I've had a busy summer of music festival travel with PAPER.
I’ve jetted around God’s green earth to check out festivals and concerts in Detroit, Chicago and even Switzerland. But now, I have one last stop on my global tour, which turns out to be a special one: I’m off to Canada for a busy week with POP Montreal.
POP Montreal, a multi-venue, 5-day music and culture fest will commence its 23rd year on September 25th. Pairing local favorites with international acts for a diverse set of concerts in hopes of providing a little something for everyone.
“Montreal is an incredible city, filled with talented and interesting people and the more we can tap into these networks and create a programming that reflects this, the better the overall vibe of the festival is,” says festival programmer Dan Seligman. “There is so much amazing music in the world. I think it would be boring to limit the palette. However, we still hold a degree of critical taste. Shit's got to be good!”
With 200 concerts, in over 20 venues, all packed into just 5 days, it can be hard to know just who to catch. That’s why PAPER put together some upcoming highlights to help you in your planning. And don't forget to hit us back here for a recap once the partying is over.
Cecile Believe, Faux Real, Sineila
Piccolo Rialto, Sep 26, 2024
We couldn’t miss catching PAPER favorite Cecile Believe play in the city she long called home. She began making music in 2010s Montreal under the moniker Mozart’s Daughter and cites the city’s affordability and vibrancy as foundational for her artistry. She even wrote and recorded much of her new standout EP, Tender The Spark, there. Believe, whose work has indelibly shaped the course of electronic music, moved to Los Angeles from Montreal a few years ago and is thus set for a hero’s return. Plus, with opening sets from pop-playful acts Franco-American duo Faux Real and Montreal’s own Sineila the whole night is sure to buzz with a special energy. Buy tickets here.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland and friends: The Salon Evening
Théâtre Rialto, Sep 26, 2024
I’ve long been enamored with the moving serene sounds of Beverly Glenn-Copeland, who’s re-discovery in the 2010s brought the Philadelphia-born, Ontario-based singer and composer into public consciousness after more than 50 years of quiet toiling. Performing in Montreal is particularly meaningful for Glenn-Copeland, who first came to the city in the ‘60s to study classical music at McGill University. Dealing with the tensions of around being the first Black student in the music school, and the only openly queer student, led to his dropping out, but it never stopped his unique artistry, which has garnered him notable fans like Blood Orange and Arca in recent years. His music, deeply spiritual, heartfelt, equal parts opera and electronics, is sure to make for a singularly special show. Buy tickets here.
Mannie Fresh, Egyptian Lover, Sydanie, THOT SQUAD
Piccolo Rialto, Sep 27, 2024
A night of hip-hop history: New Orleans legend Mannie Fresh joins Hip Hop pioneer Egyptian Lover for what is bound to be an energetic evening. With the two OGs joined by two rising stars — Flint’s own THOT SQUAD and Tornto’s Sydanie — this cross-generational evening will have a little something for everyone, as long as you’re down to dance. Buy tickets here.
Cassandra Jenkins, Nailah Hunter, Valmy
Le Ministère, Sep 27, 2024
Cassandra Jenkins first caught my ear with her 2021 breakout An Overview of Phenomenal Nature, which boasted some of the most inventive, thought-provoking and dreamy songwriting of the 2020s. Her follow-up, 2024’s My Light, My Destroyer, provided both a detour and development of Jenkins’s inventive sound, and we can’t wait to hear it in-person. With added sets by Los Angeles’s Nailah Harper and Newfoundland’s Valmy, both of whom traffic in particularly drifty, deeply felt sonics, the night should be a moving night of music. Buy tickets here.
claire rousay, Still House Plants, Zoon
Rialto Hall, Sep 27, 2024
I found myself recently enthralled by claire rousay’s autotuned, low-fi, yet ever-emotionally accessible album, the fittingly titled sentiment. Blending a pop writer’s sensibilities with a background in experimental performance and composition, means that rousay’s music scratches many special itches at once. Joining them will be Still House Plants and Zoon, who both make music that skirt the line between the familiar and perplexing. Buy tickets here.
Photography: Béatrice Flynn
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