off so much; it feels weird to be in the photo pit without her, but if I gave up on my dreams, I know she’d resurrect herself just to personally kick my ass. So we continue, but we don’t move on or forget. And that’s the beauty of Montreal, because we are all stitches in its cultural tapestry.
Words by Annette Aghazarian, Jamie Siddall, Ashtyn Turner, Steve Gerrard and Irene Wang
Photos by Steve Gerrard, Ashtyn Turner, Rene Bernal, Annette Aghazarian and Kate Woolliams
