Pop Montreal is upon us once again, and just like each passing year, the city of Montreal has been blessed with a plethora of great Independent acts to be seen across the city. Now entering its sixteenth year, the festival is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet, with more than enough bands and cultural festivities to fill your boots several times over. Officially beginning on the 13th of September, the festival will conclude on the 17th and all five days promise to deliver on all fronts imaginable. My goal here is to get you psyched for this great annual tradition by introducing my personal top five I plan to attend.

 

 

A great contribution to Montreal’s Indie Rock scene, the Besnard Lakes, comprised of husband and wife duo Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, have been active since 2003 and are still going strong. They will be playing at Federation Ukrainienne alongside Pang Attack at 8:00 pm. The above tune, The Plain Moon, is a solid introduction to the band’s sound and gets me more pumped to see them every time I listen!

 

 

Sydney, Australia’s, Middle Kids, are a relatively new addition to the international Indie scene but are already making waves and proving why they are a must see live experience with their current North American tour. They can be found Sept. 13 at Petit Campus with Holy Data and I Shot Samo. Doors open at 9:00 pm.

 

 

Fans of Electronic music will be given a treat with Toronto’s, Austra, set to play with the Doldrums and Forever at Theatre Rialto beginning at 8:00pm. Austra began as an experimental project by Katie Stelmanis in 2009 and have since released three albums and two EP’s. Their live act delivers a full harmonious experience so they are well worth the time if you haven’t yet heard them.

 

 

I am particularly excited to witness the performance of New Orleans based, Hurray for the Riff Raff. They are described as a Folk-Blues Americana band and have been around since 2007. Originally based out of the Bronx, Hurray for the Riff Raff was started by the very talented, Alynda Segarra, who began her musical adventure through early inspirations of Doo-Wop and Motown. The group will be playing at 10:30 pm at Piccolo Little Burgundy with Carodiaro.

 

 

Last but not least is the infamous RZA, not only one of the founding members of one of the greatest rap groups of all time, Brooklyn’s, Wu-Tang Clan, but also one of the most prominent figures of hip-hop, period. Little needs to be said about RZA himself so I will jump right to the fact that his set will be free as well as being one of the kick off acts of the festival, beginning 4:00pm at Theatre Rialto on Sept. 15. Make sure to arrive early if you are able.

 

So there you have it, a small introduction to what is to be had at POP Montreal 2017. For all in depth details about the festival itself, events, artists, start-times etc. just click on the link to the official website at https://popmontreal.com/en. I can promise there are many more artists worth seeing than what is listed above so do yourself a favor and try and experience as much as possible! Cheers.

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About The Author

Collaborator - RREVERB

Born into a musical family, I’ve been heavily addicted to playing and listening since the first time I laid fingers on my grandmother’s dateless electric organ. My father was an acoustic guitarist who loved CCR and my mother was a competitive tap dancer in her youth. These surroundings lead me to the guitar where I eventually trained myself in jazz theory and began to involve myself in my hometown’s music scene. Moving to Montreal has only expanded this lifelong passion and the city’s vast diversity has provided for me an endless journey into new musical discovery.