Published on June 15, 2009 - With musical luminaries the likes of Stevie Wonder (performing the free opening concert), Oliver Jones, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck and Joe Cocker, would you really risk missing out on the 30th anniversary of Montréal’s Jazz Fest?
Each summer, this granddaddy of all musical gatherings, infuses our streets and concert halls with the spectacular showmanship and stellar notes we’ve all come to expect. Music mavens love the fest for its namesake genre as well as its line-up of other sounds and beats and influences—like blues, Brazilian, Cuban, African, reggae, contemporary and electronic—not to mention a whopping line-up of 3,000 artists hailing from 30 different countries around the world.
It's a traffic-stopper in every sense of the word, filled with free-range festivalgoers happily sating themselves on a menu of music as they roam from one outdoor stage to the next. Yes, Montréal devotes its downtown streets entirely to pedestrians for the occasion, and everybody loves all the room to dance!
Add the cafés and bistros, an art gallery and the musical park for kids, and you're in the middle of one of the safest and most exciting happenings of the summer season. For 12 days straight, you can take in more than 450 (count 'em) free outdoor shows as well as indoor performances featuring legendary giants and bright new stars of the musical firmament.
Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
